Brampton mayor introduces motion that could lead to fines for inappropriate 911 calls

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has introduced a motion that could lead to Peel residents who misuse the 911 emergency line being penalized.

In his motion, Brown is asking staff to investigate whether fines or other penalties can be handed out to callers for “negligent use of the 9-1-1 system.” The motion was considered during Thursday’s meeting.

Last week, the mayor told Newstalk1010’s Moore in the Morning that 40 per cent of 911 calls in the region were not emergencies.

“We’ve never seen this level of misused calls,” he said. “It’s going up each year and that’s putting an enormous pressure on 911, to the point that we have legitimate emergencies being put on hold because we have negligent calls.”

Brown added that introducing a fine could make some residents rethink whether or not their call is an actual emergency.

According to his motion, Peel police communication centre gets about 1,800 emergency calls daily; approximately 720 of those or more than 40 per cent “are deemed non-legitimate.”

Brown noted that the region has seen a 27 per cent increase in 911 calls since 2022. In just the past two months, more than 100,000 calls were made to 911 and more than half of those were deemed “hang-ups or non-emergent.”

Some of those calls were released by police to highlight the growing problem. They include a wrong Tim Hortons order, a TV not working and a complaint about people playing cricket on a footpath.

The mayor said wait times for emergency services have risen in the region, resulting in callers who may need urgent help not getting an immediate response.

“It is important that 911 is only used for emergencies. I continue to support the efforts of Peel Regional Police,” Brown said in a separate statement on Thursday.

Regional staff are also asked to report to a future meeting recommendations to minimize misuse and abuse of emergency services.