Letters - February 20

Feb 19, 2014

Re: Bible most misunderstood book

Thank you, Jo, for your letter to the editor a couple weeks ago (Letters, Frontenac News, Jan 23/14). It takes a certain amount of courage to be open and candid about personal challenges and reach out to others. By so doing, you allow us to send healing thoughts and prayers your way. Your thoughts on the Book of Job in the Bible prompted me to take another look at his story.

Pamela Giroux

Black History Month

On the weekend, my wife and I watched "12 Years a Slave". Only in 1834, just seven years before the setting of the movie “12 Years A Slave”, was slavery abolished in Canada and the British Empire. From Wikipedia sources it can be gleaned that Black slaves lived in the British regions of Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries — 104 were listed in a 1767 census of Nova Scotia, but their numbers were small until the United Empire Loyalist influx after 1783. As white Loyalists fled the new American Republic, they took with them about 2000 black slaves: 1200 to the Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), 300 to Lower Canada (Quebec), and 500 to Upper Canada (Ontario). The Imperial Act of 1790 assured prospective immigrants that their slaves would remain their property.

Owning slaves in New France (Quebec) were: Sister Marguerite d'Youville, now an official saint of the Catholic Church, Madeleine de Verchères, a 'heroic' woman who defended New France from the Iroquois, the Jesuits etc.

There are many documented stories of slaves being executed, being beaten and trying to escape. As well, there were occasions where the church insisted that the white male slave owner marry his black female slave after parenting many children together.

For me, the movie is contemporary. With continued capital benefits of 400 years of slavery for all North Americans as well as the continued acts of racist violence, public education on our past must continue. Here's to Black History Month.

Ken Fisher

Re: Ombudsman investigating Hydro One billings 

I have been reading with great interest all the articles written regarding Hydro One billing complaints. How ironic that Mr. Hillier is now acknowledging that there is a problem with this organization. When we brought our issue with Hydro One to his office in Perth in 2007, we were basically dismissed after one call to Hydro One by his representative.

On October 6, 2006 we purchased a 950 sq. ft. home with a wood stove as its only source of heat. We did not occupy it until November 10, 2006. From October 6, 2006 to February 22, 2007 (4½ months), we were billed for 10,112 kwh usage. After numerous calls and complaints, our bill was revised to 5,908 kwh. How kind of them to do so and then bill us for 6,115 kwh usage from February 22, to March 23. In total, we were billed for 12,023 kwh usage in less than 6 months at a cost of $2,036.08. We had no choice but to pay these enormous bills under threat of having our hydro cut off. We contacted Rural Legal Services, Randy Hillier's office, and Leona Dombrowsky's office, to no avail.

Since then, we have replaced our wood stove with a furnace; added outside lights, a fully equipped workshop; regularly plug in our vehicles during the winter months, and purchased numerous electrical appliances. In 2013, I submitted our meter readings to Hydro One seven times. Our total kwh usage for the entire year was 12,188 kwh at a cost of $2,278.94. At this rate, one would think that our Debt Retirement Charge should be paid off by now.

I know that our issue will never be resolved at this late date. I just found it ironic that Mr. Hillier is now seeing THE LIGHT, yet was in total darkness when we sought his help.

Dianne Heikamp