Kerry Penney, the city's director of Policy, Communications, and Economic Development tells council about downtown revitalization initiatives, including efforts clean up litter, during a presentation to city council on Monday.
In 2001, 31-year-old Freda Hope broke through the ice while riding a snowmobile on Prosperous Lake. Her common-law partner, who was riding up ahead, also crashed and was injured.
Passersby found the man and attempted to dial 911, a service the territory doesn't have.
The man was taken to hospital. Hope was found the next day, frozen to death.
In a report on Hope's death, the coroner recommended Yellowknife install a 911 dispatch system.
More than 16 years later, the government of Northwest Territories is still working to adopt the coroner's recommendation.
On Monday, representatives from the department of Municipal and Community Affairs told city council that 911 services are set to go live cross the territory in June, 2019.
When implemented, residents and visitors will be able to dial the ubiquitous emergency number for whatever emergency services are available in their community.
Ashley Geraghty, the 911 program manager, said Tuesday that in addition to fire, medical and/or police response, 911 will also be a way to contact the coast guard, search and rescue, poison control wildfire management, and others others.
Through the new 911 system, telecommunicators will be able to offer “pre-arrival care” over the phone before first responders get to the scene.
For example, a 911 dispatcher may offer basic medical advice, or stay on the phone with a caller who is considering suicide.
Eleanor Young, the deputy minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, said this feature will be especially beneficial to people living in small communities where RCMP and health care resources are limited.
Unlike in other jurisdictions, the 911 dispatcher will not know the location or phone number of the caller.
Though the GNWT is overseeing 911, Yellowknife will continue to dispatch emergency services within the city.
This means that when a caller dials 911, the 911 telecommunicator will direct their call to the appropriate emergency service.
Young said the RCMP does not have the capacity to operate 911 in NWT.
Geraghty said it's “very, very rare” to find a 911 call centre that dispatches fire, medical and policing services.
Under the new 911 program, Geraghty said, the average dispatch that doesn't require much medical intervention over the phone would take about 45 seconds.
“It's, 'what is your location, what is the service that you need?'” he said.
“For anyone that doesn't know our seven-digit numbers, having 911 is the difference, potentially, between life and death.”
Each city camera up for review
The city will reevaluate the necessity of each of its 64 security cameras before switching it back on.
Sheila Bassi-Kellett, the city's senior administrative officer (SAO), said that administration will apply a test to each camera that asks, “is this camera necessary? Are there alternate means to ensure the safety of people, the safety of staff, the safety of property?”
The city deactivated security cameras at all its facilities on Jan. 18, following allegations that Doug Gillard, the head of the Municipal Enforcement Division, used the cameras to look at women.
All cameras will stay off until a policy is in place guiding their use.
On Monday, city council was presented with a draft of the security camera policy.
The policy aims to strike a balance “between safety and security of people and property and the right to privacy,” states a Feb. 5 memo to city council.
Under the proposed policy, only authorized employees, the SAO, the city’s lawyer, and people “who’s access is deemed necessary by the SAO” will have access to the cameras.
In addition, cameras will not be placed in areas where the public has a greater expectation of privacy, such as change rooms and washrooms.
The proposed policy limits “observing, monitoring or recording” to times in which there is a “demonstrably higher likelihood” of a security risk.
Bassi-Kellett said cameras in the library would likely be first up for analysis, as that facility is a “very well-loved facility with lots of use, lots of utilization of the cameras.”
City goes hard on garbage
City council hears a presentation on downtown revitalization initiatives, including efforts clean up litter, during a meeting of the Municipal Services Committee on Monday.
City workers hauled 42,000 pounds of litter and garbage from city trash cans to the landfill last year.
“We have a pretty aggressive approach to garbage now,” Dave Hurley, the city's facilities manager, said Monday.
For example, he said, even though it may not always look like it, city workers clean the lot at Franklin Ave. 50th Street, also known as the 50/50 lot, every day.
Volunteer city staff also contributed to the trash collection in 2017.
During the warmer months, 81 employees – 41 per cent of the city workforce – took their lunch hour every other Thursday to pick up trash and cigarette butts.
“We had a lot of positive feedback when we were out on the street,” Kerry Penney, the city's director of Policy, Communications, and Economic Development told city council Monday.
The city also ran a “random act of litter control” initiative in which residents caught picking up litter were offered a free pass to city facilities.
As of Monday, 49 passes were redeemed.