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Deaf Community

Canada VRS helps bring the Deaf community of Canada together.

Canada VRS is Canada’s Video Relay Service. It was launched in 2016 to increase access to greater opportunity for Deaf Canadians for work, academics, government and professional services and social connection. Over the years Canada VRS has grown and evolved based on the feedback from Canada VRS customers and members of the Deaf community.

Get VRS Now

We bring the Deaf Community and Canada VRS together through CAV Connect.

CAV’s Outreach Team meets regularly with Deaf Community members across Canada. We meet in person at scheduled events throughout the year and when it is more practical, through virtual events online. During these events we explore topics that empower users to get the most from Canada VRS. If you have topics or collaborations to suggest, please get in touch.

Curious about upcoming CAV Connect events? Explore the CAV Connect Event Calendar  for in-person and virtual events.

Explore the Calendar

Meet the CAV Outreach Team

Hi, I am Wissam Constantin, Community Relations Manager.

Our community, like many others, experienced significant isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we greatly appreciate the technology and tools that kept us connected online, we are thrilled to be back, participating in person at Deaf Community events across Canada. We are excitedly developing plans for members of the Outreach Team to attend events, meetings, and gatherings in communities across the country in person! For those community members who would still prefer to meet virtually, we are always happy to arrange a video call with you.

Wissam Constantin Community Relations Manager
(Ottawa, ON)

Diane Underschultz Community Relations Assistant Manager
(Edmonton, AB)

Jo-Anne Bryan
Community Outreach Specialist
(Ottawa, ON)
Patrick Lazure
Community Outreach Specialist
(Montreal, QC)
Kim Pelletier
LSQ Translation and Community Outreach Specialist (Guelph, ON)

Link your organization with Canada VRS

Please let us know if you are planning an event and would like to include the CAV Connect outreach team. Contact us at web@cav-acs.ca.

Reach Out

Students & CAV Connect

At our school events, students, staff and parents ask questions, get technical support and share ideas about new ways to use the Canada VRS app. If you are interested in organizing a CAV Connect School Event, please get in touch with our Community Relations, Assistant Manager.

Learn More
Contact Us

Download these useful Canada VRS Cards

Calling Card
Information Card
Account Card
Live Chat Live Chat is available during customer service hours. Supported on Chrome and Firefox on Windows, and Safari and Waterfox on Mac (desktop only).

Personalize Your Own Canada VRS Calling Card

Just add your name and 10-digit number. Print your sheet of calling cards, then trim and hand them out to colleagues, friends, and family.

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PRINT YOUR OWN CANADA VRS INFORMATION CARD

Print your sheet of information cards to save your login information and share VRS calling instructions for hearing people.

Click below to download your information cards.

Download
Information Cards

PRINT YOUR OWN
ACCOUNT CARD

Print your card to keep track of your VRS information and password.

Carla Dupras

ASL Permanent Invitee

Carla Dupras is a child of deaf adults (Coda), a heritage language user of American Sign Language, and a community freelance interpreter for the last 27 years. She is an honorary lifetime member of the Association of Sign Language Interpreters of Alberta (ASLIA) and a certified (COI) member of the Canadian Association of Sign Language Interpreters (CASLI).

Carla maintains an active and engaged presence in both provincial and national organizations, as well as in her local community in Alberta. Currently, Carla sits on the federal government Translation Bureau advisory panel in addition to mentoring colleagues who are new to the field of interpreting. She remains focused on enhancing the quality of interpreting service in all aspects of people’s life.

Mark Kusiak

ASL/LSQ Representative

Since 2008, Mark has been employed at London Drugs as a staff pharmacist for Nursing home and Compounding centre. Currently, he works as a pharmacy manager oversees the operational flow, staffing (human resources), policy development and implementing, financial including KPI and inventory controls. Mark holds Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from University of Alberta. In addition, he is the Member at Large for the Deaf and Hear Alberta Board of Directors. He is heavy involvement in Deaf sport community including President for the Canadian Deaf Sports Association for 10 years (2010-2020). In my free time, I am actively in Crossfit.

Ruth Altman

TSP Representative

Ruth has been employed at Rogers Communications since 2006, working in a variety of progressive roles in the Regulatory department. Currently, she is Director Regulatory Consumer Policy, where she provides advice on compliance with consumer-oriented regulatory policies and regulations and develops policy positions on regulatory proceedings, including matters related to accessibility. At Rogers she is actively involved in inclusion and diversity initiatives, and serves on the steering committee for Rogers AccessAbility Network, an employee resource group dedicated to empowering employees with visible and invisible disabilities to achieve professional and personal growth. Prior to working at Rogers, Ruth worked in Regulatory Affairs at Corus Entertainment and was Development Manager at Pro Bono Ontario, where she helped to secure operational and project funding. Ruth has a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University and an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business.

Jordan Sangalang, MA (Commencing May 2021)

DHH ASL/LSQ Director

JordanSangalang

Jordan is a Service Manager at New Directions for Children, Youth, Adults and Families in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Throughout his career, he has participated in numerous trainings and workshops which contribute to his leadership and management style. Additionally, he provides training as a Non-Violent Crisis Intervention instructor and teaches ASL at the University of Manitoba. He is involved in theatre, physical sketch comedy, and storytelling. When he is not performing, he dedicates time to both individuals and organizations that serve the Deaf community. Jordan holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and a M.A. from Gallaudet University.

Sue Decker

CEO and Executive Director, Canadian Administrator of VRS (CAV), Inc.

Sue is responsible for leading the development, implementation and administration of Canada’s inaugural video relay service, SRV Canada VRS. In the Spring of 2015, Sue assumed the leadership of the CRTCs vision to build a video relay service for Deaf Canadians, transforming a start-up organization to a fully operationalized telecommunications relay service which launched in the Fall of 2016.  Prior to becoming CAV’s Executive Director, Sue managed AT&T’s Accessible Communications Services business which included Text and VRS Relay Services. In her 20 years of service with AT&T she developed extensive experience in product development and providing telecommunications services for people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Post AT&T, she served as a consultant to other VRS companies located throughout U.S. and Europe, making her one of the foremost VRS experts in the world.

J. Scott Fletcher

Board Secretary​

Scott Fletcher is a senior partner in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office, practising in general corporate and commercial law with significant emphasis on telecommunications, technology, energy and government relations.

He is one of the firm’s authorities in providing corporate and commercial advice relating to commercial alliances, strategic and policy board advice and privatizations, as well as in general corporate and commercial matters. Scott also provides advice on a number of regulatory matters in the telecommunications, energy and gaming/lotteries industries. In addition, he routinely provides strategic counsel to corporate clients on telecommunications industry-based matters, the divestiture of government departments and programs into the private sector, and other corporate and commercial issues.

Scott is the firm client team leader for several major firm clients in the telecommunications and energy sectors. He has served as a director of a number of federal Canadian corporations and has represented numerous federal Crown corporations. Scott also serves as an executive team member for a number of firm clients.

Tony D’Onofrio, CFA, ICD.D

Independent Director

Tony gained extensive advisory and capital markets experience over a 20-year career in finance and investment banking. He has been working with the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG) since 2010.  He is responsible for leading CCGG’s board engagement efforts and he regularly meets with the directors of leading public companies to discuss governance matters on behalf of Canada’s largest institutional investors.  He has been a frequent guest speaker and advises independently on governance matters and shareholder engagement.  Tony holds a Masters in Business Administration (Schulich School) and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and a faculty member of The Directors College.

Renu Sangha, CPA, CGA (Resigned October 2020)

DHH ASL/LSQ Director

Renu has 10 years of experience in accounting, finance, information technology, and change management. Renu has been working as a Business Analyst at HSBC Bank Canada since 2014. She is responsible for gathering, analyzing, and documenting business needs and requirements as well as liaising between business and technical stakeholders to ensure that final solutions meet business objectives and add to the bottom line. Renu holds a Bachelor’s degrees in Information Technology and Business Administration and the Chartered Professional Accountant designation. She is also AgileBA Foundation certified and a certified Scrum Product Owner.

Dr. Marty Taylor

ASL Interpreter Permanent Invitee

Marty Taylor is an interpreter, educator and a nationally certified interpreter in Canada and the U.S. Dr. Taylor has been involved in video relay interpreting research for over ten years and has been a CAV Board Member since its inception. Marty has written two seminal books in the interpreting field: Interpretation Skills: English to American Sign Language and Interpretation Skill: American Sign Language to English which are used in over 100 interpreter education programs. Her current projects involve research on interpreting in educational settings, spoken language skills of native-English speakers, creating and supporting distance education, and developing materials to enhance interpreter skills development.

Jonathan Daniels

TSP Director

Jonathan Daniels, B.A. (McGill) 1990, J.D. (Toronto) 1994, is Vice President Regulatory Law at Bell. He has worked with Bell in various capacities since 2004.  His primary focus is on major telecommunications regulatory policy issues.  Previously he served as VP Regulatory for Cable & Wireless Caribbean, VP of Regulatory and Carrier Relations for C1 Communications in Toronto, Director of Regulatory for Covad Communications and Director of Regulatory Affairs for Sprint Canada.  After law school, Mr. Daniels articled and was an associate with the law firm Stikeman, Elliott.  In his various roles, Mr. Daniels has appeared before committees of the House of Commons, the Senate, the CRTC and numerous regulators in the Caribbean.  Mr. Daniels taught telecommunications law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and telecommunications market dynamics at Ryerson University.

Dr. Jessica Dunkley, MD, MHSc, CCFP

DHH ASL Director​

Dr. Dunkley is a family physician and resident physician in dermatology at the University of BC with a 16-year career in healthcare, including clinical medicine, health program evaluations and delivering professional development workshops.  She is involved in clinical research in dermatology, having presented at numerous conferences in North America.  She is a frequent speaker for various conferences related to accessibility and health care and provides mentorship to aspiring Deaf and hard of hearing health professionals.  Dr. Dunkley holds a Bachelor of Physical Therapy & Masters of Clinical Epidemiology from UBC and a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Ottawa.   

Gwen Beauchemin

Independent Director

Gwen is an independent board member and an owner and cybersecurity consultant at Tillet Consulting. She engages with organizations that aim to improve citizen access and security to telecommunications and data networks in Canada. Gwen holds board positions with the Canadian Administrator of VRS (CAV), Canadian Internet Registry Authority (CIRA), Quantum Safe Canada (QSC), and the Human-Centric Cybersecurity Partnership (HC2P). With a career spanning more than 35 years, including roles at Bell Northern Networks, Nortel, the Government of Canada, and Payments Canada, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Her extensive experience encompasses executive and management roles in IT development, IT operations, product-release management, operational and strategic policy, and security. Gwen has a Bachelor of Computer Science, with Honours, from Carleton University in Management & Information Systems. She is an accomplished leader, with certificates from the Council of Canadian Innovators (iGP L2), ICD (Governance Essentials Program), EC-Council (C|CISO), Canadian Forces Staff College (Executive Leaders’ Programme), Government of Canada School of Public Service (Direxion program), Queen’s University (Strategy Programs), and ITIL and PMBOK programs.

Kate Southwell

TSP Director

Kate joined Bell Canada’s legal and regulatory department in 2019 and currently holds the role of Senior Legal Counsel. She provides legal and regulatory guidance regarding compliance with accessibility-related legislation, regulations, and regulatory obligations. She also supports the establishment of associated policies, procedures, and best practices. Kate develops policy positions on regulatory issues, including accessibility, and is actively involved in internal accessibility and inclusion initiatives, including membership in accessibility steering committees and working groups. Kate is a lawyer and has been a member of the Law Society of Ontario since 2013. She has a Juris Doctor from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto and a B.F.A., with Distinction, from the University of Windsor. Prior to joining Bell, Kate managed a broad corporate/commercial litigation practice at DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, on whose behalf she appeared at the Supreme Court of Canada and all court levels in Ontario.

David Joseph

DHH LSQ Director and Board Chair

David currently works as a Financial Analyst at Health Canada.  With his 11 years tenure in the Federal Government, he has acquired experience in various divisions such as accounting operations, financial system, financial policy and corporate accounting. He is an analytical and critical thinking person that loves to be involved in various non-profit organizations.  In addition to CAV, he is the Treasurer for the Canadian Deaf Sports Association (CDSA).  David is fluent in 4 languages:  LSQ, ASL, French and English.  His first languages are LSQ and French.  He also teaches American Sign Language (ASL) at Carleton University for the past 10 years. 

Anne Missud

LSQ Interpreter Permanent Invitee

Anne Missud is a permanent invitee, representing the French-LSQ interpreters at the CAV board. She acquired long standing and wide interpreting experience over a 20-year career in various public and private settings. She is actively involved in the training of interpreters as a teacher at the University of Quebec in Montreal. She is currently completing her Ph.D./Psy. D in community psychology, her research focuses on the wellbeing of the deaf community. She is a certified member of the Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec.