The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) has urgently appealed to Canadian leaders, including Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) President Laura Jo Gunter and Alberta Minister Myles McDougall, to save the Captioning and Court Reporting (CCR) program at NAIT, Canada’s only NCRA-approved training for court reporters and captioners.
In a June 3 letter, NCRA President Keith R. Lemons, FAPR, RPR, CRR (Ret.), warned that pausing or canceling the program, with the 2025 class potentially the last, risks exacerbating the shortage of professionals vital for court transcripts and accessibility services for the deaf and hard of hearing, threatening justice and communication access throughout Canada. NCRA offered to collaborate on solutions like hybrid delivery and urged NAIT to reverse the decision.
NCRA’s Government Relations Manager Colin Brehm received a response that afternoon from the office of Legislative Assembly of Alberta member David Eggen, who was included in the correspondence:
“Thank you so much for including our office in your correspondence to NAIT and Minister McDougall. Please know we share your concerns and have also written to Minister McDougall to express the need for urgent intervention. I have included our letter for your reference. Keep up the great advocacy.”
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