From: areacode@lincmad.com   
      
   About a month and a half ago, the CRTC (Canadian counterpart of the   
   FCC) announced that Canada, too, will implement the 988 suicide crisis   
   lifeline number, effective 30 November 2023. That’s a good thing, and   
   hopefully will save lives.   
      
   However, as with the US 988 mandate, there is the matter of conflicts   
   between 7-digit local numbers and the new 988 short code. Almost all   
   of Canada already dials 10 digits for local calls, but there are still   
   four exceptions.   
      
   New Brunswick (506) is already scheduled for an overlay in April, so   
   they will already be on 10D before the 988 mandate affects them.   
      
   Newfoundland and Labrador (709) has postponed their overlay several   
   times, but there is indeed a 709-988 prefix, located in Norman’s Bay,   
   Labrador, population 15 (2021 census). Thus, even though the overlay   
   is still a few years out (current projected exhaust is November 2028),   
   they will switch to 10D at the end of May (6 months ahead of the   
   rollout of 988). Personally, I would’ve “pulled a North Dakota” — move   
   the small number of affected people to a new prefix so the whole   
   province can keep 7D a while longer — but the CRTC didn’t even   
   consider such an option.   
      
   Area code 867, which serves the territories of Yukon, Northwest   
   Territories, and Nunavut, also has a 988 prefix, located in   
   Yellowknife, NWT. However, most local calling areas in 867 are a   
   single rate center, most with just a single prefix. Thus, the CRTC   
   decided to order 10D only in Yellowknife; Yukon, Nunavut, and the rest   
   of NWT get to keep 7D.   
      
   Lastly, there is area code 807, the westernmost slice of Ontario,   
   stretching all the way from Lake Superior to Hudson Bay. It’s one of   
   the most sparsely used NPAs, with a projected exhaust date of 2156, a   
   mere 133 years from now. There is no 807-988 prefix, so no numbering   
   conflict between 988 and 7-digit local calls. However, in decision   
   2022-234, the CRTC has ordered that 807 switch to 10D local calls.   
      
   If they were making 10D truly nationwide, that would make some sense,   
   but they made an exception for most of 867, so that blows that   
   argument out of the water. There is no technical reason and no   
   discernible policy reason to make 807 go to mandatory 10D. By all   
   means, they should require PERMISSIVE 10D, to keep from confusing any   
   visitors who for some reason find themselves using a landline, but it   
   should not be mandatory.   
      
   I have reached out several times to the CRTC to ask them to explain   
   this decision. When they finally deigned to respond at all, they   
   simply directed me to paragraphs 90 to 133 of 2022-234. Those   
   paragraphs explain why any area with 988-xxxx local numbers has to   
   switch to 10D, and they make some vague mention of the possibility of   
   future 3-digit short codes, but do not address any reason to make 807   
   switch.   
      
   I reached out to local newspapers and the CBC in Thunder Bay (the   
   largest city in 807), and to the Thunder Bay city council and mayor,   
   and to the Fort Severn First Nation, but no one seems interested in   
   preserving 7-digit calling. Thunder Bay is gearing up for municipal   
   elections later this month, so I guess they’re a little preoccupied.   
      
   You can read all the gory details on my website:   
      
   https://LincMad.com/thunder-bay.html   
      
   P.S. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)