iStock respond quickly, efficiently and clearly in French”.
Pressure is mounting 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, effectively and clearly in French.”
Submitted by the Bloc Québécois, it stemmed from recent revelations by Devoir on IP telephony services and 911 calls. A resident of Bas-Saint-Laurent had told Devoir that he had been unable to make people understand in French when calling 911 in March via its 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 Le Devoir on Tuesday. /p>
On the same day, the government made a formal commitment to resolve the problem. “This is unacceptable and we will act to correct the situation,” said the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, the elected members of the National Assembly in Quebec 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 required “that all responders called to handle 911 emergency calls in Quebec be able to respond quickly, effectively and clearly in French. »
Questioned in writing on what had been done since 2013 to resolve the problem, the CRTC had not provided an answer Thursday afternoon.
In an exchange prior to the revelations about the advisory 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, they are invited to inform the Council,” added his spokesperson.
With Boris Proulx
