Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr Speaker, today I am going to dial into the 911 issue and I certainly hope the Minister of MACA is willing to pick up the call and the urgency of this concern.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister has talked about not being able to help facilitate this problem even though it helps 77 percent of the population of the Northwest Territories. So I’ll take a different approach.
The NWTAC, that’s Association of Communities, 27 of the 33 communities have supported the 911 initiative over the last three years. I am just curious as to what is holding the Minister back with that type of support in our North. That’s 27 out of the 33 communities support this initiative. What’s holding the Minister back from moving forward on this initiative? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Bob...Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will let him answer.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, in our attempt to treat everybody across the Northwest Territories fairly, I think sometimes we are being portrayed as treating some unfairly and I don’t think that’s fair, Mr. Speaker. They have had a resolution passed by the NWTAC, as far as 911 goes. Seven of the 33 communities had originally wanted to get into the program, had the capacity to get into the 911 service. But, Mr. Speaker, since then, there has been a couple of communities that have decided that it’s not in their best interest right now to take part in the implementation of 911.
We do fund the communities through the capital formula funding and the gas tax money, which this particular program would fit. So if it’s a priority for the community, then they have the means to implement 911 if they choose to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
May I thank the Minister for moving right into my next question ever so perfectly. He talks about priority. Mr. Speaker, the priority is that when this initiative first was born, MACA was one of the leaders in this initiative. When he talks about some people backed away, Mr. Speaker, that’s because people are tired of waiting for the initiative to come together. It’s really only focussed on the fact that it’s a funding issue with a couple of these communities that have backed away and that is 27 out of 33 communities that support this. Speaking of numbers, seven of the 33 communities represent 77 percent of the communities.
Mr. Speaker, I will be the first to acknowledge that every community or every region has specific needs and I think it’s incumbent among all of us to make sure we try to answer those specific needs of each region or community. That includes Yellowknife sometimes. I know it’s a hard issue to deal with, but, Mr. Speaker, what would hold the Minister back from doing a current assessment of the partners out there who want this, to find out how much money they have prepared? Because I can speak to you right now for the City of Yellowknife, they have money set aside right now for this initiative. So what would hold the Minister back from doing a current assessment of the preparedness that several communities are ready to go with this? Thank you.
There is nothing holding us back, Mr. Speaker, from doing a current assessment. We can speak to the communities to see how many of them are interested and how many are ready to implement 911 and remind them again that we provide them with a lot of money through the capital formula funding and gas tax to implement 911 if they wish to do so. Thank you.
I will take that last as a commitment that they will reassess and do a current assessment. Mr. Speaker, speaking specific to the City of Yellowknife, they have moved some of the capacity money in preparation waiting for the leadership of MACA to help glue this initiative together. Is the Minister well aware of the fact that CRTC requirements, if I understand them correctly, say if we go to an enhanced 911 service, it causes our mobility companies to provide cell phone service in every one of our small communities and that would actually be the carrot that many Members really want about getting cell phone services in those communities. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister aware of that initiative, that if we push this 911 forward we will get that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the CRTC ruling says that they would have to…it doesn’t obligate the phone companies from implementing cell phone service in every community. That was not the ruling of CRTC. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker, I will respectfully disagree. What is exactly the ruling on getting enhanced 911 services that cause or force the mobility companies to put cell phone services in our communities? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I would have to dig up the actual ruling, but my understanding is they would have to put in the ability to locate the cell phones. They would have to put that inability in or it is available. It doesn’t obligate them to install cell phone service throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
