Algonquin prof pushes for faster government action on emergency phone service update

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For Mike Wood, time is of the essence in improving and extending emergency 911 services for all Canadians.

Wood has already made great strides in extending emergency 911 services for Ottawa residents, but there are additional battles ahead in getting the federal government to embrace new technology to aid all Canadians in urgent need of support.

At this point, it’s not possible for those in desperate need — he cites a home invasion or a dire domestic situation as examples — to text 911 for help.

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“It’s still analog,” said Wood, an Algonquin College professor and small business consultant who has been tireless in his community advocacy pursuits. “It’s for people who are in desperate situations and need immediate help.”

Wood says the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is dragging its feet in adopting Next Generation 9-1-1 technologies (NG9-1-1).

Additionally, he’s advocating for a seamless system where 9-1-1 callers from across Canada can immediately be transferred to 9-1-1 operators in other cities.

That’s now possible in Ottawa after Wood pushed hard for changes in the national capital after dealing with a crisis involving his brother in Toronto two years ago. At that time, his request for help in Toronto landed him on hold for 90 minutes with a non-emergency police department.

Residents in Nova Scotia, Waterloo and Calgary now also have access to the updated service, but the rest of Canada is still out of luck.

The CRTC’s current schedule is for call-transferring to be in place across the country by March 2025 and for 9-1-1 texting to be operational in 2026.

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That’s not fast enough for Wood, who is seeking signatures for a petition he’s sending to the Government of Canada.

“I don’t want anyone to have the same experience as I had,” he said.

The petition — e-5069 — calls for the government to “more rapidly implement NG9-1-1 technology allowing 9-1-1 calls to be transferred across Canada and allow all Canadians to send text, picture and video messages to operators.”

Wood has enlisted the support of municipal, provincial and federal politicians from all parties, and he’s hoping for quick action when members of Parliament return to Ottawa in September following their summer break.

“I commend Michael Wood for sharing the tragedy that happened to his brother and appreciate him launching this important petition,” Brad Vis, MP for the British Columbia riding of Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, wrote in an email to the Ottawa Citizen. “Currently, most Canadians are unable to text 9-1-1 in an emergency and calls cannot be transferred in most jurisdictions across Canada. Please join me in supporting this important issue in Parliament.”

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Wood says awareness is key.

Since November, when Ottawa launched its updated 9-1-1 system, there have been more than 500 requests for transfers to other 9-1-1 locations in North America.

“Most of those calls were for mental health issues,” Wood said. “We have a mental health crisis. We’ve got to get this fixed.”

Additionally, Wood says, “most people can’t believe they can’t text” for help.

kwarren@postmedia.com

X: Citizenkwarren

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