View From the Legislature

Local residents of southeast Manitoba will remember well the forest fires that devastated the corner of our province in 2012. Those fires destroyed homes, property and forest in one of the most significant emergencies to grip this part of Manitoba in years.

But, like the flood of 1997 or other similar emergencies, the 2012 fires also showed how residents can come together in times of need to support one another. It also reinforced the bravery of the many emergency personnel who were on duty for many days responding to the dangerous fire.

What wasn’t at known at the time was that the danger to both residents and to emergency personnel was made worse by the fact that the provincial emergency communications system, known as FleetNet, wasn’t reliable. The FleetNet system is a mobile radio system that allows emergency personnel in the field to communicate with each other. During the 2012 fire, the system showed how unreliable it was, forcing local firefighters to rely on texting and social media. Those are hardly the best ways to communicate in an emergency and particularly concerning in areas or in circumstances where cellular service may not be available.

So out of date was the FleetNet system that parts were having to be found on EBay in an attempt to keep the system running.

These deficiencies were known but were never addressed by the previous provincial government. This not only put people at risk, it is a significant liability to taxpayers as well as the communications system costs hundreds of millions of dollars. Failure to put in place a plan years ago to replace the aging FleetNet system was both dangerous to public safety and also irresponsible financially.

These concerns are now being addressed however. Last week our government announced that, following a public tender, it has awarded a $380 million contract to Bell Mobility to replace the old FleetNet system. The new system will be digital with a better and clearer system. It will allow communication between firefighters, paramedics, police, conservation and forest firefighting crews. The new system will also include a global positioning system (GPS) and compatibility with systems outside of Manitoba to ensure better co-ordination during emergencies.

Manitoba has known its fair share of emergencies, from floods to fires to snowstorms to tornados. The common factors in these emergencies is that people rally to support each other and that emergency personnel are there to put their lives at risk to help save others. We need to ensure that the equipment is there and available to serve those who need the help when they need it. The new emergency communications system will do just that.