Yellowknife (Sep 19/03) - A bus ride from Hay River to Yellowknife was cut short for a Fort Resolution man.

Edward Overvold was kicked off a Frontier Coachlines bus about 20 kilometres outside of Yellowknife for smoking Monday night.

Overvold admits he was wrong, but he thinks the bus company, Frontier Coachlines, should have handled the situation better. "The bus driver just kicked me off the bus and left me there to walk home," said Overvold, who did have a jacket with him.

Colleen Gagnier, owner and manager of Frontier, said in a letter to Yellowknifer the company regrets the incident.

"I wish the driver had phoned the police to meet him instead. We feel the passenger, who had been amply warned, must also bear some responsibility," she said, pointing to airlines pressing charges against passengers who don't follow the rules.

"Perhaps it is time for us to start the same procedure," Gagnier said.

She said the company has a zero tolerance policy towards smoking and drinking on the bus. "We reserve the right to refuse service if we think the passenger will cause a problem. Our policy is also to leave the passenger in a town or settlement," Gagnier said.

"We gave the driver a verbal reminder of the company's policy. The situation is over as far as we are concerned," said Gagnier.

Gagnier said the bus driver took the cigarette from the man about 45 kilometres from Yellowknife.

"He warned the passenger he would have to phone the police or put him off the bus if he didn't stop. The passenger said I don't care," wrote Gagnier in a letter to Yellowknifer.

She also said the man soon started hacking and coughing "like he was going to throw up."

"The driver stopped the bus right at the 20-kilometre sign and pulled the man up to get him outside to throw up. The man acted like a rag doll until they got to the door and then he started to turn around," Gagnier said.

"The driver thought he was going to hit him, so he turned him back and pushed him out the door. He closed the doors and drove away," Gagnier said.

Overvold says the driver didn't call a cab, or even the RCMP, for him.

Gagnier said the bus driver told her he would not have left him had it been cold or snowing.

Kindness of strangers

Overvold said he walked for about an hour in the dark before spotting a light at a cabin.

He was able to sleep a few hours there thanks to the owners. They then called a cab and paid the fare for him.

When he finally arrived at his brother's place, at 2:30 a.m., Overvold figured he'd just put the incident behind him.

But his brother, Charles Overvold, and a friend, Larry Hagen, said Overvold should stick up for himself.

"I was kind of pissed off at him at first but when I started thinking about it, I was upset at them. I think they could have handled it differently," said Charles Overvold, who lives in Yellowknife.

"There are lots of dangers out there. What would the driver have done if it was the middle of winter?

What about bears and wildlife? Or what if the incident had happened between Rae and Fort Providence?" Charles asked.

Overvold said he could understand being met by the RCMP and fined upon arrival to Yellowknife.

"But getting dropped off in the middle of nowhere, without my luggage, that was a little too much," he said.

Overvold said he is considering legal action and is trying to get in touch with his MLA, Steven Nitah, and the Dene Nation.