Temporary national telecommunications issue affected the path taken by some calls, but police say there was no interruption in service
A telecommunications problem that temporarily changed how some 911 calls reached local emergency centres has been resolved, with police confirming that every call made during the incident was received and handled.
The Régie intermunicipale de police Thérèse-De Blainville, which serves Boisbriand, Lorraine, Rosemère and Sainte-Thérèse, issued an alert after becoming aware of what it described as a Canada-wide telecommunications problem.
According to the police service, the difficulty did not shut down 911. Instead, calls could follow an unusual route before reaching RIPTB dispatchers. In some cases, that additional transfer may have produced a slightly longer delay than usual.
While the problem was underway, the RIPTB asked residents to temporarily call its direct number, 450-435-2421, for faster service. Exceptionally, that instruction also applied to people seeking an urgent police response.
The recommendation was a temporary measure intended to bypass the altered routing process. The police service emphasized throughout the alert that 911 remained operational and that emergency calls were still being answered.
Once normal transmission was restored, the RIPTB withdrew the temporary instruction. Residents should now once again call 911 for an emergency. The number 450-435-2421 has returned to its regular use as the police service’s administrative line for non-urgent requests.
Perhaps the most important part of the police update was its confirmation that no interruption in service occurred. Although the route taken by certain calls may have been different, the RIPTB said all 911 calls were received and processed.
The distinction matters. Reports of a “911 outage” can suggest that callers were unable to reach emergency services at all. Based on the information released by the RIPTB, that was not the situation locally. The problem affected the transmission and routing of calls rather than the ability of the police service to receive and respond to them.
The RIPTB also said it remained fully operational throughout the incident and continued to provide police coverage across its entire territory.
Similar alerts were issued elsewhere in the region, supporting the police service’s description of a problem extending beyond its own communications centre. The City of Saint-Eustache, for example, subsequently announced that its 911 line had returned to normal early on September 17.
The precise technical cause was not detailed in the RIPTB’s public notice. The police service identified it only as a national telecommunications problem and did not name a particular carrier or network operator. There was also no indication in the information released that the incident was connected to local police equipment or operations.
Although the immediate problem had been resolved well before this week’s edition went to press, the episode offers a useful reminder about emergency communications. A 911 service can remain available even when a technical problem changes the path a call must take before reaching a local dispatcher.
It also demonstrates why residents should pay attention to instructions issued by their local police service during a telecommunications disruption. During this incident, the direct police number was temporarily recommended even for urgent situations. That guidance is no longer in effect.
The current instructions are clear: residents of Boisbriand, Lorraine, Rosemère and Sainte-Thérèse should call 911 when immediate emergency assistance is required. For non-urgent police matters, they may contact the RIPTB at 450-435-2421.
The police service thanked residents for their patience and cooperation while the routing problem was being monitored and corrected.
