Summary
The purpose of this study was to determine the current and future state of emergency communications interoperability in Canada relative to the Canadian Communications Interoperability Continuum. Key findings include: Familiarity with the Communication Interoperability Continuum is quite high overall (75%); it should be noted that these results may have been driven higher by the recruitment of CITIG members and event participants. While familiarity with the Continuum is high, familiarity with the Canadian Interoperability Strategy is comparatively low. Almost half of all respondents asked were not familiar with the Communication Interoperability Strategy for Canada. First Responders believe that the current level of communication interoperability needs to be improved, particularly to respond to complex and disaster / large scale emergencies. Overall, respondents assessed their current level of interoperability as moderate. Moreover, First Responders strongly believe that improvements to emergency communication capabilities would both reduce risk to communities and agencies, and improve public opinions regarding safety. Significant gaps exist between current and ideal levels of interoperable Governance, SOPs, Technology, Training and Usage. The largest improvements are in the area of Technology (data and voice) and SOPs. Counter to the individual stream gap analysis, respondents universally pointed to Governance as the area that should be focused on.