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ARTICLE · 17 SEPTEMBER 2013

Successful Class Action Trial In Northern Territories Regarding Cellular Charges For 911 Emergency Service Fee

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In the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, cellular service agreements between Bell Mobility and its customers provided that all monthly service charges included a 911 emergency service fee.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Yola S. Ventresca
Yola S. Ventresca
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Co-author: Tanya Jawa, Student-at-law

In the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, cellular service agreements between Bell Mobility and its customers provided that all monthly service charges included a 911 emergency service fee.  However, except in the city of Whitehorse, when a Bell Mobility customer dialed 911, he or she would be re-routed to a recorded message stating that there are no 911 services available and to please hang up and dial zero.  Dialing zero connected the customer to another recorded message, directing the customer to hang up and dial 911.  Customers were never able to reach a 911 operator.

In Anderson v Bell Mobility Inc., 2013 NWTSC 25, Justice Veale considered whether Bell Mobility was liable to the class of plaintiffs (Bell Mobility's customers in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut) for charging this monthly service fee when, in fact, there was no such service available.  This four day class action trial dealt with seven

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