12:59:23 PM Amy Sebring:I will go ahead and explain at this point that Mr. Michel Milot has been called away for the moment... 12:59:35 PM Amy Sebring:we are hoping he will be able to make it back in time for the Q&A part of the session. 12:59:52 PM Amy Sebring:In the meantime, Mr. John Kluver has graciously taken over his seat. 01:00:06 PM Amy Sebring:Let's go ahead and start. 01:00:17 PM Amy Sebring:Welcome to the Virtual Forum Round Table! ... 01:00:28 PM Amy Sebring:I will give Mr. Milot's background ... 01:00:38 PM Amy Sebring:and then ask John to tell us a little about himself. 01:00:49 PM Amy Sebring:We are pleased to have Mr. Michel Milot as our Guest Host today. Michel will lead us in a discussion about Industry Canada. 01:00:59 PM Amy Sebring:Michel is the National Manager for Emergency Telecommunications at Industry Canada in Ottawa and has extensive experience in this field. ... 01:01:09 PM Amy Sebring:He graduated from the Montréal Institute of Technology in 1971 and is an Amateur Radio operator and professional operator since 1973. ... 01:01:18 PM Amy Sebring:Michel received his Certificate in business administration from the University du Québec in 1983. 01:01:28 PM Amy Sebring:As National Manager for Emergency Telecommunications at Industry Canada, ... 01:01:38 PM Amy Sebring:Michel works in cooperation with the telecommunications industry, federal departments, regional headquarters, provincial and municipal governments, to develop, implement and manage national programs which permit adequate telecommunications in time of emergency. ... 01:01:59 PM Amy Sebring:John, will you please tell us a little bit about yourself? 01:02:15 PM michel milot:I work for Michel and am the Webmaster for Line Load Control as well as wear other hats within the department 01:02:37 PM Amy Sebring:Thank you, let me turn the floor over to you at this point. 01:02:48 PM michel milot:Industry Canada Emergency Telecommunications Branch 01:03:01 PM michel milot:On behalf of Michel, Milot, whom will be joining us a little later on during this session, Kathleen McCrea and myself John Kluver welcome you to this session. 01:03:18 PM michel milot:During this presentation, we ask that you defer any questions until after its completion. 01:03:35 PM michel milot:I am pleased to provide you with the following summary of our activities in Emergency Telecommunication Planning. This article briefly explains our responsibility, the legal background and some of our programs we are responsible for within our branch. 01:04:17 PM michel milot:Responsibility: In cooperation with the telecommunications industry, federal departments, regional headquarters, provincial and municipal governments, Industry Canada is responsible for the development, implementation and management of national programs which will permit adequate telecommunications in times of emergency. 01:04:46 PM michel milot:Legal background: The Emergency Preparedness Act outlines the role of federal Ministers in identifying and developing plans for civil emergency contingencies in their area of responsibility. The Emergency Preparedness Act also clearly established the emergency preparedness function as an integral part of Minister's legislated mandate. 01:05:02 PM michel milot:Responsibilities and programs: Industry Canada is responsible for developing and maintaining civil emergency plans for the provision of advice and assistance to federal and provincial departments and agencies with respect to the telecommunications requirements of their emergency response functions and related civil emergency plans. 01:05:22 PM michel milot:Is this messaging flying by to quickly? 01:05:30 PM Amy Sebring:It's fine John. 01:05:42 PM michel milot:We chair ten (10) Regional Emergency Telecommunications Committees (RETC) across Canada and one (1) National Emergency Telecommunications Committee (NETC) . More than 300 members attend these committees. Members represent a federal department (60%), a provincial government (15%) and a telecommunication industry (25%). 01:06:00 PM michel milot:We assist Emergency Preparedness Canada College in their development of Emergency Telecommunications Courses and actively participates as course instructors . The purpose of these courses is to reveal to the Provincial and Municipal Emergency Telecommunications Managers, an understanding of the planning and operational factors affecting municipal emergency communications. 01:06:21 PM michel milot:In times of an emergency, Industry Canada, at the district, regional, and national levels, give advice and assistance to private and public telecommunications undertaking. As an example, during the Saguenay (Québec), the Red River (Manitoba) floods, and the 1998 Ice Storm we facilitate the transport of personnel and equipment in Canada and across the Canadian / United States border, we issued special radio licences to support the emergency operations. 01:06:57 PM michel milot:To ensure priority access, Industry Canada, Emergency Telecommunications, has developed an innovative new system to maintain Line Load Control records on the Internet. In terms of emergency planning, Line Load Control (LLC) can be defined as a preventive arrangement which increases the possibility that essential users and/or responsible agencies can place telephone calls required to deal with emergency situations, under conditions where switches and circuits are overloaded because of exception 01:08:14 PM michel milot:exceptional demand. 01:08:28 PM michel milot:Finally we participate in various international committees to represent Canada at the NATO Civil Communications Planning Committee (CCPC), the United Nations Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET) and the Canada - United States Civil Emergency Preparedness Telecommunications Advisory Committee (CEPTAG). 01:08:52 PM michel milot:For more information regarding the Emergency Telecommunication programs managed by Industry Canada, please visit our website at http://spectrum.ic.gc.ca/urgent 01:09:09 PM michel milot:At this time we welcome your questions and comments. 01:09:29 PM Amy Sebring:Thank you John. Am loading your page! 01:09:57 PM Kevin Farrell:I think we all are.... 01:09:59 PM Curt Nellis:Interested in your comments concerning cellular prioritization, how you do it, and if it has been successful. 01:10:02 PM Amy Sebring:We will now open the forum for your questions. Please submit a question mark (?) to indicate you have a question or comment for Michel/John ... 01:10:16 PM Amy Sebring:Please compose your question and hold it until you are recognized, then hit 'Send' or 'Enter'. Questions, please. 01:10:21 PM Isabel McCurdy:/ 01:10:25 PM Isabel McCurdy:? 01:10:29 PM michel milot:Michel has now joined the group, and I am turning over the chair for him! 01:10:45 PM Amy Sebring:Thank you very much John for pitching in. 01:10:55 PM Amy Sebring:And welcome Michel, glad you could join us... 01:11:03 PM Curt Nellis:? 01:11:07 PM Amy Sebring:we are just about to start our Q&A portion... 01:11:15 PM michel milot:Just in time to answer questions 01:11:22 PM Amy Sebring:and I understand you will be typing with a French accent? 01:11:39 PM Amy Sebring:Our loyal Canadian, Isabel please. 01:11:39 PM michel milot:Certainement mes amis 01:12:16 PM Isabel McCurdy:Hello Michel. Define "adequate" telecommunications. 01:12:56 PM michel milot:When telecommunications networks are not overloaded and can well serve the emergency community 01:12:59 PM David Crews:? 01:13:29 PM Amy Sebring:Curt next please. 01:13:43 PM Curt Nellis:Sorry Amy, first time on a chat, Michael, tell me about cellular prioritization activities in your organization. 01:14:48 PM michel milot:There is no cellular Priority Access officially in place. However we work with the US NCS on CPAS. 01:15:13 PM Amy Sebring:NCS = National Communication System 01:15:17 PM Amy Sebring:CPAS=? 01:15:27 PM Amy Sebring:Cellular Priority Access System? 01:15:40 PM michel milot:Cellular Priority Access System. 01:15:51 PM Amy Sebring:David Crews please. 01:15:53 PM David Crews:What kind of initiatives and systems do you have for warning the public? 01:16:27 PM michel milot:There is now some test done with Cable system in 4 cities in Canada. 01:17:03 PM Amy Sebring:Are you going towards an EAS system similar to what we have now in U.S? 01:17:23 PM Amy Sebring:(EAS=Emergency Alert System) 01:17:49 PM michel milot:The Canadian system is crawlers at the bottom of the TV screen. 01:18:12 PM Curt Nellis:? 01:18:25 PM Isabel McCurdy:? 01:18:30 PM Amy Sebring:I understand from the material Avagene sent me that Canada was instrumental in the Tampere Convention. Can you tell us a little about that please? 01:19:08 PM michel milot:Just comming from the Canadian Parliament, we will PROBABLY sign it next Monday in New-York. 01:19:26 PM Amy Sebring:I have a URL on the Convention ... 01:19:38 PM Amy Sebring:this is an international agreement for emergency communications. 01:19:48 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.itu.int/newsroom/projects/ICET/index.html 01:19:55 PM Amy Sebring:Curt please. 01:20:10 PM Curt Nellis:Do you also have cable overide. 01:20:46 PM michel milot:No we do not take away their video. 01:20:58 PM Amy Sebring:Isabel was next I believe. 01:21:00 PM Isabel McCurdy:What four cities in Canada? 01:21:58 PM michel milot:Windsor (Ont), Regina (Sask), St-George de Beauce (Que), and Vancouver B.C. 01:22:06 PM Amy Sebring:Do you have a communications strategy for the future, and what role will satellite technology play? 01:23:11 PM michel milot:In the presentation you saw a paragraph about Regional Emergency Telecom Commitees 01:23:33 PM michel milot:The Satellite providers will be part of the RETC and NETC. They are already in some provinces. 01:24:09 PM Isabel McCurdy:RETC? 01:24:22 PM Amy Sebring:Regional Emergency Telecom Committees 01:24:24 PM michel milot:The Salettites networks will be part of emergency plans of federal and provincial EMO (Emergency Measures Organizations). 01:25:02 PM Isabel McCurdy:municipal? 01:25:18 PM Musse:good afternoon Mr. Milot, sorry hour 01:25:26 PM Musse:good afetrnoon room 01:25:47 PM michel milot:No in Canada, municipality are provincial creation. They deal exclusively with the provinces. 01:25:56 PM Amy Sebring:We also have Mr. Bernie Farrell with us this afternoon. 01:26:11 PM Amy Sebring:Who is with this effort as well I understand. 01:26:13 PM michel milot:Hello Bernard 01:26:26 PM Amy Sebring:Bernie, would you like to join in with a few words? 01:27:19 PM Amy Sebring:(Sorry if I am putting you on the spot! You can say NO if you like!) 01:27:32 PM bernie:Yes, please repeat question I was called away for a minute 01:27:48 PM Amy Sebring:I was just asking if you would like to say a few words about what you do. 01:28:36 PM bernie:I manage a joint gov't /telecommunications center that responses to emegencies 01:29:13 PM Amy Sebring:Of the three events you referred to earlier, was the Ice Storm the worst as far as communications? 01:30:12 PM michel milot:Yes the Ice storm affected 3 million Canadians without electricity for 4 weeks in a Canadian Winter. 01:30:33 PM Amy Sebring:I would expect it to have wreaked havoc on communications. 01:30:51 PM Amy Sebring:Are you finding increasing reliance on satellite phones in the regions or provinces ... 01:30:53 PM michel milot:Without electricity there is telecomm problems. Telephone pools (5000) were also down. 01:31:06 PM Amy Sebring:or is the cost still too high? 01:32:16 PM michel milot:There was about 60 MSAT systems deployed. The Hydro and Police forces used them well. Many other organizations where not trained enought and did not use them. 01:32:49 PM Amy Sebring:Can you tell us a little bit about the role of Amateur Radio in Canada... 01:32:56 PM Amy Sebring:how it is organized? 01:33:01 PM Phyllis Mann:? 01:33:04 PM Amy Sebring:How important is it? 01:33:30 PM Phyllis Mann:What is a MSAT system 01:33:36 PM cindy rice:? 01:34:05 PM michel milot:Amateur Radio did a great job. However they are close to the population and normally work with the provinces. we, as a national organizations normally deal with agreements. 01:34:33 PM Amy Sebring:MSAT=? 01:35:17 PM michel milot:MSAT = Mobile Satellite Service 01:35:21 PM Amy Sebring:Cindy please. 01:35:33 PM cindy rice:Was amateur radio used with generators broadcasting at specific times (so people would know when to listen) to provide vital/emergency info? Agreement? 01:36:28 PM cindy rice:? 01:37:22 PM michel milot:The Amateur Radion were not broadcasting with the Public, they were traffic handler only. John was deeply involved with amateur in his neighboud.. 01:37:53 PM Amy Sebring:Cindy did you have clarification/follow up? 01:37:56 PM cindy rice:I would assume that there are dead spots, how did you overcome that issue? 01:38:09 PM michel milot:Sorry neighbourhood. 01:38:42 PM Amy Sebring:(We could tell what you meant.) 01:39:10 PM michel milot:Yes, ther was Cellular Dead Spot. The Cellular Carriers added a lot of additional channels. 01:39:48 PM Amy Sebring:By agreements, do you mean agreements with the private sector? 01:40:31 PM michel milot:Yes, at the RETC there is agreements with the private sector to participate with us in emergency response. 01:40:49 PM Amy Sebring:Does the military also have a telecommunications role during emergencies? 01:41:28 PM michel milot:Yes, but they have their own telecommunication systems. However we provided them with more than 50 civilian frequencies. 01:42:16 PM Amy Sebring:Any more questions from our audience please? 01:42:32 PM Isabel McCurdy:? 01:42:40 PM Amy Sebring:Isabel. 01:43:00 PM Isabel McCurdy:Can you please tell us what your role is in the new E-Comm centre that is being built in Vancouver? 01:43:59 PM michel milot:Our Vancouver Emergency Telecomm Officer was deeply involved. We are talking here of the WAR (Wide Area Radio). 01:45:18 PM Amy Sebring:What is Wide Area Radio? 01:46:10 PM michel milot:It is a new radio network using new technologies (Video, data etc.) There is a WEB site. I will find it for you. 01:46:31 PM Amy Sebring:Ok, thanks. 01:47:28 PM michel milot:I do not have the WEB address with me. Will e-mail it to you today. 01:47:32 PM Amy Sebring:I assume you work closely with the NCS and the U.S. GETS system? How is that coordinated? 01:48:40 PM michel milot:In Canada we are using a different, but similar system called Line Load Control. We would like to add the HPC (High Priobability of Completion) in a near future 01:49:06 PM michel milot:GETS already have the HPC option. 01:49:38 PM Amy Sebring:Is there a joint US-Canadian agency or framework for coordination? 01:50:42 PM michel milot:Yes, we do work closely with NCS. The CEPTAG means Civil Emergency Preparedness Telecommunications Advisery Committee. 01:51:13 PM Amy Sebring:Well, thank you so much for being here with us today Michel. 01:51:25 PM Amy Sebring:We are glad it worked out that you could come back. 01:51:39 PM Amy Sebring:Also our thanks to John Kluver for pitching in! 01:52:17 PM michel milot:Was a pleasure, me Kathleen, John and Chantal are thanking you. You saw my real French accent. 01:52:17 PM Amy Sebring:I will watch for that email with website. 01:52:25 PM Amy Sebring:Yes, it was a delight. 01:52:37 PM Amy Sebring:<-- asebring@emforum.org 01:52:58 PM michel milot:Thank you for your participation and hope that the information we provided regarding Industry Canada Emergency Telecommunication Branch has been an informative one. 01:53:14 PM Amy Sebring:Yes, thank you so much. 01:53:15 PM Kevin Farrell: 01:53:18 PM Amy Sebring:Applause please 01:53:25 PM Amy Sebring: 01:53:26 PM Musse:applause 01:53:27 PM Isabel McCurdy: 01:53:48 PM Amy Sebring:Tomorrow, we will have something REALLY different... 01:53:52 PM Amy Sebring:we hope! 01:53:58 PM michel milot::>) 01:54:06 PM Amy Sebring:We are going to have a conference round up, both past and future... 01:54:14 PM Amy Sebring:real and otherwise... 01:54:25 PM Amy Sebring:AND, we are going to be videotaping the session. 01:54:29 PM Kevin Farrell:Interestinf stuff Amy. I need to go back and poke around the website now. :-) 01:54:36 PM Amy Sebring:So hope you will all be able to come back then. 01:54:43 PM Amy Sebring:Thanks Kevin. 01:55:00 PM Amy Sebring:Also, Thursday evening, we are continuing to work on our Virtual Exercise... 01:55:08 PM Amy Sebring:for the Virtual Fire and Rescue Exposition... 01:55:38 PM Amy Sebring:Thank you all for coming today... 01:55:49 PM Amy Sebring:and we will have a transcript available soon ... 01:56:03 PM Amy Sebring:and I will include the website to which Michel referred in the transcript. (Note: the website, subsequently provided, is http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/corpsvcs/emerg/war/WARindex.html) 01:56:21 PM Amy Sebring:Thanks again to all. 01:56:38 PM Amy Sebring:Au revoir!