Ottawa, Ontario
December 3, 2014
Peter Menzies, Vice-Chairman of Telecommunications
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Check against delivery
Good morning.
It’s a pleasure to be here with you. My colleagues and I at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), along with all Canadians, have a great admiration for the work of first responders and the broader emergency management community.
Every time there is a tragedy, whether it’s the flooding in Calgary last year, which I saw first-hand, or the tragic events that occurred in the last few months—in Moncton, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Ottawa—we are reminded of your vital and selfless contribution to public safety, which is the core of public service.
These unfortunate events also serve as a reminder that telecommunications networks need to work efficiently and seamlessly at all times—and especially during an emergency.
This is where the CRTC plays an important role in enhancing the safety of Canadians. We make sure that, where it’s available, citizens can connect to a 9-1-1 call centre in an emergency situation.
On a personal note, let me say that this is a matter I take very seriously. In the past 14 months, I have engaged with 9-1-1 operators across the country. I have visited call centres in British Columbia, the Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. I plan to conduct more visits in the coming year.
Role of the CRTC
Providing 9-1-1 services across Canada is a complex endeavour, as you know. It requires coordination between many agencies and groups. They include the CRTC, telecommunications companies, municipal, provincial and territorial governments, 9-1-1 call centres and, of course, first responders.
Provinces, territories and municipalities are responsible for establishing and operating the 9-1-1 call centres.
Newfoundland and Labrador recently adopted legislation that will make 9-1-1 services available throughout the province starting in January 2015. In the past year, Alberta also adopted new legislation relating to 9-1-1 services. They join a growing number of provinces that have this type of legislation in place.
The Government of the Yukon has committed to implementing Basic 9-1-1 service throughout the territory in the near future. And I read recently that the Government of the Northwest Territories is studying how 9-1-1 services could be introduced there as well.
It is estimated that 96% of Canadians currently have access to 9-1-1 services. With these recent developments, we can hope that the day will come when everyone can dial 9-1-1 for help when they need it, no matter where they live.
The CRTC, on the other hand, is an administrative tribunal that oversees broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada. In this capacity, we establish policies to ensure the availability of reliable and effective access to 9-1-1 call centres in Canada over wireline and wireless networks.
Let me give you examples of our decisions to better explain the nature of our involvement in 9-1-1 services.
A few years ago, the CRTC required wireless companies to upgrade their networks to enable emergency responders to more accurately locate someone using a cellphone to call 9-1-1.
More recently, wireless companies were required to make changes to their networks in order for Canadians with speech and hearing disabilities to communicate with 9-1-1 call centres via text messages. A handful of call centres have started to implement this new feature and the rollout is continuing across the country.
Earlier this year, we approved the provision of a new service called video relay service. When it launches, Canadians will be able to conduct “telephone” calls via the Internet using American Sign Language or Langue des signes québécoise with the assistance of an interpreter. In coming to this decision, we felt it was important that Canadians who are Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired not face barriers when seeking help in an emergency situation.
So a key feature of the new service is that it will prioritize calls to 9-1-1 call centres during its hours of operation. Emergency calls will be placed first in line for an interpreter, who will then connect the call to emergency responders and relay the conversation between sign language and spoken language.
And in the next few days, we will issue a decision regarding the Government of the Yukon’s request to offer an interim service to make it easier for people to access emergency responders in communities outside of Whitehorse.
Technological evolution
These are positive developments that will enhance the safety of Canadians. But this is not the time to rest on our accomplishments.
There are over 28 million wireless subscribers in Canada, 62% of whom have a smartphone. It only makes sense to harness this technology that Canadians are carrying around with them in their pockets and purses.
Imagine knowing what to expect when responding to a call about a serious vehicular accident because you’ve received a picture of the scene. Or having access to medical records when assisting someone in distress.
As you know, the scenarios I have just described are likely to become a reality in the next few years.
The transition to next-generation 9-1-1 services will enable Canadians to communicate with operators through text messaging and to send them pictures and videos. As a result, first responders will have access to more information and will be better prepared when going out on a call.
I know that many of you are concerned about how this will work in practical terms, as I am. I’ve heard it north, south, east and west. Receiving 200 pictures of the same accident would not be helpful to you. Receiving a text that says “my neighbour’s house is on fire” is not the best way to have a conversation. And who should decide what stays in the call centre and what is sent to the first responders in the field? Where should this data be stored and how long should it be kept?
Clearly, a series of protocols will need to be established.
One of the messages we’ve been hearing at the CRTC is that the transition to next-generation 9-1-1 services will necessitate a great deal of coordination among all stakeholders.
This is something that we touched on in our action plan for 9-1-1 services. I’d like to take a few minutes to explain how we are preparing for next-generation of 9-1-1 services.
CRTC action plan
In 2012, the CRTC appointed my former colleague then-Commissioner Timothy Denton to conduct research on 9-1-1 services in light of the telecommunications system’s evolution towards Internet Protocol. He conducted dozens of interviews with experts in Canada and abroad, including with the Canadian Interoperability Technology Internet Group (CITIG).
His report contained a number of recommendations, some of which were within the CRTC’s jurisdiction to act upon and others which were not.
After seeking comments from the public, the CRTC issued its action plan for 9-1-1 services this past June. The plan will lead us to a review of the regulatory framework for next-generation 9-1-1 services in 2016.
Our goal for this proceeding is to provide a framework through which Canadian telecommunications networks are equipped to support next-generation 9-1-1 services as the call centres are ready to implement the new capabilities.
In the meantime, we have asked the Emergency Services Working Group to submit two status reports on the progress of next-generation 9-1-1 implementation in Canada. The first report is due by December 31 of this year, with the second report to follow a year later. I am confident the status they report will not be status quo.
The CRTC established this open and transparent forum to address issues relating to the technical and operational implementation of 9-1-1 services. It is mainly composed of representatives from 9-1-1 call centres, 9-1-1 industry specialists and telecommunications service providers.
At the same time, various federal and provincial government agencies and first responders are working together to build a new public safety network using the 700 megahertz spectrum. These efforts are complementary to our own, given that 9-1-1 operators will be using this network to transmit videos, pictures and other data to first responders.
National 9-1-1 forum
In our public consultation, many emergency management officials and governments said that a national forum would help them deal with the challenges presented by next-generation 9-1-1 services. Policies, priorities, standards and timelines could be coordinated through such a forum. Some also suggested that it could address funding, education and outreach issues.
Given that the CRTC’s role is limited to telecommunications service providers, it would not be appropriate for us to create a policy or governance body to oversee the 9-1-1 system.
This is an initiative that needs to be led by the emergency management community, including provincial and municipal governments and organizations such as CITIG, since it will be directly affected by any plans relating to next-generation 9-1-1.
The CRTC would certainly welcome greater coordination. We would be prepared to participate in and assist with a national 9-1-1 forum, consistent with our jurisdiction.
Network resiliency
Before our major review of the framework for next-generation 9-1-1 services, we plan to take steps to ensure the current 9-1-1 system is as reliable as possible.
As I mentioned earlier, the effectiveness of the 9-1-1 network is paramount, especially during major disasters.
Canada has been fortunate not to have experienced any large-scale 9-1-1 disruptions the likes of which Hurricane Sandy caused in the Northeastern U.S. in 2012. Still, we can’t assume that just because it hasn’t happened, it never will.
For that reason, we need to know if there are vulnerabilities in the network that would prevent 9-1-1 call centres and first responders from providing uninterrupted assistance. We plan to launch a proceeding in the near future to examine the reliability and resiliency of 9-1-1 networks across the country.
We will also consider whether telecommunications service providers should be required to alert 9-1-1 call centres about network outages that may affect them.
Wireless location accuracy
Those who participated in our public consultation also said that we should prioritize improvements to wireless location accuracy. While current technologies often provide 9-1-1 operators with an accurate location, there are certain situations where the information may be too imprecise to be of practical use.
The CRTC recently issued a decision setting benchmarks for wireless location accuracy in Canada. We will be monitoring the performance of wireless companies to ensure that the benchmarks are being met.
In addition, we will initiate a fact-finding exercise to understand how many handsets in Canada are GPS-enabled.
I know that the emergency management community would welcome any enhancements. With more accurate information, you could attend to victims more quickly and potentially save more lives.
Public alerting
Everything I’ve talked about this morning has focused on citizens reaching out for help in an emergency situation.
Being from Alberta, I always assumed that people elsewhere in the country had access to a proper public alerting system. I was shocked to discover that was not the case.
The CRTC has supported the establishment of a national public alerting system to ensure Canadians receive timely warnings over the radio and through their televisions. Starting on March 31 of next year, broadcasters and television service providers will begin relaying emergency alert messages to Canadians.
In addition, the CRTC has supported the provision of public alerts to wireline telephone subscribers since 2007. Community Notification Service is available upon request by local authorities who wish to communicate with their constituents during a wide-scale emergency.
While these are important and necessary step, we can’t stop there.
As the terrible events of October 22 were unfolding in Ottawa, I found myself in a nearby building that was locked down. Reliable information was hard to come by during the day’s tense hours. It struck me that as a society, we might be able to do a little better than “citizen tweets” as a primary source of information and direction in a crisis.
Public alerting needs to evolve so that emergency management officials can relay key information to Canadians on their cellphones.
And not just to residents of a given community. Thousands of tourists visit Ottawa throughout the year. Could they also receive an alert in the event of an emergency? Of course they could, and of course they should.
The Network Working Group, which is another forum under the umbrella of the CRTC, is currently working on developing standards for wireless public alerting. I know that this working group can count on your guidance and expertise as it moves forward with this important task.
Conclusion
Of all the activities government agencies engage in—and as much as some people may wonder about their relevance—there is nothing more fundamental about public service than ensuring the public’s safety.
But this is not something we can achieve on our own.
The future of 9-1-1 services depends on collaboration among industry, government, 9-1-1 call centres and first responders. Working together, I am confident that we can solve today’s toughest problems and tackle tomorrow’s challenges.
At the CRTC, we will do everything we can to support the emergency management community. We are always open to hearing from you. You have a unique perspective that we value and that must be reflected in our decisions.
I look forward to meeting more of you in the year ahead.
Thank you.
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