Adam Bramburger
Beaver Staff
With the effectiveness of Ontario’s 911 system under scrutiny in recent weeks, Greater Napanee Mayor Gord Schermerhorn added his voice to those looking for answers.
On Nov. 1, a coroner’s jury looking into the system’s performance in the boating death of three people near Sudbury in 2013 and the asthma-related death of a Casselman woman made 27 recommendations to the provincial government and municipalities regarding 911 services. The inquest, under the direction of Dr. David Cameron, heard about how gaps in the communications system may have impacted emergency response times.
Among the recommendations, the jury is calling on Ontario to create an independent body to provide oversight to all 911 operations to investigate complaints, conduct audits and reviews.
Operationally, recommendations include the call for all public and private 911 communications centres and police, fire, and EMS dispatch to use compatible computer-aided dispatching programs by 2023 to improve sharing of maps and critical information; to ensure all systems have the ability to allow operators to emphasize critical information and escalate alerts the greater the delay in dispatching calls; and mandated staffing levels at all dispatch centres. The adoption of formal policy and training to streamline communications in emergency situations is also recommended. The Province is asked to report to the Office of the Chief Coroner by Dec. 1, 2019 on its progress and issue subsequent annual reports for five years.
Schermerhorn detailed the circumstances around a 911 call he made this summer at Lennox and Addington County council last Wednesday. He said at 1 a.m. his beeper alerted him that someone was at his County Rd. 8 storage facility. He confronted an individual who was trying to cut a lock and phoned 911.
“I called and asked for police. I was put on hold for two-and-a-half minutes,” Schermerhorn said. “My concern was if I was having a heart attack and was put on hold for two-and-a-half minutes, I’d probably be dead.”
He asked where his call goes when he dials 911. The County’s information technology manager Jason White told council there’s a two-tiered system. Calls go to Northern 911, a service located in North Bay. Its operator asks a simple question — police, fire, or ambulance — and connects the caller with the appropriate service. Fire and ambulance calls are dispatched through Kingston, while the OPP has its own dispatch centre in Smiths Falls.
White said in Ontario, there’s no legislative or standard framework for how 911 is administered and, in some instances, municipalities still don’t have the service.
Councillor Helen Yanch, of Addington Highlands, also wondered if time might be lost in the connection between North Bay and local service providers, particularly if those dispatch centres are dealing with other calls at the same time.
White said one might have to investigate individual cases to get a clearer picture into what might affect response times.
Schermerhorn asked if the situation could be referred to the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus or to the province as he wondered if other people were experiencing similar problems to the his.
“Two-and-a-half minutes means life or death. It might mean your house. It might mean a child’s life,” he said. “Somebody better be pushing the province at some point about this.”
White advised councillors to listen to a recently released CBC Radio report about the coroner’s inquest, which he said gave a good overview of the challenges Ontario is facing.
“What you’re talking about is not necessarily unique to our area. It’s a potential problem that could get worse,” he said.