Latest news with #DeanSwitzer
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Minister blasts Telus' ‘lack of information' during 911 outage, calls for CRTC to step in
Manitoba's Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz pictured in his constituency office in Winnipeg on May 16, 2025. (Danton Unger/CTV News Winnipeg) A provincial minister is calling for the CRTC to step in and take action after Telus refused to publicly release critical details surrounding a 911 outage during which a Manitoba man died. On Monday, Manitoba's Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz wrote a letter to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in response to the outage. 'Our government strongly believes that all Manitobans need to be able to access 911 services in their time of need,' Moroz wrote. His letter comes following the death of Dean Switzer, a 55-year-old man who suffered a heart attack at his home just outside Fisher Branch, Man. His family has said Dean's wife and friends made more than 20 desperate calls to 911, but none got through. Read more: Manitoba family unable to contact 911 during deadly heart attack Telus has since confirmed there was an outage lasting 38 hours and 15 minutes from March 22 to 24, which impacted some customers' ability to call 911. Two months later, Telus filed a three-page final report following its investigation into the outage. However, the company redacted critical details such as what caused the outage, how many people were impacted, and what was done to fix the problem. Click here to read more about the report: Telus has filed its final report on a 911 outage, but critical details are redacted Telus cited security concerns of Canada's 911 networks as the reason for the redaction, but Moroz said he's not satisfied. 'The lack of information in the interim report and in communications by Telus with my office does little to reassure Manitobans they can count on these telecommunications companies,' the minister wrote in his letter, noting Telus did not alert the province of the outage at any point. He has called on the CRTC to release the full unredacted report from Telus. He has also asked the federal regulatory body to direct all telecommunications providers in Manitoba to proactively alert the province and his department of any service disruptions or failures of 911 services. 'Matters of 911 service are of the utmost importance, and Manitobans need assurance from the CRTC that these networks will be available when they need them most,' Moroz wrote. CTV News has reached out to the CRTC for comment. Tories call for public inquiry Opposition Leader Obby Khan called for a public inquiry into the outage. 'The family and Manitobans deserve an answer as to why the emergency system wasn't working when they needed it most,' he said during Question Period on Monday. 'Work has to be done to ensure that this doesn't happen in the future.' In response, Deputy Premier Uzoma Asagwara, Manitoba's health minister, called the situation an unacceptable tragedy. 'We're going to work with partners who were involved to deliver the service to make sure that Manitobans don't see that happen again,' they said.
Winnipeg Free Press
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Gaps in 911 service are unacceptable and dangerous
Opinion There was a time when you'd keep a list of separate numbers for the fire department, the police and for calling an ambulance. The advent of 911 services put an end to all that, with essentially one number for all emergencies. But what is your fallback plan if 911 isn't working? Do you even have one? Probably not — and the fact is, you shouldn't need one. By definition, 911 is an essential service and it should work all the time, every time — 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz But recent cases in Manitoba, raised in the legislature by the PC opposition, have found gaps in 911 service, gaps that have to be addressed immediately. On one case in the Fisher Branch area highlighted a critical issue with Telus phone users and 911: 55-year-old Dean Switzer died of a heart attack while family and friends spent 90 minutes performing CPR, unable to get in contact with a 911 operator despite calling the number 22 times. They finally got an ambulance to respond by calling an off-duty RCMP officer on his cellphone — and the RCMP officer contacted ambulance services. The problem? Well, cellphone provider Telus said a technical issue blocked all of its users from being able to reach 911 on Telus phones from 8:15 p.m. on March 22 until 11 a.m. on March 24, 2025. How many Manitobans were affected? Apparently, that's confidential business information. You would think that in a situation as serious as 911 not working, Telus would have gone out of its way to inform customers that the problem had occurred. After all, cellphone providers seem able to reach into their customers' direct messages at will to inform them of the latest corporate offer: a text to inform customers of an issue with 911 service hardly seems like too much to ask. Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz said he had a meeting with officials from Telus and had 'a very long and comprehensive conversation' about the issue. Does that solve the problem and prevent it from happening again? No. The company has submitted a report to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Cold comfort for those trying to get help for Dean Switzer. That's not the only recent issue: in another case, Willy Ginter, who lives on a farm near Zhoda, kept being put on hold while trying to report a wildfire. He phoned the municipality instead, and firefighters were dispatched. In that case, there are questions about whether a 911 service centre was understaffed and unable to take calls. PC MLA Konrad Narth says that when he spoke to eight fire chiefs at a fire evacuation centre in Piney, they said the last 12 months has seen regular issues with callers being unable to reach 911. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. That's simply not good enough. Cellphone providers should have full secondary backup equipment to keep 911 services available at all times, and, if regional 911 centres don't have the staff to answer calls, finding a solution to that issue should be dealt with as its own emergency. Time is critical in an emergency: a fire doubles in size every minute and every minute you spend trying to reach 911 or, worse, trying to find an unanticipated workaround to reach the fire department is time lost. The time implications are worse still for someone who has stopped breathing or whose heart isn't beating due to a medical emergency. Gaps in 911 service are far from an everyday glitch in customer service. Too much is at stake.
CTV News
23-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘We need answers': Telus gives final report into 911 outage but redacts critical information
Ray Switzer holds a picture of his son Dean, who died of a heart attack. Telus had an outage that impacted 911 the night of his heart attack. Uploaded May 16, 2025. (Danton Unger/CTV News Winnipeg)
CBC
15-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Family of man who died from heart attack wants answers after 911 calls didn't get through
Social Sharing Raymond Switzer is left wondering if his son would be alive today if any of the nearly two dozen calls made to 911 the night he died were answered. Dean Switzer, 55, died of a heart attack in his home outside Fisher Branch, a rural community in Manitoba's Interlake, on March 23, his father said. Raymond Switzer said family and friends rushed to Dean's home, performed CPR and repeatedly called 911 in a frantic attempt to get help, but none of the 22 calls went through. Sometimes, the phone rang over and over again. Other times, the caller got a recording telling them to hang up and try again. All of the callers were Telus customers, he added. Emergency services were only notified because a family friend called an RCMP officer, who sent an ambulance to the home, said Switzer. But by then, "it was too late," he said. 'Tragic situation:' minister Dean died two days before his 56th birthday. He had no history of heart problems. The Opposition Progressive Conservatives took up the family's demand for answers during question period at the legislature on Wednesday, where Interlake-Gimli MLA Derek Johnson asked the NDP government why rural calls to 911 aren't getting through. In response, Minister of Innovation and New Technology Mike Moroz offered his condolences to the Switzer family and presented a letter he sent to Telus expressing his concerns about what he referred to as "outages." "This tragic situation has left the family grieving, frustrated and seeking answers," Moroz wrote in his letter to Telus. The minister said he understands Telus is investigating the matter, alongside Bell, the 911 network provider in Manitoba. "My hope is that this investigation can provide some answers and recommendations to ensure this kind of tragedy is prevented in the future," Moroz said. Telus didn't immediately respond to CBC's request for comment. A Bell spokesperson said the 911 service and the 911 dispatch centre in Brandon were fully operational on the day in question, and emergency calls from Bell customers and nine other service providers were processed successfully. "However, we are aware that 911 calls from Telus destined to [the] Brandon 911 agency in Manitoba were not reaching the Bell 911 network on March 23," the email said. Seven weeks later, Raymond Switzer said he's losing hope he'll get any answers about what went wrong. "I said I wanted nothing from [Telus]," he said, breaking down during a phone interview. "The only thing I want to be sure is that this never, never happens again to another family." Raymond remembered his son as someone who enjoyed spending time at the lake and had many good friends. He leaves behind his wife of 30 years. "I could depend on him anytime when I needed something," Raymond said. He also said nobody from the family has received an apology, or even a phone call, from Telus. "They just don't give a damn, as far as I'm concerned." Another failed case The Tories say they're worried the issue hasn't been resolved. According to La Verendrye MLA Konrad Narth, on Tuesday night, a person in the Zhoda area in southeastern Manitoba tried unsuccessfully to contact 911 about a wildfire approaching a neighbour's home. Firefighters only arrived after another person was able to reach 911, Narth told reporters. In both examples, cellphone service in the area wasn't an issue, but a call to 911 was, according to both Narth and Johnson. The MLAs wouldn't name the cellular service provider or providers involved. "It's greatly concerning that people's first thought is to dial 911, and it's a helpless feeling for those not able to access the help," Narth said.
