Sometimes those of us who live in southern Canada forget how different life can be for our distant neighbours living in the country’s three northern territories: Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Some things we take for granted down here may not even be available in the North.
Dialing 911 for help in an emergency, for instance.
Yukon has had the service since 2016.
The territory has been planning and laying the groundwork for the emergency dispatch service for months. It will be available in every N.W.T. community. (Mario De Ciccio/Radio-Canada)
Nunavut doesn’t.
Until Monday, neither did the Northwest Territories.
Srike that omission.
For the first time, N.W.T. residents will now be able to dial 911 for help across the territory’s 33 communities.
The service will be available in English, French and, through interpreters, all nine of the the territory’s nine Indigenous languages (Chipewyan/Dené, Cree, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tlicho).
Where a service doesn’t exist or is temporarily unavailable to respond, operators will be able to provide over-the-phone guidance to address immediate health or safety risks.
The 911 service will be available in English, French and, through interpreters, all nine of the the territory’s nine Indigenous languages across the territory’s 33 communities. (rcinet.ca)
The government says at least one operator will be on duty around the clock.
Residents previously had to dial a separate local prefix followed by 1111 for police and 2222 for fire and ambulance service.
Those numbers will remain in place for now as residents adjust to the new system.
With files from CBC, CP, CTV
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