Telecoms support for 3-digit crisis line and transition to ten-digit dialling

Canada’s big telecommunications companies are in favour of making access to mental services more convenient for Canadians, by implementing 988 as the national three-digit dialing code. Three numbers is easier to remember than a 10-digit number and therefore, can save lives, the companies argue in interventions to a CRTC consultation on the matter. “In a time of crisis, it is too cumbersome for a person to seek out a number and then try to connect. Canada needs something easier, something that everyone knows, a 3-digit crisis number,” the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention wrote in its own consultation document. According to the association, Canada’s Suicide Prevention Hotline saw a 200 per cent call increase during the COVID-19 pandemic and since Conservative MP Todd Doherty passed the motion to establish the three-digit national number, in December 2020, an estimated 1,600 Canadians have died by suicide and another 40,425 attempts were made. In June the CRTC opened consultations on the establishment of a national three-digit number for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services to quicken access to support, with a Sept. 1 deadline to reply. The commission is looking to use 988 as the new national number because it already exists in the United States, having been adopted by the FCC in July 2020 and expected to be fully phased-in by July 2022. “As such, using the same three-digit code in Canada would be beneficial from a public awareness perspective,” Telus Corp. wrote in its submission. The company added that 988 is removed from the North American Numbering Plan and no longer available for use in Canada, therefore, from a technical standpoint it will also be efficient to implement and would not reduce the quantity of telephone numbers available in Canada. Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc., TekSavvy Solutions Inc., Bragg Communications Inc.'s Eastlink, and Telus told the CRTC that they support the move to national ten-digit, over seven-digit local dialing in all areas, which is required to support the implementation of any three digit number that does not end in 11 (N11 numbers). The best deployment approach would be to adopt the policies for existing N11 services, namely routing calls to a unique and national toll-free number -- a single toll-free telephone number, they said. “It is an efficient solution that bypasses several technical hurdles. It would also speed up the deployment and makes helpful features from the toll-free service available to the Services’ operations. The use of a toll-free number in this manner addresses the question of callers’ long-distance charges and offers helpful call centre operational features such as time of day routing and traffic balancing between call centres,” Rogers wrote. Telus added that if the three-digit code was assigned to a service, rather than a specific organization, like existing N11 services, it would allow for more “flexibility in operations” and can continue to be available across Canada on a constant basis. “However, should the Commission mandate that the service be routed to regional centres, each regional service provider would have to be evaluated to ensure this same level of availability,” Telus wrote. Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. told the CRTC that as a regional ILEC providing service only within Saskatchewan -- where ten- digit local dialling is already established -- SaskTel and TSPs “already operating within Saskatchewan would incur minimal additional effort or cost with respect to the establishment of ten-digit local dialling to support the provision of a three-digit code.” The CRTC also asked stakeholders if the new three-digit number should be implemented at once or in a phased approach. “A Canada-wide deployment strategy will minimize potential confusion for help seekers that could result from having 9-8-8 access available in some, but not all, areas. This could lead to help seekers not being able to reach the assistance they need, which could have adverse consequences including serious injury or even death,” Bell wrote in its consultation. Michael Dawthornee, director of Programs and Services Operations with the Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) also filed an intervention, noting how important text services were to Canadians with accessibility needs. “CHS would assert that is an absolutely critical requirement, particularly for the Deaf community. Without text capabilities, the Deaf community would have to rely on video relay interpreting services to access the number, making it no easier or more direct than any other existing crisis line,” he wrote to the commission, adding that the text-911 feature was well received by the community when it was first introduced. Several organizations including the Council of Yukon First Nations, Y4Y Québec -- a nonprofit that supports English-speaking youth aged 16 to 30 -- and Alberta Health’s Addiction and Mental Health Branch also noted to the CRTC that text services were essential because it is “an integral part of communication” for the youth demographic or individuals who may need additional privacy while communicating with a crisis hotline. In its consultation, Alberta Health, highlighted some issues with the scope of the number. “There needs to be clarity around what calls are appropriate for this service, as individuals may have different perceptions of what constitutes a mental health crisis. Should calls be limited to suicidal ideation or to mental health crises more broadly? This will determine what agencies the calls are routed to at the back end; a broader definition of mental health crisis would require routing to a larger number of local agencies,” wrote policy advisor Marie Sedivy in the submission. Sedivy also wrote that there needs to be consideration for the existing 211, 811 and 911 numbers which all respond to mental health or suicide-related calls, and asked if there is a risk of creating more confusion with the additional number. -- Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca.

Telecoms support for 3-digit crisis line and transition to ten-digit dialling

News | September 2, 2021

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Telecoms support for 3-digit crisis line and transition to ten-digit dialling

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