The demolition and reconstruction work on Montreal’s new 911 call center will ultimately cost a little more than $56 million. And they will be completed by spring 2027.
Published at 10:35 a.m.
This was confirmed by the City of Montreal in official documents made public during an executive committee meeting this Wednesday.
The transformation of the power station is first necessary to move from analog technology to digital technology, as required by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for several years.
But above all, all equipment must be updated quickly to allow the implementation of the new “next generation” 911 technology, which will allow citizens to communicate by text message with emergency services. This should be possible by March 2025 across Quebec, recently promised the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel.
Eventually, we will even be able to send a video or images of an event. “This will allow safer and faster emergency responses based on better information,” the CRTC, responsible for the project, indicated last summer on its website.
It was the manufacturer Pomerleau who won the call for tenders, being the lowest compliant bidder, ahead of Tisseur Inc and Magil inc. The said call for tenders had been online since June 17, but the initial response deadline of one month was finally extended until mid-August.
In its documents, the City maintains that the completion of the project, estimated at 150 million in total, will allow “all citizens to equip themselves with robust call centers that meet the high standards of availability and resilience required by the Ministry of Public Safety and the CRTC. “A delay in awarding this contract would have repercussions on the delivery of the project,” insist the authorities, visibly in a hurry.
It also seems that the demolition issues have been resolved. Last winter, a district council first overturned the decision of its own demolition committee, which had refused to authorize the destruction of the building which currently occupies the land in question. This vacant building dating from 1965 had to give way to the future 911 central station, argued Montreal.
The start of the contract is set for 1is next November and ends on May 28, 2027. The work should therefore be completed in a little less than three years, if all goes well. The project must be “completed within 910 days”, it is specified.
On average, 911 emergency call agents handle 1.4 million calls per year, of which approximately 430,000 are intended for police officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). Several others are intended for the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM), in particular.
With Philippe Teisceira-Lessard, The Press
