CRTC delays implementation of next-generation 911 service for two years

Next-generation 911 services — which would enable Canadians to send texts or video to emergency services — won’t be implemented for another two years. A person uses a cellphone in Ottawa on July 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Next-generation 911 service — which would allow Canadians to send texts or video to summon help — won’t be implemented for another two years.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had set Tuesday as the date for transitioning to next-generation 911. The telecom regulator now says it has moved that deadline to March 2027.

In a Friday decision, the CRTC acknowledged the delay means “Canadians will have to wait longer for the enhancements” the new systems will bring.

In its initial 2017 decision on modernizing 911 networks, the CRTC said that next-generation 911 service would allow Canadians to “stream video from an emergency incident, send photos of accident damage or a fleeing suspect, or send personal medical information, including accessibility needs, which could greatly aid emergency responders.”

The CRTC said it concluded that extending the deadline “is the only workable solution to ensure uninterrupted access to the emergency services that Canadians need.”

It said that while telecoms are ready for the move, most provincial, territorial and municipal emergency services are not.

The CRTC said it was warned by multiple groups — including those representing police, fire and paramedic chiefs — that without a deadline extension, some Canadians could lose access to 911 service.

The regulator said that would have posed an unacceptable risk to public safety.

Only three of Canada’s 242 emergency services call centres had launched next-generation services as of April 2024. The CRTC predicted that the “vast majority” won’t complete that transition until the end of 2026.

The call centres “have faced multiple challenges, including the need for greater technical expertise and limited vendor availability for testing, which have created a bottleneck and slowed down the transition,” the CRTC’s decision said.

The CRTC has asked emergency services chiefs to report back by Aug. 28 with a “comprehensive plan” that explains how 911 call centres “will meet the new deadline or will make alternative arrangements.”

Michael Wood, an Ottawa resident who is an advocate for better 911 services, said this isn’t the first time the CRTC has extended the deadline and the delays are “frustrating.”

In its initial 2017 decision, the CRTC directed telecom companies to decommission network components that won’t be part of next generation service by June 2023. That’s the deadline that has now been moved to 2027.

Wood began advocating after his brother, who lived in Toronto, contacted him in 2022 to say he would end his own life. Wood said he was stuck on hold for more than an hour trying to reach 911 services in Toronto because Ottawa was not able to transfer him. Ottawa has since implemented a system that can transfer calls to other cities.

Wood pointed out that a woman facing intimate partner violence might not be in a position to pick up a phone and call. “You would think that in 2025 she could send a text message,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2024.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press