Knowledge
What Canada actually requires for 911 from a multi-line phone system
Canada has no equivalent of the American Kari’s Law or RAY BAUM’s Act. What it has is a set of CRTC best practices for multi-line telephone systems, approved in 2022, that ask for direct 911 dialling with no prefix, routing straight to the emergency call centre rather than a front desk, and notification of on-site staff. They are practices, not statute. We configure every Yeastar P-Series to meet them and we test the result annually, because the gap between “the phones work” and “911 works from every phone” is where buildings get caught.
The two American laws people search for
Kari’s Law (2018) requires that a multi-line system in the United States let a caller dial 911 directly, with no prefix such as 9, and notify someone on site. RAY BAUM’s Act requires that the call carry a “dispatchable location”: not just the street address, but the floor, suite or room.
Neither applies in Canada. They come up because vendors’ marketing is written for the American market and because the questions they answer are the right questions. Canadian buildings should ask them of their own systems; they should not be told they are “Kari’s Law compliant”, which means nothing here.
What the CRTC has done
| Instrument | What it says |
|---|---|
| Telecom Decision CRTC 2019-330 | Found that most multi-line systems required an extra digit or prefix to reach 911, and asked the industry’s Emergency Services Working Group to recommend practices |
| Telecom Decision CRTC 2022-265 | Approved the working group’s best practices for multi-line telephone systems, and directed telephone companies to inform the owners of such systems about them and to update their service agreements |
| Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-156 | Opened a consultation on whether direct 911 and 988 dialling from multi-line systems should be required, and on roles, configurations, notification and deadlines. The Commission noted it does not directly regulate the hardware or software; its authority runs through the services provided over them |
The best practices, in plain terms:
- Dial 911 directly. No prefix, no access code, wherever technically feasible.
- Route to the public safety answering point, not to a front desk or security desk that then relays.
- Notify on-site staff that a 911 call has been placed, and from where in the building, so responders can be met.
- Provide the best location information the system can, and keep it current.
As of our check in November 2026 these remain best practices rather than a mandatory requirement; the 2023 consultation’s outcome should be checked before relying on that statement. The Commission’s own page says Canada has no legislation like the American laws, and that the practices are voluntary.
Dispatchable location, honestly
When someone dials 911 from an extension on a multi-line system in Canada today, the call carries the location registered for the system’s outbound number: the building. It does not carry the room, the classroom or the floor. The carrier path does not yet express it.
That is the position for every multi-line system in the country, not a Yeastar limitation, and it is why the third best practice, on-site notification, does the work that room-level location would otherwise do. If the front desk or the school office is told “911 was dialled from extension 214” within a second of the call, they can meet the ambulance at the right door.
We say this plainly because a hotel GM, a school business manager or a town clerk will eventually ask, and a vendor who implied room-level location has a hard conversation then. What we provide: annual testing of every emergency-calling path, the notification feature configured and tested, a written record of where each circuit terminates, and an honest account of what room-level location would take and cost.
How a Yeastar P-Series is configured against each practice
| Practice | Configuration on the P-Series | How it is tested |
|---|---|---|
| Direct dialling | 911 as an emergency number in the dial plan, reachable from every extension regardless of class of service, with no prefix | A test call from a sample of extensions on every install and annually, coordinated with the emergency call centre where required |
| Routing to the PSAP | Emergency numbers routed to the correct trunk with the correct outbound number, whose registered address is the building | The address on file with the carrier is verified; the test call confirms the centre sees it |
| On-site notification | Emergency notification contacts: the office or front-desk extension, a group manager, an outside mobile; by email, by call with an announcement, or both, with the extension that dialled | The notification is triggered during the test call and confirmed received |
| Location | The building’s dispatchable location registered with the carrier; the port map documents which room is on which extension so that staff can translate extension to room instantly | The port map is verified during the Health Check and the annual test |
| Keeping it working | Emergency numbers exempt from outbound restrictions and from any after-hours call barring; the path checked after any trunk change | Part of the annual test and the post-change checklist |
What this looks like in the four kinds of building
- Hotel. A guest dials 911 from a room. The call goes out on the hotel’s trunk with the hotel’s address. The front desk’s phone rings with “911 from room 412” and an email lands in the manager’s inbox. The desk meets the responders. The elevator phones, the pool phone and the refuge stations are separate circuits, tested on the same day.
- School. A classroom phone reaches 911 with no prefix. The office is notified with the extension. The port map says which classroom that is. The annual test is scheduled in a non-instructional window.
- Town office. Administration is notified; the after-hours public works line and the fire panel’s path are tested separately.
- Care home. The nurse station is notified; every resident room phone is tested, because the room phone is a lifeline.
Frequently asked questions
Is our system “Kari’s Law compliant”?
The question does not apply in Canada. The useful question is whether your system meets the CRTC’s four practices, and whether anyone has tested it. The Health Check answers that.
Can we get room-level location?
Not through the standard carrier path in Canada today. We will tell you what it would take if it matters to you.
Does 988 work the same way?
988, the suicide crisis line, is a three-digit number that should also be dialable without a prefix. We configure it alongside 911 and test it the same way.
Who tests this?
We do, annually, under either support agreement, with a certificate you can hand an insurer or an auditor. We test and document; we do not certify compliance.
CRTC material from the Commission’s multi-line telephone system page and decisions 2019-330, 2022-265 and notice 2023-156, checked 4 November 2026. This page describes practice and configuration; it is not legal advice.
Start with a Telephony Health Check
A fixed-fee review of what you have, what 911 does, whether the life-safety circuits work, and where the money leaks. $1,500 for a single site, $2,500 for a campus, plus GST, with a written report either way.
or call (403) 698-0700