9-1-1 System Test

July 14, 1999

On Tuesday, June 29, 1999, the Toronto Police Service and Bell Canada, in co-operation with Stentor Resource Centre and the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service conducted day long testing of the Ontario 9-1-1 Public Emergency Response System (PERS) using a variety of strategic dates, including the December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000 date roll over.

During the test, Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Communications Operators dialed 9-1-1 on a "closed" network in Ottawa. The calls were answered by Toronto Police communications operators, and then routed to simulated answering points in Toronto and Ottawa such as ambulance and fire services.

In each of the tests, the date roll over was successful and the 9-1-1 test network operated flawlessly.

This has been the only test conducted within Ontario which involved an end-to-end simulation of the 9-1-1 system. Observers from emergency services and government agencies province-wide left the test with a greater assurance of the continued functionality of the 9-1-1 system beyond the year 2000.

"Providing public access to emergency services through the 9-1-1 system is our core business," said Judy Broomfield, 9-1-1 Co-ordinator for the Toronto Police Service, and Chair of the Regional 9-1-1 Committee. "Planning, testing and evaluation are an on-going experience for us. The Y2K date just gave us a specific date to work toward."

"An essential part of Bell Canada's Year 2000 Readiness Plan is the ongoing testing of our network," said Michael Feldstein, Vice President, Year 2000, Bell Canada. "Bell is pleased to support the Toronto Police Service in their successful test of the 9-1-1 system for Year 2000 readiness. The test results support our belief that the 9-1-1 system will not be affected by the Year 2000 rollover."

"Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police were delighted to be a member of this testing team," said Acting Inspector Tyrus Cameron, Communications Unit Commander of the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service. "This exercise displays the broad scope of the 9-1-1 system and helps everyone across Ontario. The citizens of Ottawa-Carleton can be confident that access to emergency services won't be hindered by the Y2K bug."

Toronto Police Service
Corporate Communications