A spate of 911 outages across the country early Thursday has been confirmed to be due to a technical issue with Bell.
The telecommunications provider confirmed that “an issue with the next-generation 9-1-1 network” was detected at 3:13 a.m ET.
An email statement says the provider used backup systems to route calls to emergency services and has confirmed that 911 services have been fully restored.
“We are investigating the root cause of the issue and will have further details once available,” the statement reads.
Police officers in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia reported the outages early Thursday and advised residents to contact them through non-emergency numbers or Wi-Fi calling.
Ontario
Officers in Toronto said the 911 emergency line was unable to receive calls at one point, but posted on social media at 6:20 a.m. local time that service was being restored.
The Ontario Provincial Police similarly warned of “intermittent 911 outages” in parts of the province, as did municipal forces in areas including Durham Region and Kingston.
By about 6 a.m., most police services confirmed that their lines are back up and running, including Peel, York and Durham.
For other regions where service has not yet been restored, residents are urged to contact non-emergency lines to access emergency services.
Quebec
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and some local forces in the province issued similar warnings early Thursday.
Montreal police (SPVM) confirmed that it was also affected by the outage, but noted its service was operational as of 4:45 a.m. local time.
Other municipal forces like the Quebec City police and the Thérèse-De Blainville police confirmed the same.
Provincial police attributed the outage to a “technical issue” affecting the transfer of certain calls, according to a statement on social media.
Although calls were still being received, it’s possible that they were being routed to police forces elsewhere in the country, a provincial police spokesperson told The Canadian Press.
On social media, police forces urged the public to call non-emergency phone lines to report an emergency.
Quebec Domestic Security Minister Ian Lafrenière stated on social media that the issue was being investigated.
“Overnight, we experienced a 911 service disruption that lasted over an hour,” he wrote. “Although extremely rare, the police have contingency measures in place, including increased visibility, public announcements via social media and alternative telephone numbers.”
He added that the Government Operations Centre (COG) was also activated.
“We are still investigating and verifying what appears to be a technical fault with call routing,” Lafrenière said. “The extent of the fault is believed to extend beyond Quebec. Service is reported to have largely been restored.”
Nova Scotia
Residents of Nova Scotia woke up to an advisory of “intermittent 9-1-1 service outages across Canada,” and were told to try a landline or Wi-Fi calling in the event of an emergency.
“For emergencies, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel or the nearest police, fire, or medical facility if 9-1-1 is unavailable,” the advisory added.
Truro Police said people can contact their 24-hour dispatch centre directly at 902-895-5351.
Police in Saint John, N.B., also said some cellphone users may be unable to connect to 911.
CTV News and CP24 are divisions of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc.
