The Hawkesbury fire dispatch centre, the only Francophone and bilingual service in Eastern Ontario, is in danger of disappearing without urgent hiring of staff.
The transition to the new next-generation 911 system now requires two carriers per shift. Fire Chief Brian Wilson is calling for a doubling of the current budget to hire and train staff starting in January.
Several mayors, including Geneviève Lajoie and Mike Tarnowski, consider the increase too fast, but Wilson warns that in the absence of investment, the distribution will have to be transferred out of the region.
The discussion will resume tomorrow during the annual budget planning review.