Still no movement on 9-1-1
Frame Lake MLA grills minister Caroline Cochrane on lack of service
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, October 28, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife MLA says it is "beyond belief" the territorial government claims it can't afford to bring 9-1-1 emergency call service to the NWT.
Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Caroline Cochrane, middle, answers questions from MLAs on the lack of 9-1-1 service in the NWT yesterday during a meeting of the standing committee on government operations. Beside Cochrane is Eleanor Young, MACA deputy minister and Kevin Brezinski, MACA director of public safety. - John McFadden/NNSL photo |
Kevin O'Reilly, the MLA for Frame Lake, is not accepting the government's line it has to save $150 million and therefore is not in a position to implement the service to the territory, even though every other jurisdiction has it except for Nunavut.
"To say we can't afford $615,000 and $266,000 a year afterwards is beyond belief," O'Reilly said in the legislative assembly last Tuesday.
"Can we afford to continue to put our residents and visitors at risk and roll the dice in terms of liability from our failure to provide adequate services?"
O'Reilly said at the very least the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) should request Northwestel change its outgoing message when people call 9-1-1 so they are given the proper emergency numbers.
He asked MACA Minister Caroline Cochrane if she had talked with Northwestel about this issue.
"We have met with Northwestel in asking them to change the recorded message," she said. "Northwestel is not willing at this time to change it. They say it's due to technical and liability concerns. They've also (said) that it would require a technical upgrade and they're concerned that it may jeopardize the current message should a new approach prove not successful"
She added her department is working with Northwestel to see if cellular service providers can provide redirect information to those using cellphones to call 9-1-1.
O'Reilly also wanted to know if there was any money leftover from a settlement received by a Yellowknife father and son, James and Sam Anderson. They successfully sued Bell, Northwestel's parent company, because residents of the NWT were paying a 9-1-1 surcharge on their phone bills for years despite the fact there is no 9-1-1 service in the territory.
"The money that was brought down through the court case was offered back to people who had paid for it and, anyone who didn't want to pay for it, the monies was provided to the Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation," Cochrane told the house.
O'Reilly then asked if there is any funding available for 9-1-1 from the federal government under its infrastructure funding program.
"We have met with the federal government, a couple of times actually, and we've been asking them to consider our request for 9-1-1 under public safety and under future investments in infrastructure funding," Cochrane said.
O'Reilly said that waiting for funding from the federal government for 9-1-1 service in the territory is not an option as far as he is concerned.
"I hope we don't have to wait for the feds to pony up before we can actually get this important service," he said.
Northwestel spokesperson Andrew Anderson stated in an e-mail that if people call 9-1-1 from a landline they are told they can call the operator for the emergency numbers if they don't know them.
"Northwestel operators are available 24/7 from any landline," he stated. "(They) have the full list of emergency services available in communities across the North, and can connect people to those services."
Anderson went on to state supplying one message across the story would be unfeasible, as every community has a
different emergency number.
Kevin Brezinski, MACA spokesperson, stated in an e-mail that when and if 9-1-1 comes to the territory, it will not be free.
"Approximately $266,000 (annually) for ongoing costs would ... have to be picked up by the GNWT," Brezinski stated.
"We can consider raising the levy to $1.77 (landline) and $1.57 (cell) which would cover all costs, but that's about three times the national average. This is due to such a low subscriber base in the NWT."
A visibly frustrated O'Reilly had no questions for MACA officials after a presentation from them to MLAs on the standing committee on government operations yesterday.
"(Almost) two dollars a month to get this service on their phone bill. I don't think anybody's going to object to that," O'Reilly said. "Just get on and do it."
