By: Surjit Singh Flora
Brampton: A new and first-ever provincewide campaign launched today to continue the battle against 9-1-1 misuse. The provincial Emergency Services Steering Committee (ESSC) launched the campaign called “When Every Second Counts.” The campaign aims to reduce non-emergency 9-1-1 calls by educating the public on proper 9-1-1 usage, promoting awareness of alternative non-emergency numbers, and highlighting the consequences of misuse.
“9-1-1 is for life-threatening or health-related emergencies, yet across the province, Ontarians continue to call 9-1-1 for everything, from boredom to a failed restaurant order to a TV that isn’t working!” said Nancy Polsinelli, member of the ESSC Steering Committee and Commissioner of Health Services at the Region of Peel. “In other instances, calls are made for non-emergency vehicular collisions, medical issues, and bylaw issues—where other contacts and resources are available, but the public may not be familiar with them. When someone can’t reach 9-1-1 due to a busy line, this misuse can make a crucial difference.
9-1-1 operators across Ontario are under enormous strain to manage ever-growing call volumes. Many police services across Ontario report 9-1-1 call demand is increasing rapidly and that about half of all 9-1-1 calls are non-emergency calls: pocket-dials, hang-ups, and many that are frivolous or even vexatious.
“Despite some improvement, 9-1-1 misuse and a lack of understanding of what number to call for what type of situation continue to be a challenge,” said Hon. Michael S. Kerzner, Ontario Solicitor General. “This campaign gives the public the knowledge and resources to know who to call and when, so they can get the right support. We know the vast majority of Ontarians want to do the right thing and keep the lines clear for all of us so they’re available when we need them.”
While Charmaine Williams, MPP for Brampton Centre and Minister for Women’s Social and Economic Opportunities, said a new emergency response initiative called ‘When Every Second Counts’ at the Region of Peel.
Williams highlighted that the Promise of Ontario has invested $4 million in the 911 next-generation system, which has successfully reduced emergency response wait times.
The minister emphasized that the initiative’s main goal is to educate the community about proper emergency response protocols, specifically focusing on who to contact and when to make emergency calls.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown expressed his excitement for this campaign. This campaign has caused major difficulties for us in the Peel region. I am sure that every emergency service has been tested, but the demand in Peel is particularly high. If you’ve ever had a chance to visit our 911 Operations Centre like I have, you’ll be shocked by how busy it is.
When they say every second counts, there’s probably no better example of that than right here. And occasionally there are three calls, four calls, at the same time, all critical issues. And so, if there are misuse calls, it takes those desperate times to respond away.
And so, I look at our Deputy Chief, Anthony Odoardi, who’s been a leader in Canada on changing 911. At one point, I know that 40% of our calls were classified as misuse calls. And you see on the screen; you talk about people calling about the pizza. That’s happened more often than we like to know. But here are other examples. I think we have calls from people complaining about a cricket game being noisy. Calling 911 for noise complaints about a cricket game is not appropriate. Don’t take police or first responders away from a critical response.
And that’s why I wholeheartedly support this campaign. I aim to ensure that we don’t waste any seconds. We don’t lose precious time in responding to emergencies in our community. And I know we’ve made tremendous progress, Mayor Brown added. I think it’s almost over; now it’s down to 10 seconds. It was incredible, but we can do better. In a region such as ours, we must strive for excellence. We are thrilled that this campaign will enhance the outstanding efforts already undertaken by the Peel Police.
