Can Canadian tech fix 911 wait times? Do we trust AI enough to let it try?

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges of 911 wait times and the role of Canadian tech startup Hyper in addressing these issues.

It's not just a Canadian problem, though it has likely cost some Canadians their lives. Staff answering 911 calls in centres the world over are overworked, stressed and sometimes ... there just aren't enough of them. As a result, callers are sometimes left on hold in the most awful circumstances possible. Money has been spent on recruitment, but talent is tough to come by. Enter Hyper. A Canadian startup that was just acquired by Motorola, Hyper is already helping 911 operators in several cities—but not in the way you might imagine. Not yet, anyway... Award-winning reporter Katherine Laidlaw joing the show to discuss her piece on Hyper, which was written for a brand new Canadian publication called Be Giant, which aims to report on the people, places, ideas and breakthroughs shaping Canada's future.

People in this episode

Hosts: Jordan Heath-Rawlings, Laura Palmer, Mat Keselman

Guest: Katherine Hayward

Topics covered

• 911 services
• Canadian tech
• AI in emergency response
• public safety
• healthcare
• startups

Keywords

• 911 wait times
• Canadian tech
• AI
• emergency response
• Hyper
• Motorola
• public safety
• Katherine Hayward

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hyper, Motorola, Be Giant

Places: Canada

More episodes of CanCon

• Why is Canada getting a brand new police force? · June 11, 2026 · 24 min
• What happened to Canada's Pharmacare plan? · June 4, 2026 · 26 min
• The US just paused a joint defence effort. How worried should Canada be? · May 28, 2026 · 29 min
• Why are gas prices so high in Canada if we produce our own? It's complicated. · May 21, 2026 · 28 min
• Midseason update: Surveillance pricing, listener feedback and more · May 14, 2026 · 15 min
• The emotional side of the Canadian housing crisis · May 7, 2026 · 31 min