OTTAWA – The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, François Champagne and Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu sent a letter to the CRTC in January asking the Regulator if the telecom industry could come up with a three-digit phone number Canadians could dial for suicide crisis support, similar to how you can dial 911 for emergencies or 411 for information.
The FCC in the United States last year approved 988 as the number for those experiencing a suicide crisis to call. It will begin in 2022.
In a March 9 return letter to the ministers, CRTC chair Ian Scott said the Commission has included “consideration of a three-digit number for suicide crisis support as part of its departmental plan, and continues to monitor this issue closely.”
Scott reminded the ministers that should it consider moving ahead with such a number, it would follow its normal processes and launch a public proceeding. “Issues that we expect to explore as part of any proceeding include the ability to use 988 or another three-digit number throughout Canada, the technical functionality required to appropriately meet the needs of suicide prevention services, and how to connect callers to these services. For example, there are currently areas in Canada that do not have 10-digit local dialing, where technical limitations would prevent a number such as 988 from functioning as a three-digit dialing code.
“As your letter acknowledges, the jurisdiction of the CRTC in this matter is limited to requiring that telecommunications service providers implement a three-digit numbering resource across Canada. With the introduction of an easily recognized and remembered three-digit number, one of the expected outcomes would be an increase in call volume to crisis centres,” Scott’s letter continues.
“The successful implementation of this initiative would require leadership by, and collaboration amongst, various organisations, including your Departments, provincial and territorial governments, public health organizations and the existing networks that currently provide and support mental health crisis and suicide prevention services.”
