September 26, 2011 Mr. Robert A. Morin Secretary General Canadian Radio‐television and Telecommunications Commission Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2 Re: Canadian Common Ground Alliance (CCGA): 8698­C187­201110973 Application to broaden the assignment and use of the 811 Dialling Code ­ 2011­07­15 Dear Mr. Morin: On July 15, 2011, the Canadian Common Ground Alliance (CCGA) filed an Application pursuant to Part 1 of the CRTC Rules of Practice and Procedure requesting that the Commission broaden the assignment or use of the 811 dialing code. Interested parties were invited to file comments on the Application by September 16, 2011. The following constitutes the Reply comments of the CCGA. 1. The CCGA is in receipt of over 210 comments filed by interested parties. The vast majority of comments filed by both public sector and private sector organizations were strongly supportive of the application. Exactly 200 parties, many representing important public sector organizations and large private sector companies, filed letters of support. Approximately 12 parties opposed. The CCGA will first review some of the comments and submissions made by parties supporting the Application. It will then address the arguments raised by those opposed. To the extent that the CGAA does not address every argument or point raised by a party opposed, it should not be taken that the CCGA accepts or agrees with such statements. 2. Broad Support expressed by many significant Public Sector and Private Sector parties from across Canada 3. At the outset, the CCGA notes that the application has garnered strong endorsements from a very broad and likely unprecedented array of important public institutions, elected officials, regulatory agencies and private companies. The common theme that runs through these submissions is the importance of taking all reasonable measures to protect public safety and, by doing so, safeguard Canada’s critical infrastructure services. canadiancga.com Damage Prevention is a Shared Responsibility Page 1 For example, in their letter of the intervention, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs stated: i. The greatest risk to Canada’s critical underground infrastructure is excavation by homeowners and commercial excavators. ii. The Canadian Association of fire Chiefs supports the CCGA application for shared use of 811 in Canada. We strongly believe that achieving this goal will significantly enhance public awareness, increase public safety, and ultimately help protect Canada’s critical infrastructure. [Emphasis added] 4. In their intervention, the National Energy Board also emphasized the important public safety benefits that would follow from granting the application for the shared use of 811: i. A national three‐digit “Call Before You Dig” number will eliminate the confusion of multiple numbers, and provide a simple and effective means for the public to obtain accurate information about potential underground hazards, including pipelines, prior to conducting excavation activities. The location of buried infrastructure is an essential step in protecting the public and environment from accidental damage. ii. The NEB regulates approximately 71,000 kilometers of oil, gas and commodity pipelines, the vast majority of which are underground. Unsafe or uninformed excavation near NEB‐regulated infrastructure poses a risk to the safety of those people living and working in close proximity, as well as to the environment, and the underground infrastructure. The NEB supports this initiative as it makes it easier for the public and digging community to have the location of buried infrastructure identified before any excavation takes place. [Emphasis added] 5. In a letter sent to the Chair of the CCGA (attached), the Minister of Public Safety, the Hon. Vic Toews, expressed his support in the following terms: i. The “Call Before You Dig” initiative is an important service that allows the public to identify the location of buried utilities, and a proposal to broaden the use of the Canada wide 811 number would help to protect Canada’s underground critical infrastructure and enhance public safety. ii. Public Safety Canada recognizes that the 811 number currently provides a valuable service to the public by offering around‐the‐clock health information and non‐urgent medical advice. Broadening this service to include “Call Before You Dig” would help mitigate unnecessary risks to the public, and reduce interruptions of services provided by critical infrastructure sectors. [Emphasis added] 6. Similarly, Canada’s national association of energy and utility regulators, CAMPUT, expressed its support for the Application as follows: CAMPUT accepts that a great risk to Canada’s critical underground infrastructure is excavation by homeowners and commercial excavators. Currently there are canadiancga.com Damage Prevention is a Shared Responsibility Page 2 multiple 10 digit telephone numbers that must be called in order to determine the location of underground infrastructure. The result can be public confusion, lack of awareness, and thus increased disruption of essential public services. CAMPUT agrees that a sensible solution is one nationwide three‐digit telephone number for call before you dig in Canada. Replacing the multiple ten‐digit telephone numbers with one nationwide three digit number is, we believe, in the public interest. 7. It is clear from a review of the submissions by these public authorities and officials that they express a common rationale for their support of the application: expanded use of the 811 number would be an important step forward in enhancing the safety of the public, mitigating unnecessary risks and better protecting communities, the environment and Canada’s infrastructure.1 8. The proposed assignment for shared use of 811 attracted support from coast to coast including municipal, provincial and territorial representatives. For example, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) considered the issue from the perspective of its 1900 member municipalities from all parts of Canada: This country’s critical infrastructure–‐‐including for hospitals, energy, telecommunications, air traffic control, banking, and emergency response–‐‐are valuable assets for Canadians. Much of Canada’s vital energy and telecommunications infrastructure is underground, supporting public safety and national security, and sustaining our economy. It is in our national interest to maintain the integrity and reliability of this infrastructure. Canadians expect all reasonable measures be taken to do so. [Emphasis added] 9. The Association of Yukon Communities expressed very similar views. It is worth noting that many of the municipalities represented by these associations are located in the four provinces and one territory where 811 is currently in use for non‐urgent health information. While they recognize the importance of the current use, in their view (like that of the Minister of Public Safety, expressed above), the enhancement of the safety and security of people and communities is an important and complementary service that can and should be delivered via the 811 code. 10. The application is strongly supported by a large number of major operators of Canada’s critical infrastructure networks‐ including both publicly traded and Crown‐owned entities For example, Hydro‐Québec, Ontario Hydro, Manitoba Hydro, the Canadian Electricity Association, CN Rail, TransCanada, Enbridge, Alliance Pipeline, ATCO Pipelines, Union Gas and many others filed interventions in support. 11. From the communications sector, MTS Allstream reviewed the merits of the application and concluded as follows: 1 Notwithstanding the submissions of Shaw, it cannot be suggested that the application primarily serves private commercial interests rather than the public interest. The Fire Chiefs, the National Energy Board, the Minister of Public Safety, CAMPUT and the FCM would not make the above submissions to protect private commercial interests. They did so in order to protect the public interest. canadiancga.com Damage Prevention is a Shared Responsibility Page 3 In conclusion, MTS Allstream supports the CCGA’s request for the use of 811 for noncommercial access to a CBYD service providing a communications service for multiple underground infrastructure operators. The goal of protecting and ensuring the continued operation of Canada’s critical underground communications and energy infrastructure warrants assignment of an N11 service code, and any necessary public awareness campaigns needed to ensure effective dual‐use with other services. 12. After reviewing all of the numerous supportive submissions from public officials, government agencies, municipalities and network service providers, it is clear that most parties have focused on the public interest issues at stake. More particularly, they all recognize that the approval of the application will be an important step in protecting the personal safety of Canadians and enhancing the security of their communities and essential public services. They see this enhancement of public safety and security as a complement to the provision of health information currently available to some Canadians via 811. Interventions Opposing the Application 13. There were a number of opposing interventions filed by provincial health departments, including departments currently using the 811 code for access to non‐urgent health information. No intervention was received from the province of Québec, a province in which 811 is currently used. There were also interventions