SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It's up to local governments to ensure a 9-1-1 emergency dispatch services exists, not cellphone service providers, lawyers representing Bell Mobility argued in court Wednesday.
The company offered four witnesses in its defence this week as the $6-million class action lawsuit over a 75-cent fee for non-existent 9-1-1 service draws to a close.
The lawsuit was launched six years ago by two Yellowknife men, James Anderson and his son Samuel Anderson, who say Northern customers were being cheated because there was no live operator when people dialed 9-1-1, only a recording directing callers to contact the emergency number for their area.
Lyne Jacques, a network engineer for Bell Mobility, testified that Bell is only responsible for routing the calls.
"In Whitehorse, we do have routing instructions that bring the call to the RCMP," said Jacques.
"In Yellowknife, it goes to a 10-digit number, which then goes to a recording."
Whitehorse is the only community in the three territories that has 9-1-1 service. Yellowknife has been trying to establish one for more than a decade but little progress has been made to date. Residents in the city must call a local prefix followed by 1111 for police, or 2222 for the fire department or an ambulance.
Keith Landy, lawyer for the plaintiffs, asked whether there was an obligation to route the calls.
"When there is 9-1-1 service, yes," said Jacques.
"When 9-1-1 is available we are obligated to route it properly. If it's a non-served area and we didn't receive any instructions, we can't route it ourselves."
Bell stopped charging the 9-1-1 fee in November 2009 but insists its decision had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Rather, it was a business move to counter competition from other cellphone services providers down south who had discontinued charging their 9-1-1 fees. Older Bell plans signed prior to November 2009 still carry the fee.
The court also heard from Mark Leclerc, who managed stores and dealers under the brand's Northwestel Mobility and later Bell Mobility. Landy asked Leclerc if NWT customers were informed that 9-1-1 is not available on their cellphones when they were purchasing them.
"Running the stores we made sure to inform people about the lack of 9-1-1 service," said Leclerc.
"Was that a directive from Bell Mobility?" asked Landy.
"No, that was our common sense," responded Leclerc.
The trial, which began Monday, was adjourned Wednesday until Friday morning when final arguments and submissions are expected to be heard.
