Mr. Speaker, I often hear how disappointed the public is about this bureaucratic style of government. Yet again I’m going to provide, if not illustrate, another example of how Northerners feel continually disappointed by this Cabinet.
The citizens of the territory keep calling for 911, but the MACA Minister won’t pick up the call for action. Citizens are struggling to understand why in the North, why in this modern time the Northwest Territories does not have 911 services for us to access. It is a reality of life. It’s beyond a doubt that 911 makes it a lot easier to call for emergency services and time makes the difference between life and death. Report after report will illustrate that. Any delay can cause dangerous causes and effects.
The MACA Minister has been called to answer this question many times: What is stopping you? Yet he calls back and says nothing, and the fact is it comes down to, well, it’s not everywhere, we can’t install it because we don’t have cell phones. We must be at the end of the line of excuses by this government.
Recently, NorthwestTel has put cell phone services in almost three-quarters of our communities across the territory. Basic 911 service has now become such a pervasive issue across North America it’s a natural instinct. You ask any young person what’s the emergency phone number, an eight-year-old will say 911.
So what is the delay? Northerners want this as a priority. The NWTAC wants this as a priority. Yes, the City of Yellowknife wants this as a priority. It has now reached a public safety priority.
I remind the Minister of MACA that he also includes Yellowknife in his mandate as Municipal and Community Affairs Minister. Often it’s seen as we wouldn’t want to support a Yellowknife initiative, but this is a territorial initiative which will help the safety of many of our Northerners, one thing that should always, always be on our mind.
If you go to the CRTC website, the website states, “basic 911 is provided in Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.” We should be calling 911 on the fact that they’re wrong. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
