EDMONTON- Every second counts in an emergency, and now the province is ensuring they make the most of them.
On Thursday, the municipal affairs minister announced proposed changes to Alberta’s 911 system that are in line with evolving technology, although it could mean another charge for cell phone users.
70 per cent of emergency calls are made from cell phones, but users aren’t paying for that service like those with landlines are. So, Doug Griffiths is proposing that cell phone bills include the same $0.44 per month charge, which will fund 911 call centres.
The province is also considering improving technology, to allow the option of texting 911.
“For example, someone hearing impaired can text an emergency to 911 or someone having a heart attack,” Griffiths explained. “GPS is critical to making sure you can find where that person who lost consciousness is.”
There is also a proposal to charge penalties to chronic abusers of the call system.
“We’ve heard stories about 911 call centres getting calls from someone who is upset that Subway made their sandwich wrong, and that story about a call from someone who was upset that Tim Hortons had run out of their favourite doughnut,” he said. “We have a call registered from someone who said that their taxes were due tomorrow and they wanted to know where to go to file them."
“Those are not crank phone calls but they're frivolous and waste time and energy and resources.”
Details on how it would be tracked haven’t been worked out, but the province says accidental ‘pocket dialing’ won’t be included.
The changes will need to be approved in the legislature this spring, to be implemented by September.
With files from Jill Croteau
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