Poor cell coverage could be dangerous, says Charlottetown woman
CBC
Sarah Blanchard-Eng still cries at the memory of trying to reach 911 from her home last summer when her toddler was choking on his dinner.
"I'm completely terrified of it happening again," Blanchard-Eng said.
"I can still cry just thinking about it. Even just hearing a small cough from my son now when he eats."
Blanchard-Eng lives in the Brighton neighbourhood of Charlottetown, west of Spring Park Road and south of Colonel Gray Drive. Cellular coverage has been a problem since she moved there two years ago.
Last August she was home alone with her two toddlers, her 15-month-old son and three-year-old daughter, feeding them dinner.
"My son actually choked on a piece of lasagna. I just took him out of his high chair as fast as I could. Once he started to gag again and spit up, he choked again on his own vomit," she said.
"He was only partially breathing. I called 911 but my phone kept dropping the call. It just kept saying 'call failed.' So I was running outside in my yard, completely covered in vomit, my son trying, gasping, to be able to cry and finally I found a spot. 911 actually called me back. A paramedic came and did have to suction out my son's nose and throat."
Following that near tragedy, she and her husband now have a landline in their home, exclusively for use in the event of another emergency. It's not just about their children. Her husband is a doctor and is often home on-call, needing to be ready to take a call from the hospital.
Getting a landline is not the first solution they've tried.
First they thought it might be an issue with their phones. They purchased the newest models available, at the same time locking themselves into new contracts with Bell.
When that didn't help, they upgraded their Wi-Fi. Bell suggested enabling Wi-Fi calling on their phones, but the setting never sticks on her phone, said Blanchard-Eng. Earlier this week she was instructed to restore her phone to factory settings. It still didn't work.
With more people moving into the city the problem is getting worse, she said. And with the arrival of tourists in the summer it grows worse still.
"I'm kind of shocked that I live in the capital of a province and I can't even use my cellphone in the summertime," Blanchard-Eng said.
"I don't think Bell really cares."
Author Suzanne Craig-Whytock has written post-apocalyptic fantasies and dark thrillers to humour for teens and adults and has a number of titles to her name including The Dome, Smile and Feasting Upon the Bones.
They wish they didn't need it, but it's now a necessity.
An ongoing debate in the House of Commons could push some government departments into a cash crunch and run up against other deadlines as the end of the fall sitting approaches.
Celebrity chef Vikram Vij is partnering with a Toronto charity to help raise funds for cash-strapped food banks.
The federal government did not meet the targets for its program to plant two billion trees during the program's third planting season.
Governments in Canada, the U.S. and abroad along with tech giants are all eyeing nuclear power to meet a growing demand for electricity and climate goals at the same time.
Allison McCabe's own story of medical dismissal began last August with a trip to an emergency room in Vancouver.
The leader of Canada's Green Party had some strong words for Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservatives while joining her provincial counterpart on the campaign trail. Elizabeth May was in Halifax Saturday to support the Nova Scotia Green Party in the final days of the provincial election campaign. She criticized PC Leader Tim Houston for calling a snap election this fall after the Tories passed legislation in 2021 that gave Nova Scotia fixed election dates every four years.
Manitoba business owners are gearing up for a temporary federal tax break this holiday season, and while some welcome it, others worry about its timing and the amount of work it will require.
A 36-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly trying to set a fire outside Vancouver City Hall late Friday night, police say.
Calgary city council reversed its decision to close the Inglewood Aquatic Centre Friday.