YELLOWKNIFE - Mayor Gord Van Tighem praised the fire department and said the city is working towards getting 9-1-1 service in his annual "State of the city" address last Thursday at the Explorer Hotel.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem delivered his "State of the city" address at the Explorer Hotel last Thursday afternoon. He said the city is working on getting a 9-1-1 service. - Peter Crnogorac/NNSL photo

In the address, he went over what he considered to be major steps forward in 2006, such as the adoption of the community energy plan.

He also talked about the environment and climate change, a popular subject for all Canadian politicians.

"All our traffic lights are now (low energy) LED, and anyone who wants to know why should just look at the amount of snow we have had this year," he said. "With 98 cm, we smashed a 57 year record."

The audience of about 50 cheered once during the 15-minute presentation, when the mayor referred to the Arctic Winter Games coming to the city in 2008.

Van Tighem said the North is the future of Canada. He cited all the high-level politicians who visited last year, including Governor General Michaelle Jean, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and NDP leader Jack Layton.

Van Tighem took a few shots at the territorial government, alluding twice to the government not supporting Yellowknife enough.

And, of course, the mayor mentioned that 2007 is the

40 th anniversary of the city.

The mayor paused near the end of his address, then said, "Oh yeah, I bet you thought I forgot about 9-1-1."

He said the city is working towards getting the emergency response service for all of the NWT and he said he believed major steps towards this have been accomplished.

He added, "I must point out the competence of our fire department to rise above tragedy and serve the community with pride."