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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The trial date for a class action suit against Bell Mobility for charging Northern customers for non-existent 911 service has been moved to next year.

The $6-million case against Bell was launched in 2007 by Yellowknifers James and Samuel Anderson.

The amount is being sought from the phone company to make up for the 75 cent monthly 911 service fee charged to customers in NWT, Nunavut and the Yukon, where the service isn't available.

Whitehorse customers are excluded from the case because the 911 service is available in that city.

The trial was expected to start on May 7 in Yellowknife but has been delayed because of medical issues for one of the Andersons' lead lawyers, said Keith Landy, another lawyer for the plaintiffs.

"He couldn't go to Yellowknife to deal with the matter so we've had to put it off," Landy said of the lawyer.

The trial is now set for March 4, 2013 and is expected to last 10 days.

James Anderson said it is unfortunate that his lawyer is facing some medical issues and added that he's not concerned about having to wait longer for the trial.

"There are other lawyers with the firm but they need time to come up to speed," Anderson said. "We knew going into this that it was going to be a long haul. It's been about five years now and I guess it takes whatever time it takes ... We are in it to win."

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