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Vancouver, B.C. – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) of Canada has named E-Comm training specialist Colin Brittain as the country’s 2019 Trainer of the Year. Brittain was recognized at a special ceremony in Halifax, where emergency communication professionals from across Canada were gathered for the annual APCO professional development conference.

In receiving the award, Brittain was heralded as the perfect embodiment of an individual who has been “vital to the excellence and success of a training program within a Public Safety Communications Agency.”

Since joining E-Comm in 2003, Brittain has worked as a police Call Taker, Dispatcher, Training Specialist, and Supervisor and currently holds the position of Policy, Support and Implementation Manager.

“Our training department is instrumental in the success of 9-1-1 service and our team’s ability to meet the demands of the job to ensure the public receives the help they need and first responders are supported in the critical work they do,” says Oliver Grüter-Andrew, President and CEO of E-Comm. “This award is a well-deserved recognition of Colin’s ongoing commitment to public safety, and a testament to the calibre of all our trainers.”

Brittain was honoured for his leadership in creating the training program for the opening of a new 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre to serve the Greater Victoria area. He was part of the team that determined the required training curriculum for the staff who would be supporting this centre and was instrumental in supporting the training of these 60 staff members over a five-week period.

“When opening a new centre, there is a certain amount of additional pressure that gets put on the training team to make sure staff are appropriately prepared to take those first calls. Colin absolutely rose to this challenge with a positive, calming demeanour that was contagious to all,” adds Grüter-Andrew. “His willingness to assist others and his commitment to supporting E-Comm employees for the betterment of public safety in British Columbia is unequaled.”

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About E-Comm

E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia and provides dispatch services for more than 70 police agencies and fire departments. E‐Comm also owns and operates the largest multi‐jurisdictional, tri‐service wide‐area radio network in the province used by police, fire and ambulance personnel throughout Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley. As of October 31, E-Comm has handled over 1.5 million 9-1-1 calls in B.C. so far in 2019.

Media contact

Kaila Butler
Senior Communications Specialist

Media Resources
Photo of Colin Brittain (centre) accepting the APCO Canada Trainer of the Year award.

Vancouver, B.C.—E-Comm and CUPE Local 873, the Union that represents E-Comm’s 533 Bargaining Unit employees, have mutually agreed to proceed to interest arbitration to settle their Collective Agreement, which expired December 31, 2018.

The parties have been engaged in collective bargaining and mediation at the Labour Relations Board (LRB) since March 2019. Due to the critical nature of the public safety services E-Comm and its employees provide, the LRB has also been involved in negotiating essential services levels to limit any impacts in the event of labour disruption.   Given the process of interest arbitration will result in a binding Collective Agreement, any labour disruption at E-Comm has been avoided and essential services negotiations are concluded.

The parties have agreed on a process to select an arbitrator who will conduct an interest arbitration on an expedited basis.

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About E-Comm
E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia and provides dispatch services for more than 70 police agencies and fire departments. E‐Comm also owns and operates the largest multi‐jurisdictional, tri‐service wide‐area radio network in the province used by police, fire and ambulance personnel throughout Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley. As of October 31, E-Comm has handled over 1.5 million 9-1-1 calls in B.C. so far in 2019.

Media Contacts
Jasmine Bradley
E-Comm Corporate Communications

Matthew J. Bordewick
Chairperson
CUPE Local 873-02
Emergency Dispatchers of BC

Vancouver, B.C.—Today CUPE 873-02 announced that talks between E-Comm and the Union that represents its bargaining unit employees had broken down. However, E-Comm can confirm that Mediator Trevor Sones has not booked out and we are still in mediation at the Labour Relations Board (LRB). Further, E-Comm has expressed a desire to continue bargaining and will certainly make itself available once the Union indicates it is available to come to the table.

E-Comm’s goal is to reach an agreement that is fair and reasonable and hopes that CUPE 873-02 will agree to keep talking with the assistance of the LRB.

Due to the critical nature of the services we provide, E-Comm will be designated an “essential service” employer. As such, and as a precautionary measure, E-Comm will work with the LRB to ensure that essential bargaining unit work continues to be performed to limit any impact on public safety services should CUPE 873-02 choose to take a strike vote and subsequent job action.

“The Union’s statements regarding the employer are meant to pressure us to bargain in public,’” said E-Comm CEO Oliver Grüter-Andrew. “We’d rather talk at the table and work together to address our staffing challenges and the many opportunities to advance public safety collaboratively.”

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NOTE for media: We invite the media to review our contracted 9-1-1 service level results that are posted monthly on www.ecomm911.ca. Information on non-emergency wait times is also available on our website.  

About E-Comm
E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia and provides dispatch services for more than 70 police agencies and fire departments. E‐Comm also owns and operates the largest multi‐jurisdictional, tri‐service wide‐area radio network in the province used by police, fire and ambulance personnel throughout Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley. In 2018, E-Comm handled nearly 1.6 million 9-1-1 calls in B.C.

Media contact:
Jasmine Bradley
E-Comm Media Relations
604-215-5023

Updated January 22, 2020 to reflect up-to-date call statistics.

Police non-emergency lines are an important part of the community and the work of police agencies. As the dispatch partner of more than 30 police departments in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island (Police Dispatch Partners), we know that non-emergency wait times are too long at certain points of the day and we are working diligently to shorten them. We want to thank residents for your patience and to apologize to anyone who has had to wait for an inordinate amount of time to speak with one of our hardworking call takers, who are on duty 24/7.

In 2019, E-Comm answered 73% of the 696,982 non-emergency calls we received in five minutes or less[1]. However, we know there are too many other callers being on hold for significantly longer.

What are the reasons for longer wait times?

We place answering emergency calls as our top priority. As a result, non-emergency callers can experience longer wait times when our cross-trained staff are prioritizing calls in which life/safety is in jeopardy or a crime is in progress.  We continue to answer incoming 9-1-1 calls quickly and efficiently (9-1-1 Call Volumes and Service Levels).

While we can’t promise to eliminate wait times altogether, we can do more to shorten the time it takes to speak with our call takers. And we are.

We’re recruiting more call takers (Join Our Team) to help with call volumes and we’re working on new processes to enhance non-emergency call-answer service.  Our goal is to answer more of the calls we receive faster and to provide the most responsive service we can for our police partners and for you.

The public can help us help through the following tips:

• If you have an emergency in which immediate action is required—life/property is in jeopardy or there is a crime in progress—call 9-1-1.
  
  
• If you are experiencing a lengthy delay on the non-emergency line (Find Your Local Non- Emergency Number), do not call 9-1-1 unless your matter has escalated to a serious situation in which immediate action is required or there is a crime in progress. You can learn more about the difference between emergency and non-emergency calls by visiting nonemergency.ca.

• Non-emergency lines tend to experience the highest call volumes during traditional business hours (e.g. 9am-5pm) and especially during late afternoon rush hour. If possible, report your non-emergency police matter during off-peak hours to limit your wait time (early morning and evening tend to be less busy).

• If you call the non-emergency line and receive a recorded announcement advising all call takers are busy, remaining on the line will ensure your place in the queue is maintained. If you cannot wait and choose to hang up, please do not call back right away. Try calling later during off peak hours.

• Use other sources to find information/resolve issues that are not typical police matters, such as road conditions and closures, power outages, weather and local services.  We receive many calls that are better directed to agencies other than the police and using alternate community services does help keep non-emergency lines free for police matters.
  
• Visit here to learn more: nonemergency.ca

In the meantime, if you would like to speak directly to us about a service concern, we want to hear from you. You can reach out to us through the contact tab on our homepage or by emailing [email protected].

We wish to thank the community, our partners and our staff for their support and patience as we work to shorten non-emergency wait times.

[1] As of December 31, 2019 – Total all E-Comm Police Dispatch Partners

Knowing how to properly call for help in an emergency could be the difference between life and death. That’s why E-Comm is urging parents to take some time during this back-to-school season to teach children about dialing 9-1-1.

To help spread this awareness, we have created a series of videos with our call takers and their children highlighting the top five tips for teaching kids 9-1-1 best practices. These videos will be shared across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram every Tuesday throughout the month of September.

A selection of free education materials can be found on our website that can help make teaching kids about 9-1-1 easier. They are available in nine different languages.

E-Comm has also issued a news release detailing these tips, which you can read here.