You'll Soon Be Able To Text 9-1-1 In Quebec
And maybe even send videos.
The messages app on an iPhone.
Canada has a plan to modernize 9-1-1 services. That could mean the ability to text 9-1-1 and send photos, videos and medical information to first responders is just a few short years away. In Quebec, the government is already preparing for that transition.
As MTL Blog sister publication Narcity Québec reports, Quebec's 2023-2024 budget calls for a $45.5 million investment in emergency response centres so that they'll be able to accommodate the 9-1-1 upgrade.
The federally imposed deadline for a 9-1-1 upgrade is March 4, 2025.
It's all part of a plan by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement "next-generation" emergency communication services, dubbed NG9-1-1. Enabling text and video through 9-1-1 might sound simple, but it actually involves multiple steps and coordination between cell service companies, provincial and municipal governments.
By March 2025, all stakeholders need to be ready to decommission old 9-1-1 services to make way for NG9-1-1.
Quebec says its new investment is about making sure municipalities have the resources to make that happen in a relatively tight timeframe.