Nova Scotia first responders getting new mobile radios

Nova Scotia is buying mobile radios for some of the province's first responders, addressing concerns raised during an inquiry into events leading to the murders of 22 people by a lone gunman in April 2020. 

As part of its 130 recommendations, the Mass Casualty Commission said the province should fix communications problems among first responders.

The new radios will be provided to more than 300 volunteer firefighters and ground search and rescue crews. The radios will be encrypted, meaning people will not be able to listen into the conversations of first responders. Police and paramedics already have encrypted radios.

During the inquiry, the commission heard concerns that the man responsible for the murders might have used a mobile radio to track the movements of those hunting for him as he moved from Portapique, N.S., through Colchester County and beyond.

The government is also ensuring that there will be proper training provided with the new radios.

During that April weekend, RCMP officers reported they were sometimes unable to communicate because two or more people were trying to use the same frequency at the same time. They described the problem by the sound it makes: bonging.

"Bonging doesn't necessarily mean that the system's not working, it means it could be pertaining to the traffic on that specific channel," Service Nova Scotia Minister Colton LeBlanc said Tuesday.

"And that's why we work with our allied first responder organizations to help educate and inform them on the proper utilization of these radios."

LeBlanc said with proper training, Nova Scotia's radio network will be able to handle the additional traffic.

Some 2,000 new radios should be distributed by next fall and cost about $7.5 million. There are about 6,000 volunteer firefighters and 1,200 ground search and rescue volunteers in the province, according to Tuesday's announcement.