Concerned that 911 operators are often overwhelmed by calls that aren’t emergencies, a Mississauga MPP has tabled a motion at Queen’s Park to have a new three-digit non-emergency phone number implemented across Ontario.

The Private Member’s Public Business motion was introduced on Tuesday by Mississauga-Erin Mills MPP Sheref Sabawy. Subsequent debate in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is expected to take place in mid-May, the MPP said in a news release.

If the motion passes, the Solicitor General would then explore the feasibility of implementing and standardizing a new number.

“No one should be discouraged from calling 911 for real emergencies. However, in cases of non-emergencies, Ontarians should instead contact their local police department using the non-emergency phone line to keep 911 clear,” said Sabawy. “By adopting a three-digit number, we can make it easier for Ontarians to quickly remember and call the police’s non-emergency phone line.”

The MPP added his proposal recognizes the 911 phone system is “frequently overwhelmed by calls which are not emergencies in nature.”

Mississauga-Erin Mills MPP Sheref Sabawy has introduced a motion calling for a new three-digit non-emergency phone number.

Sabawy noted between 35 and 45 per cent of daily 911 calls in regions such as Peel and Toronto are non-emergencies, which “waste 911 operators’ time and delay real emergencies from getting immediate emergency support.”

The motion on the table proposes the implementation of a three-digit phone number that would redirect non-emergency calls to the local police department’s existing non-emergency phone line, bypassing busy 911 dispatch services.

Additionally, the MPP said, the motion proposes “standardizing the number province-wide so that all municipalities share the same number.”

Sabawy’s efforts received support from Mississauga city council in February, when Mayor Carolyn Parrish said she’d send a letter to the provincial government backing the idea of a new non-emergency number.

Police forces across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond, including Peel Regional Police, have long complained that too many non-emergency calls are being fielded by 911 emergency operators. Such interactions delay emergency call-takers in getting to callers with legitimate crisis situations to report.

Police and municipalities have regularly tried to educate the public on the proper use of the 911 system, defining emergencies and insisting non-emergency calls be made using the more traditional 10-digit local police numbers available in towns and cities across Ontario.

However, the public largely tends to call 911 instead of taking the time to look for the appropriate non-emergency police phone number online or elsewhere.

Last August, Toronto Police launched a new three-digit number for non-emergencies — *TPS, or *877 — in an effort to reduce the number of such calls to 911.

“This feature lets residents quickly reach non-emergency services with an easy-to-remember three-digit number,” Toronto Police said at the time.

The *877 number, however, is available only for wireless devices and not yet accessible from landlines.

Still, Sabawy said in this week’s news release, Toronto Police received more than 11,000 phone calls to the new three-digit number in the first four months since its introduction.

“This success has prompted calls for other municipalities to likewise adopt a three-digit non-emergency number,” the MPP stated in the release.


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