Canadian cities and towns generally provide emergency and non-emergency services for the public. These services are only useful to you if you know how to use them efficiently and effectively. It is crucial that you and your family members familiarize yourselves with the information needed to get proper help. A good way to begin is to consult the inside cover of your telephone directory. There you will find the Emergency Call numbers for Fire and Rescue, Police and Ambulance. In large cities and towns, non-emergency numbers such as those for RCMP, Earthquake, and Floods may also be listed. Everyone should learn to use these life-saving numbers.
      In some cities, emergency calls can be taken by interpreters for people who do not speak English. All you have to do is dial 911, and state your native language (e.g. Chinese). An interpreter will then take your call. It is highly recommended, however, that everyone in your family makes a commitment to learn to express himself or herself in English, so that valuable time is not wasted in an emergency.

      LANGUAGE NOTES 語文註解
      (1) Emergency Services = 緊急服務(即警察、火警及救傷服務)
      (2) Crucial = 非常重要
      (3) Familiarize = Learn more to become familiar with something熟悉
      (4) Telephone directory = Phone book電話簿
      (5) Ambulance = 救傷服務
      (6) RCMP = Royal Canadian Mounted Police皇家騎警
      (7) Interpreters = 翻譯員(通常指口譯)
      (8) Native Language = Mother Tongue母語

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