May 29, 2025
MPP Gélinas: Northern Ontario Deserves 911 Service
QUEEN’S PARK – France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, rose in the legislature this morning to speak out against the lack of 911 services in her riding, which has resulted in countless tragedies.
“Speaker, last Friday there was a deadly accident on Highway 101, near Foleyet, where 2 people were seriously injured. A miner coming off shift, was the first one on the scene. He tried to help the people seriously injured, and he tried to call 911. You know what happens when you dial 911 in my riding, Speaker? You get “this number is not in service”. Then you dial zero, and the person that answers the phone says that you need to dial 911.
This was an emergency, but there is no 911 service in huge parts of Nickel Belt. The police, ambulance, and fire services are available, but you have to memorize 1-800, 1-877, or 1-866 numbers, all of which change dozens of times throughout my riding.
A 71-year-old man from Chapleau died. The other man is in serious condition in the hospital. Their families are wondering: ‘What if Ontario did what every other province has already done and provided 911 everywhere? Would their loved one still be here today?’ I wonder the exact same thing.”
Ontario is the only province in Canada without 911 everywhere. Large portions of Nickel Belt do not have 911 services. This incident, as Gélinas pointed out, could have ended very differently if 911 had been available and paramedics were able to attend the scene sooner. Without change, we will continue to fail people needing emergency services in Northern Ontario.
