RM says flood fight worsened by Bell MTS dead zone

Officials in St. Lazare had no option but to drive to more than 20 properties to warn people about impending flooding because there’s no cell service in the area in western Manitoba.

The 22 families who live north of the Qu’Appelle Bridge are isolated with absolutely no cell service, said Trish Huberdeau, the CAO of the Rural Municipality of Ellice-Archie, on Wednesday.

“We were able to physically drive out and talk to people before the floodwater came,” she said.

“The absence of dependable cellular coverage in our municipality is far more than an inconvenience — it is a significant public safety concern,” Huberdeau said.

The lack of service has added to the challenges of emergency responders who are dealing with a state of emergency in St. Lazare.

“@BellMTS I just want you to know you have failed us beyond comprehension,” St. Lazare-Ellice Fire Department Chief Owen Jessop posted on social media. The post included an aerial view of the valley that’s been turned into a lake thanks to the rising Assiniboine River. “These floodwaters are an absolute nightmare to navigate without cell service!”

“It’s a serious public security concern.”

On Wednesday, Huberdeau called out the telecom company for not addressing the issue that she said has been raised in discussions with Bell dating back to 2023.

“Imagine being in an area where your cellphone is completely useless,” she said as the river neared its peak in St. Lazare, nestled in the Assiniboine River Valley, 300 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

“It’s impossible to try and contact anybody. If somebody was injured in floodwaters, there’s zero way you can call 911. Nothing is going to go through,” Huberdeau said from the RM office in McAuley.

“It’s a serious public security concern.”

It’s not the first time Manitoba’s 911 system has been called out for a lack of service.

In April, more than 50 people were unable to get through to 911 because of a Bell MTS service outage, Bell Canada reported to the CRTC in May. The company blamed a power failure and surveillance tools that didn’t trigger alarms.

In March 2025, 55-year-old Dean Switzer died of a heart attack in the Interlake while his family and friends tried in vain to reach 911 for 90 minutes as they performed CPR — not realizing their Telus service was not working. Telus blamed the outage on a Bell equipment failure.

Concerns about cellular coverage gaps in and around Hollow Water First Nation were raised after a man went on a stabbing rampage there in 2025.

The risks are real, Huberdeau said.

“The current flooding emergency, multiple CN rail derailments in our area, bush and grass fires, and the potential for pipeline incidents all highlight the critical need for reliable communications during emergency situations,” she said.

A natural gas pipeline runs near St. Lazare, which is home to a kindergarten to Grade 12 school, many agricultural operations, and businesses that rely on dependable emergency communications.

“The lack of cellular service compromises the ability of residents to call for help, emergency responders to co-ordinate effectively, and public safety officials to communicate critical information,” Huberdeau said.

In a statement Wednesday, Bell MTS said wireless expansion in rural regions such as St. Lazare “is a challenge for private investment alone.”

“They’ve been ghosting us since 2024.”

“Bell MTS continually evaluates how best to optimize and expand our wireless footprint to meet customer needs. In Manitoba, we operate 468 wireless towers in addition to participating in network-sharing agreements with our competitors — a reflection of our commitment to reliable, high-quality service across the province.”

It said it is open to partnerships with provincial and federal government “to expand our network.”

Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard said the government is aware of the issues in St. Lazare “and there are ongoing conversations with the community. We have also had productive discussions with service providers and the federal ministers responsible to advocate for the community and help resolve the issue.”

In a letter to Bell MTS in April, Ellice-Archie Reeve Barry Lowes said the RM submitted specifications to Bell in December 2023 about existing towers in the municipality (population 600) and its willingness to pay for the equipment to be installed to provide cell service.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Biidaajimowin | News from the Centre

Wednesdays

Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences.

Sign up for Biidaajimowin | News from the Centre

Sign Up

I consent to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies.

I consent to CASL agreement.

“Since then, there has been complete silence,” Lowes said in the letter obtained by the Free Press.

Huberdeau said Bell MTS is the only service provider in the region, and the RM has been “very, very open” with the company about doing whatever is needed to bring dependable cellphone service to the area.

“We will bring money to the table,” she said. If existing towers can’t be used, then they’re prepared to get new ones built.

“We need them to come to the table,” said Huberdeau. “They’ve been ghosting us since 2024.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.