The Regional District of East Kootenay received $45,000 from the provincial government to help with local preparedness prior to the implementation of the Next Generation 911.
“We are grateful to the Ministry of Citizen’s Services for these funds and look forward to working with our 911 delivery partners at E-Comm and Kelowna Fire Dispatch to determine how to best prioritize its use,” explains RDEK Board Chair, Rob Gay.
Money can be used for stuff like public education, mapping and staff training.
“At this time, we are awaiting more details on what the new system will look like, how it will operate, and what the expectations will be for local governments around its implementation. Once we have those details, we will best be able to determine how we will utilize this funding for maximum impact,” adds Gay.
“At this point, it’s too early to determine what the impacts of the new system will be on local governments, and we are looking forward to receiving more detailed information from the Province.”
Next Generation 911 is supposed to modernize the emergency system such as being able to text and send video and pictures in real-time.
The new 911 system is expected to be rolled out across Canada by March 2025.
The RDEK has until 2026 to spend the money.
