Poor cellphone coverage blasted by Manitoba municipalities

A lack of cellphone coverage in some parts of Manitoba is toppingthe agenda at theAssociation of Manitoba Municipalitiesmeeting in Winnipeg on Monday.

AMM president Doug Dobrowolskispoke aboutthe chaos created by the recent fires in Vita, Man., and the 2011 flood as just two examples of how a lack of cell service has createdlife-threatening situations.

Dobrowolski notedthat evacuation efforts during the October wildfires in Vita were hindereddue to patchy cellphone service in the area.

For example, when 365 schoolchildren were moved for safety reasons, many parents could not contact them.

The AMM has called an emergency resolution toaddress the poor cell service and is asking the provincial and federal governments to work with cellphone providers to come up with a solution.

In all, 54 resolutions will be up for debate over the next few days during theAMM'smeeting at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

The meeting wraps up Thursday.