Saskatchewan is doubling its 911 fee.
In a media release Monday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said the fee — which is applied to all phone bills — will be going from $0.94 per month to $1.88 per month, effective April 7.
The change, the first increase to the fee since January of 2018, is to help the agency upgrade its 911 technology.
“The citizens of Saskatchewan rely on 911 technology in order to receive police, fire and emergency medical assistance when they need it the most,” SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said in the release.
“The existing system is aging, and these upgrades are required to ensure that Saskatchewan residents can continue to rely on secure, resilient 911 technology.”
The agency said future fee increases will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index for Saskatchewan. Regulatory changes then would not be required.
According to the agency, there were 470,000 911 calls to the three Sask911 Public Safety Answering Points in 2020.