Monthly Fee to Fund 911 Service
As announced in the spring budget, Nova Scotians will be asked to pay a small monthly fee, beginning in early 2001, to ensure the province's 911 system remains effective and current.
By paying this cost-recovery fee, set at 43 cents per month, all phone subscribers in the province will share the cost of this valuable, life-saving service. In other words, for pennies a day, all Nova Scotians gain peace of mind.
"Nova Scotia's 911 service is one of the best in North America. We want to protect -- and even improve -- that high level of service," said Jamie Muir, Minister responsible for the Emergency Measures Organization. "The money collected will be used to ensure Nova Scotians continue to receive the best emergency response possible. The people of this province deserve no less."
Changes in technology require investment to ensure Nova Scotia's 911 system remains world class. Every time new communications devices are unveiled, 911 technology must evolve to deal with them. For example, even though the service has only been operating provincewide for three years, already costly changes have been necessary in order to accommodate an increasing number of cellular calls to 911. This trend is expected to continue with new types of technologies being introduced.
The cost-recovery fee in this province will be lower than that in the other four provinces where 911 services are funded in the same manner. Subscribers in those provinces pay a monthly fee ranging from 44 to 53 cents.
The fee will be charged per telephone line. If one customer has three lines, meaning three different phone numbers, each line will be subject to the fee. However, if a customer has three phone sets, all on the same line, the fee will only be applied once. Wireless subscribers will also be subject to this cost- recovery fee.
"It is important to note that Nova Scotians will not be charged per call to 911," said Mr. Muir. "In other words, the number of times a person calls 911 will not have any impact on this fee. It will remain consistent at 43 cents, less than the cost of a cup of coffee per month."
The province has been working closely with telephone carriers to put a process in place to implement this fee.
"Our expectation is that this government fee will appear on telephone bills, listed with regular recurring service charges," said Mr. Muir. "In this scenario, the carrier would collect the money on behalf of government and remit it to the province. We expect the fee to begin early in 2001."
The money will not go into the province's general revenues. Rather, it will be disbursed through a Cost Recovery Board to fund the 911 service.
This measure is in line with government's commitment to balance the province's budget. More information on the 911 cost-recovery fee is available by calling toll free 1-866-630-8011 or by following the links to 911 on the Emergency Measures Organization website at www.gov.ns.ca/emo .