Ruling on Closed Captioning in Movie Theatres Advances Social Justice in Ontario Say Elementary Teachers

The recent settlement in the Human Rights Commission case regarding closed captioning in movie theatres is an important milestone towards advancing social justice in Ontario, says the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).

According to ETFO president Emily Noble, movies are a form of art and entertainment that should be available to everyone.

"As educators, we understand that inclusion is not a frill, but a basic human right. Yet for far too long, the rights of individuals who are deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing have been overlooked. For far too long, deaf children have been unable to enjoy a night out at the movies with their families or friends," said Noble.

"Once this settlement is implemented, theatres equipped with closed captioning systems will be widespread in our province. Hopefully, we will all see the day when closed captioning capacity is the norm in theatres across Canada.

"We applaud the determination of the three plaintiffs in this case. We offer our congratulations as well to the Caption Movies Now Coalition for their on-going support to the plaintiffs. These individuals, and this organization, have taken on a very powerful industry and achieved a victory which will make Ontario a better place for all of us," said Noble.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents more than 70,000 public elementary school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.