Since the beginning of November, the Pontiac has faced quite a few power outages. We’re in the 21st century, yet our communities still worry if we’re going to be able to heat our homes or call 911 if needed, even though we live less than two hours from our nation’s capital!
Three situations, when combined, could lead to death: power outages, loss of or
lacking internet connections, and poor cell service. When Bell installed my Fibre, they assured me I could keep my landline and number. What they failed to say is the line was changed to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). In other communities in Quebec and Canada, it’s probably not an issue to have VOIP, but when your phone service depends on electricity and the power supply isn’t reliable, it becomes an issue
When I contacted Bell Canada with my concerns, they just brushed me off. We shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars to ensure we’re able to survive in our homes because we never know when the power is going to go out and for how long.
Elected officials and involved citizens have tried throughout the years to get Hydro Quebec to fix this issue. It’s not that they’re not hearing us, it’s that we’re not high enough priority for them to do anything about it. It’s time we join as a community, stop begging Hydro Quebec to provide decent service and take the steps necessary to ensure they have no choice but to do so. In addition, we need to look at any programs that would allow us to embrace new options to generate electricity for ourselves.
Sonia Dupuis,
L’ISLE-AUX-ALLUMETTES
