After asking for a public inquiry a few months ago on failed 911 calls that may have contributed to the death of an RM of Fisher resident, Interlake-Gimli MLA Derek Johnson is pressing the government to take action.
Johnson introduced a resolution in the legislature on May 22, calling on the government to investigate 911 network failures and to strengthen the EMS system after RM of Fisher resident Dean Switzer died as his family and friends made over 20 calls to 911 but failed to connect.
Johnson said the tragic case of the Switzer family is one of multiple reports of failed 911 calls from neighbouring municipalities.
According to Telus and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which regulates and oversees communication systems, there had been 177 unsuccessful 911 calls from 59 Manitobans during a 40-hour outage that affected Telus cellphone users. That outage occurred between March 22 and March 24, the Winnipeg Free Press reported late last month.
“Frankly, it’s astonishing and unacceptable,” said Johnson last week. “Every dropped, blocked or misdirected 911 call could mean the difference between life and death. One-hundred-and-seventy-seven failures is a crisis, not a glitch.”
He has no information on how many of those 177 calls were specifically from municipalities in his riding, he said, and that lack of detailed information may hinder attempts to resolve possible future 911 failures.
“I have not been provided with a breakdown of the dropped or blocked calls by region,” said Johnson. “That lack of transparency is part of the problem; we need to know who specifically is being affected and a public inquiry would shed light on these questions.”
Telus uses Bell MTS’ infrastructure to provide cellphone service, and Telus blamed Bell for the 911 outage that occurred during the Switzer tragedy, according to the Canadian Press. However, Telus disciplined an employee for not “escalating” a response to the outage when alerted a few minutes after it went down.
The Manitoba government has “not shown any willingness” to move forward with an independent inquiry, said Johnson, and that’s disappointing for Manitobans, who want answers and accountability, not more deflection.
“We are already seeing Telus and Bell/MTS start the liability blame game, which could take years to resolve through the CRTC and potentially the courts,” said Johnson. “The government has the opportunity right now to get answers for Manitobans independently of that process. They need to call an inquiry into this matter and it needs to happen now. Manitobans deserve answers.”
Johnson said that during question period he questioned innovation and technology minister Mike Moroz about 911 failures, but the minister didn’t provide answers for Manitobans.
Johnson continues to hear from his riding constituents and mayors/reeves on 911 service and the ongoing hospital ER closures and paramedic shortages.
The Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority posts online two-week schedules showing hospital ER status. Arborg hospital’s ER has been closed for over a year or more. Teulon hospital’s ER has been closed for several years. Selkirk hospital’s ER is the only facility in the Interlake region with 24-7 service.
According to the July ER schedules, Eriksdale hospital’s ER is available only a few days a month. Ashern’s ER closes to provide physician service to Eriksdale. Gimli and Stonewall hospitals’ respective ERs can experience partial closures (i.e. half-day closures). Stonewall’s ER is unavailable on certain days.
The ongoing cycle of partial closures comes down to not having enough physicians and/or other health-care professionals to keep an ER functioning safely.
That has rural residents unnerved about health-care reliability.
“I hear a deep sense of worry and frustration from people across the riding. They’re scared that when they call 911, help might not come, or that their local ER will be closed when they need it most. Mayors and reeves have been outstanding advocates for their communities, but they’re not getting the support or clear answers they deserve,” said Johnson. “At the heart of this crisis is a staffing shortage. We simply don’t have enough paramedics, doctors, nurses or allied health professionals to keep services running. I understand the desire to invest in infrastructure, but the truth is, it’s not about buildings – it’s about people. Without skilled professionals in place, no amount of renovation will fix the problem.”
With the summer tourism season ramping up in the Interlake, Johnson said he’s worried that residents and visitors’ lives could be put at risk without robust 911 services and local health-care services.
“Summer brings thousands more people into the region, which increases demand on an already stretched emergency system,” he said. “My concern is that without urgent action to fix 911 and restore local health services, we’re risking lives of residents and visitors alike.”
The Express reached out to the province for comment on a 911 public inquiry.
“Our number one priority is the safety of all Manitobans and we will continue to work with the CRTC and the federal government to ensure that rural Manitobans have access to 911 services when they need it most,” he said.
Interlakers and visitors to the region are advised to check the IERHA’s online ER schedules or call toll free 1-866-267-5818 to listen to an audio recording of emergency department status.
