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Not all communities in Ontario have access to 911, the NDP wants to change that

Parts of northern Ontario don’t have access to 911 service, so members of the NDP have introduced a private member’s bill to bring the province in line with the rest of the country.

Ontario is the only province that doesn’t have 911 access everywhere

CBC News ·
9-1-1 call taker Madison Sheane takes emergency calls at Vancouver’s E-Comm centre in Vancouver, British Columbia on Monday, December 9, 2019.
Parts of northern Ontario, like the community of Cartier, don't have access to 911. People have to call different numbers for each emergency service. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

NDP MPP France Gélinas believes most Ontarians would be surprised to know not all parts of the province have access to 911 for emergencies.

Many northern Ontario communities, including parts of Gélinas' Nickel Belt riding, aren't connected to the 911 system. Instead, people in those regions need to choose from three different phone numbers – for paramedics, police and fire services – when they are in an emergency.

In the community of Cartier, for example, a person would need to call 705-673-1117 for an ambulance and 705-673-1542 for fire services.

"Ontario is the only province in Canada that does not have 911 everywhere," Gélinas said.

She and her  NDP colleagues have reintroduced a bill, called the 911 Everywhere in Ontario Act, which aims to change that.

A woman standing in a suburban neighbourhood during the fall.
Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas and her northern Ontario NDP colleagues have introduced a bill that would bring access to 911 everywhere in the province. (Bienvenu Senga/Radio-Canada )

In June 2013 a boat crash on Lake Wanapitei, located in Greater Sudbury and the Nickel Belt riding, killed three people.

The crash put a spotlight on the emergency response, and Ontario's chief coroner made 18 recommendations, which included improving the 911 system in the region.

Gélinas's NDP colleagues across northern Ontario joined her Wednesday to promote the bill and its importance.

Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof said he keeps a sticker on the fridge at his family camp with the different emergency service numbers there, because 911 isn't an option.

"Every child, one of the first things we teach them is if they get in trouble, dial 911," he said.

"That doesn't work in big parts of Ontario."

Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa said 911 also isn't an option in the remote, fly-in, First Nations he represents.

Mamakwa said it can often take up valuable time when people have to call the local band office during an emergency so they can get connected to local medical care and other emergency services.

Bill 107, the 911 Everywhere in Ontario Act, was reintroduced Wednesday. The NDP has maintained a list of communities without 911 services and the numbers residents, and visitors, have to call to reach emergency services.

Last year the provincial government announced it would invest $208 million over three years to enhance the Ontario's 911 emergency response service.

The investment would include infrastructure and technology upgrades to support the transition to what is called Next Generation 911. The system lets users share video and photos of an accident with 911 dispatchers and also provides their GPS coordinates.

In an email to CBC News, Ontario solicitor general's office reiterated the province's investment last year to upgrade to Next Generation 911.

"The telecommunication sector, including cellular service, is federally regulated and privately operated," the email said.

" Ontario primarily supports the telecommunication sector through program funding for infrastructure to enable access to high-speed internet services in unserved and underserved areas."

With files from Martha Dillman

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