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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Olinto Beaulieu remembers the day when his mom showed him the form she was thinking of filling out to register the name of a new business.

She "always wanted to start a taxi company of her own," said Beaulieu.

Michael Grossetete is the daytime driver for Olinto's Taxi in Fort Simpson. Grossetete used to be a chauffeur for the band office in Jean Marie River. - photo courtesy of Olinto Beaulieu

Beaulieu's mother, who has since died, never had enough money to go through with registration, but her son has picked up where she left off, starting his own taxi company called Olinto's Taxi Ltd.

Fort Simpson is said to have been without a taxi service for at least six months.

"It was just much-needed," said Beaulieu, who also works full-time as a labourer at Nahanni National Park.

But the reason he threw himself into his second job was far more personal.

"I did it as a memory to (my mom) - something to remember her by," he said.

Beaulieu said he wanted to do something to prevent community residents from dying of exposure when roaming around town after a night of drinking.

"A lot of people are passing away from freezing in the snow," he said, adding that many Fort Simpson residents live as far as three miles out of town.

Olinto's fleet consists of two cars: a 2007 Ford Explorer and a backup Chevy Silverado. Since the business began in late January, it has received an average of 20 calls for service every day.

The top three requested destinations are, in the following order, work, the airport, and retail stores - namely the grocery store. While Olinto's wife, Lorna, helps with bookkeeping, his 16-year-old son Jordan occasionally washes and cleans the cars, for which he's paid an allowance.

"He likes to help out whenever he can," said Beaulieu.

The company logo - "Olinto's Taxi Ltd." written in yellow letters inside a black rectangle framed at the bottom and top with a checkered back and yellow pattern - is very reminiscent of classic taxi designs. It also recalls Beaulieu's mother.

"She used to wear a coat often that was black and yellow. Yellow was her favourite colour," he said.

Full-time driver Michael Grossetete took the job after working as a chauffeur for the Jean Marie River band office.

"It's been great," he said, adding customers appreciate the smoke-free cars. "Nobody wants to take their kids into a cab when it reeks of smoke."

Town of Fort Simpson bylaw officer Bert Tsetso said all new businesses - whether they're a taxi company or something else entirely - are always welcome in town.

"Any new business in the community is a good resource," he said.