Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Taylor Shantz (Northern911)
Ottawa, 22 January 2024
Our reference: 8000-C12-202306407
BY EMAIL
Taylor Shantz
Vice President
Northern911
230 Alder St S,
Greater Sudbury, ON P3C 4J2
Subject: Request for information regarding access to French language services during a 9-1-1 call
Dear Taylor Shantz,
Commission staff was recently informed of two events that occurred on 29 December 2023 and 9 January 2024, in which 9-1-1 calls were delivered to Northern911 and treated in English, despite the callers communicating and requiring services in French. According to news articles in La Presse on this matter,Footnote1 the call made on 29 December 2023 originated from a mobile device on the Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Rogers) mobile network, whereas the call made on 9 January 2024 originated from a Voice over IP (VoIP) service provided by Transat Telecom (Transat).
The Canadian public and the Commission place a high degree of importance on being able to access timely and effective 9-1-1 services, including the ability for Canadians to be answered and to communicate details related to their emergency in their preferred official language. As such, and in accordance with section 37 of the Telecommunications Act, Northern911 is required to provide comprehensive answers to the questions set out below, including all relevant details, rationale and any supporting information, by 2 February 2024.
For each of the above-noted events reported by La Presse:
- Confirm that Northern911 was the third-party call centre that responded to each of the 9‑1-1 calls.
- Describe the complete sequence of events related to the incidents covered by the articles, clearly indicating, in sequence, any role played and actions taken by Northern911 in the treatment and routing of each of the calls.
- Confirm where the third-party call centre routed the call. If the call was routed to a public safety answering point (PSAP), indicate which one, confirm whether and how it was determined that this was the appropriate PSAP to direct the call to, and if it was. If it was not routed to a PSAP, explain why.
- Provide details on any existing provisions in the service agreements with Rogers and Transat regarding the provision of French language or bilingual services by Northern911. Describe how such provisions were complied with or not in the case of the two above-noted incidents.
- If the service agreements with Rogers and/or Transat do not provide for the provision of call processing services in French or in both official languages, please explain why.
- Provide details on whether, how, and when Rogers and/or Transat relayed to Northern911 the official language of communication customers would have indicated to Rogers and Transat upon subscription or at another time, and whether and how Northern911 considers and uses this information when deciding in which language to answer calls.
- Provide details of any communication Northern911 has had with Rogers and/or Transat in relation to these events, including the relevant dates and nature of the exchanges.
- Confirm and describe the means through which callers whose 9-1-1 calls are directed to Northern911 for the purpose of having the location of calls manually determined then routed to the appropriate PSAP can access services in the official language of their choice. Provide the list of means in order of precedence (primary, alternate, tertiary, etc.) as well as an explanation of the circumstances in which one means is leveraged over the other(s).
- With respect to the means described in question 8, in the event that the call taker is unable to communicate in the caller’s preferred official language, explain how Northern911 ensures that the caller understands and can effectively select the means offered.
- Explain, if applicable, why any means described in question 8 were not used during the events in question, resulting in the inability of the callers to communicate with a Northern911 operator in French. If any such means were used, explain why the callers were unable to obtain services in French.
- Explain, if any, what actions or measures Northern911 has taken and/or intends to take to avoid these situations being repeated in the future. For each action or measure, specify the steps and relevant dates and timelines.
- Provide any additional details or information relevant to the Commission having a complete understanding of the situations not already covered by the above questions, including any recordings or transcripts of the 9-1-1 calls in question which Northern911 would have in its possession.
This letter and any subsequent correspondence will be placed on the CRTC’s website. As set out in section 39 of the Telecommunications Act and in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-961, Procedures for filing confidential information and requesting its disclosure in Commission proceedings, Northern911 may designate certain information as confidential though must provide a detailed explanation on why the designated information is confidential and why its disclosure would not be in the public interest, including why the specific direct harm that would be likely to result from the disclosure would outweigh the public interest in disclosure. Furthermore, should Northern911 designate information as confidential, Northern911 must either file an abridged version of the document omitting only the information designated as confidential or provide reasons why an abridged version cannot be filed.
Note that, in accordance with its normal practices, the Commission may disclose or require the disclosure of information designated as confidential if it determines that its disclosure is in the public interest, i.e., where the specific direct harm does not outweigh the public interest in disclosure.
Considering the public interest in understanding what happened in these specific events, Commission staff expects Northern911 to disclose information to the maximum extent possible.
Where a document is to be filed, the document must be received, not merely sent, by that date.
The Commission requires all documents to be submitted electronically by using the secured service “My CRTC Account” Partner Log In or GCKey and filing the “Telecom Cover Page” located on that web page.
Yours sincerely,
Original signed by
Michel Murray
Director, Dispute Resolution & Regulatory Implementation
Telecommunications Sector
c.c.: Étienne Robelin, Manager, Emergency Services, CRTC, Étienne.robelin@crtc.gc.ca
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