S-2.3, r. 2.1 - Regulation respecting standards, specifications and quality criteria applicable to 9-1-1 emergency centres and to certain secondary emergency call centres

Updated to 1 January 2024

This document has official status.

chapter S-2.3, r. 2.1

Regulation respecting standards, specifications and quality criteria applicable to 9-1-1 emergency centres and to certain secondary emergency call centres

Civil Protection Act

(chapter S-2.3, s. 52.4).

DIVISION I APPLICATION

O.C. 1611-2023, Div. I.

1. This Regulation applies to a 9-1-1 emergency centre and to a secondary emergency call centre that is a dispatch centre for a fire safety service or a police force.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 1.

DIVISION II BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT

O.C. 1611-2023, Div. II.

2. A centre must not be established in an industrial zone or in another location with a known disaster risk.

Where a centre, as a result of an amendment to a zoning by-law or the identification of a new risk, is located in a place referred to in the first paragraph, a risk assessment must be carried out and, where applicable, measures must be taken to mitigate the impact that a disaster could cause.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 2.

3. A centre must not be identified inside or outside the building in which it is established. The geographical address of a centre is confidential and the operator of the centre must take reasonable steps to ensure it remains confidential.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 3.

4. The operator of a centre must, at the moment it establishes itself in a building or where the building undergoes alterations or an expansion for which a permit is required, ensure that the building complies with the standards applicable to that type of building, including those relating to fire safety.

The building must also be equipped with

(1)  a fire detection and alarm system;

(2)  a heat detector or a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector; and

(3)  fire extinguishing equipment.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 4.

5. The locations used for processing emergency communications and keeping the equipment necessary for the operations of a centre must be accessible at all times and must not be situated in the basement of a building.

In addition, the locations must have

(1)  fire extinguishing equipment; and

(2)  a system capable of supplying uninterrupted electrical power including in particular dedicated electrical circuits for the centre, an uninterruptible power supply, a generator that is functional at all times and another device that allows for the connection of a generator or, failing that, a second generator.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 5.

6. The locations used for processing emergency communications or for the storage of servers must be equipped with heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

The locations must allow for access to the controls of those systems. In addition, the locations used for processing emergency communications must be equipped with a system that allows air intakes to be shut off.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 6.

7. The electrical power system of a centre must be tested every 3 months, with the electrical load of equipment necessary for its operations, to ensure that operations may in no case be interrupted.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 7.

8. The security of the operations of a centre must be governed by a policy that contains, at minimum,

(1)  operational security measures for the access of employees, visitors and suppliers to the locations used for processing emergency communications and storing the equipment necessary for operations, and for the identification and registration of visitors and suppliers;

(2)  physical security measures to ensure the protection of persons, the premises and the equipment necessary for operations;

(3)  logical security measures to ensure in particular the integrity and availability of the stored information and, where applicable, the confidentiality of the gathered information.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 8.

9. A centre must be equipped with the necessary equipment that allows it to receive and process all the emergency communications it receives.

The equipment must make it possible to forward an emergency communication transiting through the 9-1-1 network by using that network. In other cases, the available technological means allowing for communications to be processed in the most efficient way possible must be used.

The equipment must include a sufficient number of geomatics tools that are functional and accessible at all times allowing in particular for the search of addresses and locations, searches by spatial coordinates, spatial and cartographic analyses and the processing and transmission of geographic information related to an event.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 9.

10. The telecommunication and computer systems of a centre must be synchronized at all times with the secure network time protocol used by the 9-1-1 network.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 10.

11. A preventive maintenance program with periodic inspections must be put in place to ensure the functioning of the equipment necessary for the operations of a centre, its systems, and those of its backup centre identified in the backup plan in accordance with subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph of section 23.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 11.

DIVISION III PROCESSING OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

O.C. 1611-2023, Div. III.

12. The emergency communication service must be offered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A sufficient number of emergency communications operators must be present at all times to answer all emergency communications. The number of operators may not be less than 2.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 12.

13. All emergency communications must be answered in French or English, as the case may be. Emergency communications in another language must be processed using a multilingual service, a built-in translator or any other means allowing for the communications to be processed.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 13.

14. The average processing time to forward an emergency call transiting through the 9-1-1 network from a 9-1-1 emergency centre to a secondary emergency call centre must be no more than 60 seconds.

Other forms of emergency communication must be forwarded to the secondary emergency call centre as soon as possible.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 14.

15. On a monthly basis, emergency communications must be answered in less than 10 seconds in at least 90% of cases, unless special circumstances justify a longer delay.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 15.

16. An event card must be completed for each emergency communication received at a 9-1-1 emergency centre, according to the directives of that centre, and indicate in particular the following information, if available:

(1)  the name and telephone number of the person who originated the communication;

(2)  the date and time at which the communication was received at the centre;

(3)  the type of event;

(4)  the descriptive and geographic information used to locate the event and, where relevant, the person who originated the communication;

(5)  the secondary emergency call centre or the other 9-1-1 emergency centre to which the communication was forwarded.

Where a number of emergency communications are received for the same event, a single card may be completed.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 16.

17. An event card must also be completed for each emergency communication received by a secondary emergency call centre that is a dispatch centre for a fire safety service or a police force. Each card must indicate the date and time at which the communication was received and all other available information relating to the processing of the communication.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 17.

18. A recording of each emergency communication and each completed event card must be kept for a period of at least 38 months following the date on which the communication was received.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 18.

19. The operator of a 9-1-1 emergency centre must enter into an operational protocol with the operators of the secondary emergency call centres to which emergency communications are usually forwarded to determine, for each type of event, the emergency services required on a priority basis and the related procedures.

Cooperation protocols must be entered into where 9-1-1 emergency centres provide services on contiguous territories.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 19.

20. The quality of the services rendered by a centre to the population, to other centres and to the responders with whom the centre communicated must be the subject of an internal verification process in order to assess the emergency communications that were processed by the centre and the event cards. The process must clearly indicate the evaluation criteria that will be considered and must provide that all information relating to the verifications made be recorded in writing.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 20.

21. The processing of complaints against a centre must be outlined by a procedure that provides in particular that all complaints must be answered no later than 20 working days following the receipt of the complaint.

If there is a serious reason that makes it impossible to respond to a complaint within that time limit, the period may be extended by up to 10 working days. In such cases, a notice must be provided to the complainant within the period provided for in the first paragraph.

All complaints must be entered in a register that must indicate in particular the underlying reasons for the complaint and the follow-ups that were made.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 21.

22. The operator of a centre must ensure that the confidentiality of the gathered information is respected and require a written undertaking to that effect from all persons who have access to the information, including staff members of the centre.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 22.

DIVISION IV CONTINUITY OF THE OPERATIONS OF A CENTRE

O.C. 1611-2023, Div. IV.

23. The continuity of the operations of a centre must be ensured by means of a backup plan in the event that it is no longer able to operate effectively, in particular because the number of emergency communications it receives surpasses its capacity or for any other reason affecting its operation. The plan must provide at least for procedures and measures relating to

(1)  the identification of at least 1 backup centre situated more than 1 km from the centre that is able to comply with this Regulation when substituting for the centre;

(2)  the transfer of a portion or all of the processing of the centre’s emergency communications to its backup centre and the return of the processing of communications to the centre;

(3)  the continuity of operations to process emergency communications in the short, medium and long term;

(4)  the transmission of notices to the persons and bodies whose activities may be concerned by the transfer of a portion or all of the processing of communications to a backup centre;

(5)  the processing of emergency communications in the event of the incapacity of the backup centre;

(6)  the implementation of the plan and its execution, for the intention of the staff members of the centres concerned.

The backup plan must also contain the contact information of the other centres and of responders with whom the centre usually communicates or with whom protocols have been entered into under section 19.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 23.

24. The procedures and measures provided for in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the first paragraph of section 23 must outline

(1)  the transfer of the 9-1-1 network lines, administrative emergency lines and radio lines between the centre and the backup centre;

(2)  the takeover, by the backup centre, of emergency communications and its capacity to dispatch communications;

(3)  the redundancy of recording systems for emergency communications and event cards.

The above procedures and measures must be the subject of an exercise every 3 months showing that they are functional and effective for at least 1 hour and during which at least 2 emergency communications operators are present at the backup centre.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 24.

25. A centre must have an emergency plan that provides

(1)  the detailed procedures to be followed according to the emergency situation, in particular in the event of an evacuation or confinement, and an annual exercise to activate them;

(2)  the location of portable fire extinguishers and other fire protection or rescue equipment;

(3)  the instructions relating to the activation and execution of the plan, for the intention of department managers and other staff members;

(4)  the contact information of the other emergency responders of the municipality in which the centre is established.

For the purposes of this section, an emergency plan made pursuant to another Act stands in lieu of the emergency plan provided for by this Regulation, provided that it contains the elements set out in the first paragraph.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 25.

26. The backup plan and the emergency plan must be made known to the centre’s staff members.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 26.

27. The operator of a centre or the person in charge at the time must, as soon as possible, notify the Minister of any situation that jeopardizes the operations of the centre, in particular where the emergency communications received at the centre cannot all be processed.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 27.

DIVISION V HIRING AND TRAINING

O.C. 1611-2023, Div. V.

28. Emergency communications operators, when hired and while employed, must have the necessary skills and qualities to hold such a position.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 28.

29. Emergency communications operators must undergo initial training in accordance with the training plan of the centre.

The plan must provide for training on the following subjects:

(1)  the roles and responsibilities of emergency communications operators;

(2)  customer service, including the language to be used;

(3)  telephones, radios and computers;

(4)  the processing of geographic information and basic concepts in geomatics;

(5)  the drafting of an event card;

(6)  the confidentiality of information;

(7)  information security;

(8)  the notion of an emergency;

(9)  the general operation of the 9-1-1 network, including the transfer of emergency communications outside the province;

(10)  the management of difficult situations and stress;

(11)  the resources available to employees;

(12)  operational procedures;

(13)  legal standards, directives, guides and memoranda of understanding that govern the duties of emergency communications operators; and

(14)  any other subject in connection with the duties related to the processing of emergency communications.

Staff members assigned to the processing of emergency communications must undergo at least 14 hours of continuing training per year in relation to their duties.

Any failure observed pursuant to sections 20, 21 and 22 must be the subject of continuing training by the concerned staff members.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 29.

DIVISION VI TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL

O.C. 1611-2023, Div. VI.

30. Subject to sections 31 and 32, a secondary emergency call centre that is a dispatch centre for a fire safety service or a police force has until 1 January 2026 to comply with this Regulation.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 30.

31. The first paragraph of section 2 does not apply to a certified 9-1-1 emergency centre established before 30 December 2010 in a place referred to in that paragraph or to a secondary emergency call centre that is a dispatch centre for a fire safety service or a police force established in such a place before 1 January 2024.

However, a risk assessment must be carried out and measures must be taken to mitigate the impact that a disaster could cause.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 31.

32. The first paragraph of section 5 does not apply to a centre that keeps the equipment necessary for its operations in the basement of a building on 1 January 2024, provided that measures allow for the continuity of the operations of the centre in the event of damage to the equipment.

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 32.

33. This Regulation replaces the Regulation respecting standards, specifications and quality criteria applicable to 9-1-1 emergency centres and to certain secondary emergency call centres (chapter S-2.3, r. 2).

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 33.

34. (Omitted).

O.C. 1611-2023, s. 34.

REFERENCES

O.C. 1611-2023, 2023 G.O. 2, 2865