MOTION
No. 11
Exploring Options to Centralize the 911 Call Answer/Transfer Service
Honourable Carolyn Bertram gives notice that tomorrow she will move, seconded by Robert
Henderson, the following Motion:
WHEREAS Government is taking steps to explore consolidating the 911 call
answer/transfer service into one Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) answering all 911
calls for Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS);
AND WHEREAS 911 call answer/transfer points are currently located at RCMP main
headquarters in Charlottetown, Charlottetown Police Department and Summerside Police
Services;
AND WHEREAS calls received at these points are assessed then transferred to the
appropriate police, fire or EMS agency for dispatch of emergency responders;
AND WHEREAS a centralized system would divert all 911 calls into one call
answer/transfer location (PSAP) where the call would then be transferred to the appropriate
police, fire or EMS service;
AND WHEREAS First Responder agencies have asked government to explore the
possibilities to improve upon the current 911 call answer/transfer system;
AND WHEREAS First Responder agencies have advised Government that the most
efficient model would have all 911 calls answered and all emergency services dispatched
for a single location;
AND WHEREAS PEI Public Safety officials met with representatives from the Canadian
Union of Public Employees (CUPE) to discuss union concerns that incorporating police, fire
and EMS dispatch into a centralized system would violate the collective agreement which
provides for dispatch services for police and volunteer fire services in the city of
Summerside;
AND WHEREAS 34 of 36 fire departments, two municipal police departments and Island
EMS are dispatched separate from the CUPE sites;
AND WHEREAS provincial jurisdiction applies only to answering and transferring 911 calls
to the appropriate police, fire or EMS agency;
AND WHEREAS in a recent Request for Information, government indicated that
incorporating dispatch services into a centralized cal