Listen Live

Feds demand Canada’s telecom giants formalize deal to work together during outages

The national outage of Rogers services is unacceptable. That’s according to Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne. 

Friday’s outage left millions of people without internet, cell, and landline services and disrupted the ability to call 9-1-1.  The Interac system was crippled throughout the country, causing businesses only to take cash or credit. 

In 60 days, Champagne wants to see a formal agreement between Canada’s big three telecom companies.  That will include a plan to improve the time it takes to recover from an outage of that magnitude.

“The first thing that I want the formal agreement to cover is mutual assistance during outages, the second thing is emergency roaming, particularly during the time of emergencies like we have seen, and [third is] communications protocol to better inform the public and authorities during these times of crisis,” Champagne said.

He says the outage, caused by a systems failure after a maintenance upgrade, will be investigated by the CRTC. 

Meanwhile, a class-action lawsuit has been filed by a Quebec Rogers customer seeking 400-dollars-worth of compensation for each customer affected by Friday’s outage. 

A judge has yet to sign off on the suit.

***With files from Wendy Gray and Mo Fahim

- Advertisement -

Related Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest News

Cold Lake council offering 1,000 free kids tickets for RCMP Musical Ride

The RCMP Musical Ride is coming to Cold Lake on July 24 and the city is making it easier for families to attend by giving up to 1,000 free children's tickets. 

Cold Lake adjusts sponsorship for RCMP charity golf tournament

During the June 24th council meeting, Cold Lake city council approved a request to move $3,500 sponsorship grant for the upcoming RCMP Charity Golf Tournament after the original sponsorship level became unavailable. 

Safety upgrades pushed for St. Brides intersection following deadly crash

St. Paul councillor is calling for safety improvements at the St. Brides intersection following a deadly crash in April that claimed three lives. 

Two arrested after firearm and drug seized in Elk Point

Two people are facing firearm and drug-related charges after Elk Point RCMP stopped a vehicle on the mourning of June 19.

Heat warning issued for the Lakeland region

Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for the Lakeland, with daytime highs expected to reach 29°C and overnight lows near 14°C for the next two days.
- Advertisement -