Pressure mounts on the Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) over French-language 911 services, as House of Commons elected officials unanimously passed a motion on Thursday urging it to act ” immediately “.
The motion “demands that the CRTC take immediate action to ensure that all responders called to handle 911 emergency calls are able to respond quickly, efficiently and clearly in French”.
Tabled by the Bloc Québécois, it stemmed from recent revelations by the Duty on IP telephony services and 911 calls. A resident of Bas-Saint-Laurent had notably said that he was unable to make himself understood in French during a call to 911 in March with his Internet telephony service.
The Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has been aware for at least ten years of the problems of access to emergency services in French to which Internet telephony users are exposed, revealed The duty Tuesday.
On the same day, the government had formally committed to resolving the problem. “This is unacceptable and we will take action to correct the situation,” said the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne.
Also in Quebec
Meanwhile, in Quebec, the elected members of the National Assembly have formally challenged the CRTC, demanding, in a motion, “the prohibition” of any transfer of 911 calls “to call centers located outside Quebec”.
Adopted unanimously, the motion tabled by the Parti Québécois requires “that all responders called upon to handle 911 emergency calls in Quebec be able to answer quickly, efficiently and clearly in French. »
Asked in writing about what had been done since 2013 to solve the problem, the CRTC had not provided an answer Thursday afternoon.
In an exchange prior to the revelations about the notice made in 2013, he replied that he was committed “to ensuring that all Canadians have access to telecommunications services in the official language of their choice, including 911”. “If anyone encounters obstacles in this regard, he is invited to inform the Council”, added his spokesperson.
With Boris Proulx