In a public notice recently issued, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) set out its approach for the establishment of emergency alert services in Canada (Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2007-20). In a decision also issued recently (Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-13), the Commission allowed public authorities to use 911 databases in order to improve the effectiveness of telephony-based emergency public alerts.
"According to the Broadcasting Act, the Canadian broadcasting system should serve the needs of Canadians," said Michel Arpin, Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, of the CRTC. "It is vitally important that Canadians are informed of catastrophic events that could endanger their lives, such as severe weather disturbances, and using the broadcasting system is the quickest and most effective way of doing so."
The Commission considers that an emergency alert service should:
-be built and operated through the joint efforts of, and recognize the respective roles and concerns of, emergency management officials, broadcasters and broadcasting distribution undertakings;
-be capable of responding to local, regional and national emergencies; deliver alerts to those who watch or listen to Canadian broadcasting services, including those with visual and hearing impairments, wherever they may reside;
-make use of radio and television broadcast facilities as well as cable, satellite, wireline/wireless distribution undertakings effectively and economically;
-have the ability to target alerts to specific geographic areas; and recognize Canadas linguistic duality.
The CRTC proposes to modify its broadcasting regulations to remove regulatory barriers to the timely development and implementation of an emergency alert service by all industry stakeholders. Considering the agreement for the need for a national emergency alert system among stakeholders, the CRTC strongly expects broadcasters and distributors to carry the alert messages voluntarily and will closely monitor the progression of this approach. If it becomes apparent that a voluntary approach is not adequate, the Commission will consider taking additional measures to ensure that Canadians receive timely warnings of imminent perils.
In Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-13, the Commission determined that it is in the public interest to allow public authorities to use the telephone numbers and associated addresses contained in 911 databases, in order to improve the effectiveness of telephony-based emergency public alerting services, also known as community notification services.
The Commission believes that the ability to quickly obtain the most comprehensive and up-to-date information, as found in 911 databases, could make a critical difference in emergency situations. With the appropriate safeguards, the Commission believes that telephony-based emergency public alerting services making use of 911 information could significantly improve public safety.
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