Two independent reports are calling for improvements for E-Comm to ensure B.C.’s emergency dispatch service remains financially stable for local governments.
EY conducted and produced the two reports — which were released Friday (Nov. 7) — after the provincial government announced the review back in December 2024.
Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger said the reviews provide a road map “as to how E-Comm can implement financial operational and governance controls to ensure transparency, affordability and financial sustainability going forward.”
The first report focuses on improving operational and financial controls at E-Comm, examining both how it functions, and its operational-efficiency structures. It includes 25 recommendations, including a contingency fund to smooth unexpected expenses and mitigate impacts on levies during unanticipated events. It also calls for the province’s role within emergency communications to be clearly defined.
The report also found budgeting shortcomings and the need for better financial controls.
The second report builds on the first and provides advice to the provincial government about four potential service-delivery models that could be considered for emergency dispatch services in B.C.
E-Comm board chair Nancy Kotani said the board accepted the findings of the review and plans to work with provincial and local governments on the recommendations.
The province says it will review the recommendations and the options outlined in the reports, but the priority is for E-Comm to strengthen its financial and operational efficiencies “to get a clear picture of the true cost of service” and to ensure costs remain sustainable for local governments.
E-Comm was created as a radio network and service provider in the late 1990s, according to the report. It was meant to help emergency services providers in the Lower Mainland better communicate and coordinate during emergency incidents.
It currently provides dispatch services to 30 police services and 40 fire services in the Lower Mainland, southern Vancouver Island and some parts of the Okanagan. The services are determined and paid for by communities through their annual service agreements and increases happen through annual levies determined by E-Comm.
According to the province, E-Comm is B.C.’s largest and primary emergency-communciations provider, answering more than 99 per cent of initial 911 calls across 25 of the province’s 27 regional districts.
E-Comm also does call-taking and dispatch services for police and fire departments serving more than 70 emergency agencies in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.