9-1-1 Calls on Cellular Phones

WHEREAS the North Island 9-1-1 Corporation is comprised of six shareholder regional districts and was established to provide and manage emergency 9-1-1 services to the regional districts of Alberni-Clayoquot, Comox Valley, Mount Waddington, Nanaimo, Powell River and Strathcona; AND WHEREAS the increased costs associated with abandoned 9-1-1 calls are affecting the sustainability of the service and impacting the RCMP resources to follow up and investigate; AND WHEREAS statistics obtained from the primary call answer service indicate a high percentage of abandoned calls are caused by the accidental activation of a dedicated 9-1-1 button and enabled 9-1-1 autodial calls on mobile devices: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM request the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to: a regulate the telephone service providers to discontinue the use of dedicated 9-1-1 buttons on cell phones and the pre-programming of 9-1-1 on all communication devices; or b require that handsets sold in Canada include a minimum two 2 button push that includes a call confirmation or acknowledgement for access to 9-1-1 emergency services, to discourage the accidental dialing of 9-1-1 which leads to increased abandoned calls.