Letters: June 10

Checking Hydro One's Accountability, Ina Hunt-Turner

Uranium Exploration

Well, I suppose we knew it couldn’t last. On May 31, Frontenac Ventures had another day in court, by teleconference. The exploration company that was the centre of a uranium mining controversy 2 years ago at Robertsville was back asking for a return date for their warrant. The request was supported by an affidavit by George White explaining that times have been tough for raising investment money but that they have a new fish circling the bait and that the old threat of arresting people would help, perhaps even renewing exploration this summer.

We learned a lot the first time around. The most important lesson was that if we want to, we could stop this madness. We also learned that there is more than one way to get the job done. We also learned, that we need to stick together, support each other and the community, and talk honestly together.

The potential for disaster is great. Uranium, when mined and milled is one of the most toxic poisons in the world. It causes cancer, and studies show particularly in children. There has yet to be a method designed to secure the toxicity of a uranium dump that lasts beyond a generation. The Robertsville site is a wetland with multiple drainages into Crotch Lake, then the Mississippi River, and eventually the Ottawa River. Water from Crotch Lake takes 4 days to reach the City of Ottawa’s water purification facility. What kind of investor would put their money into such a commodity? What kind of citizen would allow their government to endorse this type of threat to the environment and fellow human beings?

I have learned in life that I can’t change the world’s ills. But what I can change is what happens in my backyard. Sometimes this takes a lot more effort than we want it to, but then again, ask anyone suffering with cancer if that takes effort. We did it once. We can do it again.

Robert Lovelace

The Lasso Solution

Like thousands of others, I am really upset at the police and MNR being unable to catch those two moose in the Ottawa area instead of killing one of them.

In another century in California it was Sunday entertainment to lasso bears. Sounds a bit dangerous. Yes, it was, unless you had two or more mounted ropers. If Ottawa had a couple dozen police learn to rope, it would have been pretty easy to drop a Huley Ann on the moose heads – from two sides and control it. Or a good Jonny Blocker on the feet if the moose had huge horns.

It would also be handy if someone broke through some thin ice and a lot faster than going looking for a ladder, and a lot safer for the rescue team. If this advice happens to tumble into the right brains, we won’t be shooting moose and bears in any city or town. (Could be a humane way to control people, too. Better than the taser).

Carmel Gowan

Checking Hydro One’s accountability

After receiving my second, highly inflated bill from Hydro One, I decided to phone them and ask some questions. No one else seems to want to do that. So far I have not received an explanation from them or the government, nor can I recall the government asking pertinent questions. And after all, does the government work for us or not?

At any rate, after a lot of being asked to hold the phone after each question I found out some answers. Here they are: We owe 7.5 billion dollars to Ontario Hydro. The bill is expected to be paid in 2020 and they could not or would not tell me how much debt we started off with. (But that is probably on record somewhere.) Or what the interest rate is and how many people are actually involved in paying this off. Thereby making it impossible for us to check their accountability. On top of that, we are no longer asked to do our own meter reading. That is now going right into the Hydro One office. I don't know of any legitimate business that could run things that way.

For anyone to have a monopoly is not a good thing. Solar energy is beginning to look a whole lot more attractive.

Ina Hunt Turner