Consultation about a 3-digit phone number for suicide prevention

Current status: Closed

The consultation was open from June 3, 2021 to September 1, 2021, and from November 30, 2021 to January 31, 2022.

See the “What we heard” section to find the comments that were submitted.

The CRTC held a public consultation in which individual Canadians, Indigenous organizations, organizations providing mental health crisis and suicide prevention services, organizations representing consumer interests and Deaf, Deaf Blind, or Hard of Hearing Canadians, telecommunications service providers, and various levels of government provided their views on the need for a three-digit number for mental health emergencies.

As a result of this consultation, we decided to adopt a new three-digit number, 9-8-8, to connect Canadians in need with mental health crisis and suicide prevention services. Telecommunications service providers must make changes to their networks to enable callers to dial or text 9-8-8. As a result, this number will be launched, free of charge, through calls and text messages on November 30th, 2023.

Read the policy on the launch of the new 9-8-8 number.

Get help

While 9-8-8 is not yet available in Canada, help is still available.

Anywhere in Canada:

Quebec residents can also:

The CRTC has directed Canadian wireless service providers to inform their clients calling or texting 9-8-8 that it is not yet implemented in Canada and provide the above information about suicide prevention services. We have also encouraged all companies providing voice services to inform their clients. In addition, these companies have been directed to provide this information on their websites.

Key topics for discussion

The CRTC considered the advantages and challenges associated with the deployment of this type of number. Among other things, we sought input on the following questions:

See the Notice of Consultation for more details.

What we heard

Related information

Contact us

Mail

Secretary General
CRTC
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2

Fax

819-994-0218

Telephone

819-997-0313
Toll-free 1-877-249-CRTC (2782)
TTY 819-994-0423

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