Reflections on the great storm of 2013
If you subscribe to the belief that bad things come in threes then I think Toronto’s has had its allotment in spades this year: the ongoing embarrassment of the Rob Ford saga, the July floods and now an ice storm. So, I think we’re done here, 2013, and I’m looking forward to a more positive and productive 2014. And, before the year ends, here’s one household’s grateful thanks to the Hydro workers, forestry crews, police, EMS, firefighters and behind-the-scenes city employees who worked round the clock, giving up their own family time over Christmas to help Toronto out of the deep freeze. Fiona St. Clair, Toronto
Re Woman braves outage hungry, cold, immobile and in the dark, Dec. 31 This was a heartbreaking story. How many other vulnerable and helpless people were isolated during the storm? Can’t we, as a city or as a community, create a structure that will make sure they are not neglected during the next disaster?
Couldn’t there be a city-wide registry for those who are likely to need help during an emergency, listing their particular situation, degree of urgency and ways to contact them? The various medical and social service agencies in the city could provide input to this registry, as they encounter likely persons in the course of their work. Or the persons themselves or their friends could register. Then emergency workers could call or visit each person as indicated and see if they need assistance. Eleanor Batchelder, Toronto We need a community action plan to send volunteers out to check on vulnerable people in times of disaster or emergency. People who consider themselves “at risk” in any way could pre-register at a police station. In a disaster, volunteers could register with the police and get names of at-risk people in order to check on them each day to see if they need water, food, batteries for their radio or assistance to an emergency centre.
We don’t need to call in the army — we just need to mobilize the community. After all, this is not the last ice storm we will experience — this is Canada. Dorothy Gust, Scarborough
Re Promised aid falls short for blackout victims, Jan. 1 Why is it when there is a disaster or crisis in other areas of the world, Canada and Ontario are often first to offer millions of dollars for relief? However, when there is a disaster like this ice storm in our own city, Premier Kathleen Wynne steps up to the plate with morsels of help. And where is the Harper government? Hydro stated there were 300,000 homes without power, yet only 4,750 cards were distributed. You do the math.
What were they thinking? So many people were turned away as the food cards were snapped up in minutes. When will our government be there to help their own people? It sickens me. Debbie Schopp, Thornhill
This whole thing shows how we’ve replaced friends and family with companies and politicians, expecting them to look after us. Politicians know this is how they’re viewed, so they constantly seek to make something happen, while also silently saying, “By the way, don’t forget me in the next election.” Food is not the only thing that was spoiled in this situation and really no gift card is about to change that. Renae Jarrett, Ajax Hydro workers are the true heroes of the ice storm. They gave it their all to restore heat and light to homes across the city. I’ll remember these workers’ dedication and generosity whenever I hear politicians talk about how government workers are self-serving and overpaid, have overly generous pensions and too much job security. Myer Siemiatycki, Toronto
“I think we’re done here, 2013, and I’m looking forward to a more positive and productive 2014.” FIONA ST. CLAIR TORONTO
After the lineup for grocery store gift cards greatly outnumbered the supply, the city advised individuals and families seeking cards to “contact the offices prior to going.” Then the city warned that they cannot guarantee there will be sufficient cards (at any location) because there is no way of knowing “the volume of people who will line up.” So what is the point of calling ahead — other than to delay your place in that line? Kevin Clink, Brampton So Toronto Hydro bills customers with no power for electricity during the blackout, due to a “glitch.” I know of Toronto Hydro customers whose electricity bills are the same monthly, even when they are away for extended periods on vaca- tion. The time has come to investigate Hydro’s billing practices. Something is rotten in Denmark. Heads should roll. Bed Evans, Miami, Fla. What a sight it was! On Day 6 after the storm, a platoon of Toronto’s finest walking the streets in my area (Riverdale) going door-to-door handing out information sheets with warming/help centre locations because we were identified as “being without electricity for an extended period of time.” Nice gesture, right? A bit tardy perhaps, but of course it was. The only issue is that this particular area was never without power.
And, come to think of it, do we really need to pay uniformed police officers to deliver leaflets? Wouldn’t the army be cheaper? And if they aren’t available, I suspect there are thousands of capable and caring citizens across this city who would have gladly volunteered to do the leafletting when it mattered the most. Keith Noble, Toronto Rob Ford showed his ignorance and incompetence in denying an emergency when up to 300,000 people in the GTA were without power. Further, many suffering citizens were elderly, others struggled with disabilities, they could not get to warming centres.
Richard Ian Kenyon, a homeless man in his 50s, could have used a warming centre before he died in front of the Loblaw’s store on Carlton and Church Sts. on Dec. 23, one day after the storm hit. While Richard was dying, people walked by, totally ignoring him. If accessible warming centres had been open on Dec. 22 or 23, and if Toronto city council and other citizens gave a damn about housing homeless people, Richard Kenyon and many other homeless people would be alive today.
Warming centres should be open all winter. With the wind chill it’s damn cold even at -5 C and most below zero temperatures. And extreme wind chill/ weather alerts have been issued. Don Weitz, Toronto
It is wrong that Hydro Call Centre staff did not have access to Hydro truck locations. When numerous hydro wires across the city are falling down and endangering citizens lives, Hydro crews become front line emergency responders just as much as the firefighters who are quick to be on scene. The hydro dispatchers need complete knowledge of where their trucks are located. This is old GPS technology and there is no reason for its absence. In any emergency, the nearest available unit should be the first dispatched. Joe Cusimano, Toronto Buried in your article lauding the efforts of Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines is mention of his $935,501pay, of which less than half is salary. Good thing he found his wallet so he could pay for the coffee he bought the workers. Linda Heslegrave, Toronto