E-Comm welcomes today’s announcement from B.C.’s new Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Garry Begg regarding an independent review.
The work of our call-takers, dispatchers, technical and support staff is vital to public safety. They help people in the most challenging of situations, and support our emergency responders with compassion, professionalism and dedication.
E-Comm has long stated that changes are needed to ensure our governance, operations and financial model are sustainable and efficient. In particular, E-Comm supports the advocacy of the Union of BC Municipalities and our local government and first responder partners, who for several years have called for a greater provincial role in, and funding for, 9-1-1 and related emergency communication services in B.C. Currently B.C. is one of only two provinces in Canada that has no provincial legislation governing 9-1-1 services, and one of only three provinces that doesn’t provide dedicated operational funding for 9-1-1 services.
Recognizing this, E-Comm initiated and actively participated in two prior reviews, one in 2021 focused on service delivery and the second this year regarding governance. The first, conducted by PwC identified key issues like historic underfunding and understaffing of E-Comm that lead to the investment, supported by our Board, driving the current transformation plan.
As a result of this financial investment from our partners, transformation efforts have made a positive impact on our operations. In fact, we have experienced our best operational performance in years across all areas of the business: 9-1-1, police/fire emergency and non-emergency call-taking, and our consistently reliable wireless radio performance.
The second, the Deloitte governance review completed earlier this year, identified some key changes needed to our governance and financial models which we are in the process of implementing in collaboration with our shareholders.
Our mission is to deliver excellence in emergency communications, and any step to strengthen our ability to do so and ensure a sustainable and effective model is welcome. E-Comm looks forward to participating fully in the independent review. E-Comm’s regular operations and the service-improvement projects underway will continue during the review. British Columbians can continue to rely on our services during this period.