Sam Gill says he had a knot in his stomach as he watched a driver in front of him barrelling down a busy road in Mississauga, Ont., weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, jumping a curb and hitting a snowbank so hard the impact knocked his headlight off, though that didn’t stop him.
When Gill dialled 911 for help, he was put on hold.
Just before 8 p.m. on a Sunday last month, Gill spotted the other motorist “driving erratically — can’t stay in his lanes, can’t maintain control of the vehicle.”
“Every second that passed, I’m thinking, ‘Oh my god, somebody is going to die,” he said.
Canadians make an estimated nine million calls to 911 every year, taking for granted that someone will answer, says Holly Barkwell, the Canadian region director of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), an international organization that works to improve 911 service.
“Unfortunately, that is not the case everywhere across Canada,” she says. In reality, Barkwell says, the 911 system might not work as expected because it’s fragmented, underfunded and operating on technology that’s over 50 years old.
“It’s been ignored too long. It’s an issue of public safety.”
There are no mandatory standards in Canada, but voluntary standards set by NENA in 2006 say 90 per cent of 911 calls should be answered within 10 seconds, and 95 per cent within 20 seconds.
But because there is no national oversight on 911 service, there’s no way to tell how Canada measures up.
In Gill’s case, he was on hold for almost six minutes (his phone was hands-free) while he chased the dangerous driver — honking and flashing his lights, trying to warn others to steer clear.
“At this point I’m saying to myself … if [911] doesn’t answer, should I push him off the road? I might hurt him in the process, but I might save his life and potentially the lives of others,” he said.
Peel Regional Police, which runs the 911 service in Gill’s area, says it was swamped with double the usual number of calls at the time, adding it had a “record number” of calls in 2019, though an exact number wasn’t available.
Sam Gill, worried for the safety of others, followed a dangerous driver through busy Mississauga, Ont., streets while waiting six minutes for 911 to answer his call. (Susan Goodspeed/CBC)
By the time an operator answered and police arrived, the driver had crashed into another snowbank and passed out behind the wheel, with his vehicle still in drive, Gill said.
He says an officer told him the man was drunk. Peel Regional Police wouldn’t confirm that with Go Public.
Similarly, Helena Shepherd-Snider couldn’t reach 911 when her husband had a heart attack in 2016. Instead, she got a recorded message saying the number was not in service, and to dial zero for the operator.
Helena Shepherd-Snider called 911 while her husband Stan Snider was having a heart attack, but got a ‘not in service’ message. (Yvon Theriault/CBC)
Initially, she says the operator refused to call for her, telling Shepherd-Snider she should do it herself.
“It felt like a double whammy. [I was thinking] where else can I go? What can I do? Time was of the essence,” she said.
After about 15 minutes, she convinced the operator to call 911. She credits fast-working paramedics for saving her husband’s life.
When the dust settled, Shepherd-Snider discovered everyone on her block — about half a kilometre outside Sudbury, Ont. — had 911 service except the last four houses including hers.
A worker takes a 911 call at the RCMP F Division Operational Communication Command Centre on in Regina, in September 2010. Canadians make an estimated nine million calls to 911 every year. (Troy Fleece/The Canadian Press)
Depending on where you live, 911 is run by municipalities, the police or the province, while telecom companies are responsible for supplying the network needed to connect the calls — an example of how the system is fragmented, according to Barkwell.
When Shepherd-Snider called Bell and the municipality, she says they “passed the buck” — neither correcting the issue. Instead, Bell cut off 911 service to her neighbours. ]
The company tells Go Public that their block is outside Sudbury’s service boundaries and that Shepherd-Snider’s neighbours “had been erroneously provided with 911.”
The city says those houses are a provincial responsibility and have separate emergency numbers for ambulance, fire and police.
Shepherd-Snider had no idea.
The shortcomings of the 911 system were flagged back in a 2013 CRTC report and, says Barkwell, haven’t changed. The report found:
A wide gap between Canadians’ expectations and the reality of the 911 system.
No mandatory standards for 911 services.
Inconsistent funding.
No federal oversight.
Some outlying communities have no access to 911.
Some call centres in urban areas are overwhelmed and don’t have the funding to fix the issue.
One of the biggest problems, according to Barkwell, is that 911 services still use old analog technology, which makes it difficult to locate people using mobile phones.
She says mobile apps have a better chance of locating someone than 911.
“The biggest question I get from people often is how come Uber can find me and how come Domino’s Pizza can find me but 911 can’t find me?” Barkwell said.
Holly Barkwell, of the National Emergency Number Association, says the problems with 911 will be complicated and pricey to fix. (Skype)
A number of recent deaths have highlighted other problems with 911 services, and how they co-ordinate with emergency personnel.
B.C. is promising changes to its 911 system after a woman bled to death after waiting 35 minutes for an ambulance in Vancouver in 2018. An ambulance was dispatched promptly, but attendants were unable to reach her because the doors and an elevator in her building were locked, and firefighters were called in too late.
In Ontario, the deaths of four people in two separateincidents led to dozens of recommendations from the provincial coroner, and to a bill meant to address problems with 911.
Ontario MPP France Gélinas doubts the province will pass her bill, which is aimed at improving 911 service. (Mathieu Gregoire/CBC)
“People have lost their lives and people will continue to lose their lives,” said France Gélinas, the NDP MPP, who last year put forward Bill 75, which is currently before the social policy committee.
Gélinas says she doesn’t believe the Tory government will pass the bill, however, and, when asked by Go Public, the provincial Ministry of Health wouldn’t say. Spokesperson David Jensen said the government has established a task force to look at the problems with the system, including the coroner’s recommendations.
Ontario does not have legislation to govern delivery of 911 service or to provide secure funding for it. Certain provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec do.
In March, the CRTC introduced a plan to modernize 911 networks in Canada. As part of that plan, telecoms must upgrade from analog technology to digital by June 30, 2023.
It’s a good start, says Barkwell, but doesn’t address the many other problems like inconsistent or inadequate funding.
In the meantime, after his experience with the dangerous driver in Mississauga, Sam Gill says he worries what might happen to his family or others if there is another emergency.
“We’ve lost our faith and that’s not a good feeling,” he said.
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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
