Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds – Grenville, on behalf of Associate Minister of National Defence, Julian Fantino, today announced an innovative new project to support first responder interoperability.
Led by the City of Kingston, the project aims to enhance interoperability and data sharing for municipal police, fire, and paramedic services, in and around Brockville, Kingston and Belleville, Ontario, through the use of a centralized, interconnected computer-aided-dispatch hub for all partners.
“We all know how important it is for our police, fire and paramedics services to be able to share information, especially when coordinating response efforts and making important decisions to save lives and deal with emergencies,” said Brown. “I’m proud that the Government of Canada is contributing to enhanced interoperability for Canada’s local first responders.”
The project was announced as part of a $12 million investment funded through the Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP).
The results and lessons learned from the project will provide valuable knowledge in support of efforts to improve interoperability between first responder organizations across Canada.
“This project is about interoperability and real time communications and data to enhance multiple emergency services coordination when dealing with emergencies in our region,” said Rhéaume Chaput, Fire Chief of the Kingston Fire Service. “Thanks to support from the federal government and the generous cooperation of all the participating services and municipalities, I’m proud to say that this initiative will help establish a new standard of interoperability in multiple discipline emergency response.”
The CSSP is led by Defence Research and Development Canada (an agency of the Department of National Defence), in partnership with Public Safety Canada. Its mission is to strengthen Canada’s ability to anticipate, mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover from terrorist acts, crime, natural disasters, and serious accidents.
Release source: Government of Canada | Photo: Wikimedia Commons
