SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The territory's only land line phone service provider said it can offer 911 services to all 30 communities in the NWT and fully supports its implementation. <

In a letter to the City of Yellowknife, Curtis Shaw, vice-president of consumer and small Business for NorthwesTel, said the company is fully capable of providing 911 service in every community in the NWT.

"This means that all communities can be programmed to route 911 calls via dedicated circuits to a centralized PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) in Yellowknife," Shaw said, adding maintenance, administration and initial set up of the service could be covered by a 911 charge to consumers.

Anne Kennedy, communications director for NorthwesTel, said the 911 discussion has been going on for 10 years, and the phone company is ready to take on the service when it is activated. She said the company has spent a substantial amount of time and money preparing for the service.

"It does cost us every time there is a new sort of version or a lapse over a few years and we have to start on the research again because equipment is always changing," she said, adding while company is fully capable of offering the service, the funding, operation and administration still needs to be determined.

"We'd really like to see it implemented," said Kennedy.

Robert McLeod, minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, said during the first day of session on Oct. 15 that 911 service won't be considered in the NWT until cellphone service is available across the territory, sparking debate about what it will take to get the service put in.

"When I talk of basic service I talk cell phone service and the comfort of knowing that they can call and have people respond within a matter of minutes, whether they’re 20 kilometres out of town," McLeod said.

A recent decision by the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission recommended that if enhanced 911 exists, the service provider would be required by law to provide GPS enabled cell service that can trace emergency calls to their location.

However, Linda Poole, director of emergency communications for enhanced 911 services across rural Manitoba, said it's unrealistic to think cell service should be available in remote areas before 911 is implemented and that it's a poor approach to providing a necessary service.

"I think it's expecting a lot to expect that," said Poole.

"If you're in the middle of nowhere, is it reasonable to expect you'll have cell service? Cell coverage is better than what we had 10 years ago and 10 years from now it'll be better yet," she said.

"We started implementation (of 911) long before there was active cell service," she said, adding the province offers 911 to 80 per cent of rural Manitoba.

"It's certainly improved over the last 15 years, but we were offering 911 when it was still kind of new."

Cellphone service, said Poole, is "not the be-all to end all and it shouldn't be touted as the be-all to end all.

"There will always be areas that don't have cellphone service. We have topography issues that you just cannot get around."

Van Tighem, who is also president of the NWT Association of Communities, said for three years now the association has supported a phased-in approach to 911. It represents 27 of 30 communities in the territory, many of which would be initially left out of the start of a 911 service.

"The question isn't 'here's an idea of how to do it, now go away.' The question should be – it's identified a large amount of money, let's fund out where that money comes from and who has to pay it. And let's look into the practical steps of how to do it," Van Tighem said.

"It has, for three years, been identified as a high priority by all communities."

The $1-million start up cost identified in a recent report funded jointly by the City of Yellowknife and the territorial government would cover the initial implementation in the territory's seven largest communities, which includes 77 per cent of the population.

Poole said in 1996 the government of Manitoba approved, through a one-time grant, the city of Brandon to be the home to a new 911 centre to take all rural emergency calls. To cover the cost of maintaining the centre and maintenance costs, communities pay on a per capita basis, but are not required to have 911 if they should choose not to. She added a phased-in approach is the most effective way to make sure a heavy financial burden isn't placed on financially limited communities.

"Having a rural municipality purchase a new radio system could be strenuous on the community financially," she said. "Giving them time to plan for implementation would make it easier to do."

According to Poole, there are alternatives to 911 for people living in remote communities, such as satellite phones and emergency GPS beacons.

"I think that establishing a land line 911 to begin with is better than nothing," Poole said. "Then if you start mandating a certain amount of cell coverage in your area, it's better than before.

"Starting out with land lines only is not a step backwards."

McLeod said Tuesday the government provides money for emergency services through capital funding and gas tax funding, $17-million of which goes to the seven communities identified in the joint report, which includes Yellowknife, Inuvik, and Hay River.

He said if those communities want to implement 911, they have the money to do so.

"We've developed a lot of responsibility to the communities," McLeod said. "The communities now have the ability to determine what's a priority in their communities and we've provided some funding to bring that about."

One of the current government's goals is to increase public safety, and McLeod said it's a balancing act between meeting government objectives and maintaining community self-reliance.

"They have it in their power now to make those decisions based on their priorities," he said. "They've asked for it for many years and they have it now."

Van Tighem said the city has been putting money away for 911 service for four or five years and through the regular capital plan, it is updating its communication and radio services in town.

From an emergency services point of view, Albert Headrick said it's a logistical nightmare to implement 911 all at once, and the phased-in approach recommended by a recent feasibility study will be needed.

"In most cases when 911 came out, they started in communities that would support such a system," said Headrick , referring to provinces that have implemented enhanced 911. Remote communities, he said, "don't get the 911 right off the bat."