ARCHIVED - Speaking Notes for the Honourable Vic Toews At an Event to Announce Allocation of an initial 10 megahertz (MHz) of the 700 MHz spectrum for public safety use and to promote Emergency Preparedness Week 2012

Vancouver, British Columbia
May 3, 2012

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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Let me extend a very warm welcome to all of you who have joined us today, particularly those of you in the emergency response community.

Our government joins with all Canadians in expressing our appreciation for your dedication, courage and professionalism in carrying out your tremendous, lifesaving work.

And I would like say a special thank-you to Chief Constable Jim Chu and the Vancouver Police Department for hosting us today.

This police station is a fitting location for us to talk about two items that have an impact on both emergency responders, and ultimately, on all Canadians.

First and foremost, we are coming up on the 17th annual Emergency Preparedness Week, which takes place from May 6th to 12th.

This annual week is organized by my department, Public Safety Canada, in collaboration with federal, provincial and territorial partners, as well as emergency response stakeholders and organizations across Canada.

We are asking Canadians to take three simple steps to prepare their families to face natural and man-made disasters:

Know the risks in your region and become familiar with them. Make an emergency plan, which will save time and make real situations less stressful. And get an emergency kit.

The first 72 hours after a disaster are critical for first responders to help those who urgently need it.

Another factor that has a huge impact on the ability of our emergency personnel to respond quickly, is the ability to communicate with each other without restrictions that different technologies and standards can sometimes impose.

That brings me to the main reason we are here today.

Just over a year ago, I was pleased to launch — along with my provincial and territorial counterparts — the Communications Interoperability Strategy and Action Plan for Canada to help us to move forward in making improvements in this area.

An important component of the Strategy focuses on securing dedicated bandwidth for the public safety community in the 700 megahertz spectrum, which is being auctioned off by Industry Canada in the wake of the conversion of broadcast television from analog to digital signals.

Public Safety Canada, along with many emergency response partners and stakeholders, has recommended to Industry Canada that 20 megahertz of this 700 megahertz spectrum be set aside for public safety purposes.

I’m very pleased to tell you today that these efforts are paying off.

In March, Industry Canada announced that it has designated 10 megahertz of spectrum for public safety broadband use.

This is great news for the entire emergency response community across Canada.

This initial allocation offers a unique opportunity to lay the foundation for a national, mobile broadband communications network.

This will allow various public safety agencies to better plan, coordinate, and execute their day-to-day operations and crisis response.

And while this is an excellent step forward, Public Safety Canada remains committed to working with our partners to obtain an additional 10 megahertz.

We believe it is critical that we have a full 20 megahertz set aside for public safety use — one that is governed by public safety stakeholders — to allow for a nationwide network that can fully support wireless broadband communications for our first responders.

Industry Canada will hold an upcoming consultation on additional bandwidth suitable for public safety usage. Based on submissions that will be made, we are hopeful to see a positive announcement in the coming months.

The 700 megahertz spectrum is a very valuable infrastructure because the airwaves can travel long distances rapidly and can penetrate buildings.

It will allow for the development of next generation first responder applications that bring together voice, video and data onto a single platform.

I know this is something that the responder community has been waiting for, and my department will continue to work with provincial, territorial and other emergency response partners to recommend an additional 10 megahertz.

We believe it is essential to ensure effective use of modern communications tools during emergencies.

We will also continue in our leadership role of the inter-departmental Project Management Team for the 700 megahertz spectrum.

This Team is working to develop a governance model and operational standards to ensure effective usage of this valuable spectrum.

Ultimately, we want to make it easier for our emergency responders to work together so that they can protect the safety and security of Canadians.

First responders put their lives on the line on a daily basis to protect our families and our communities from natural and man-made disasters.

The least we can do is to provide them with a reliable, robust, and functional public safety communications system.

Thank you all again for coming, and for the vital role you are playing in helping us advance emergency management across Canada.

Date modified:

2015-11-20