— Musings —12.28.2013 07:50 PM
Dark Toronto: help wanted
Hi Warren,
How are you?
i hope good.
* If posting to your blog would help get the phone numbers i need, please don’t include my or my parents names or address in your blog post.
My parents are still without power, in toronto. they are 85 years old.
They have been staying in different homes of their kids for the last week.
All of their children are concerned about the stress they are under.
A city tree had a limb come down on their hydro line.
Multiple tickets have been reported to hydro about this.
Hydro will give no information as to when their line will be fixed or where they are in the cue. Hydro said they DO NOT prioritize people based on any vulnerabilities they might have, and as well, the front line hydro person had no idea how hydro
chooses who’s line they will fix next.
This is horrible emergency planning. Hydro needs to fully assess their emergency planning to make sure a better emergency system is in place.
Warren, Do you know how i can find the cell phone numbers of Kathleen Wynne, Norm Kelly, Rob Ford, Hydro Ceo Anthony Haines, Hydro safety person – Ave Lethbridge, or
their assistants or media relations people?
Or a phone number for the right person at hydro to get this sorted out right away. the 416 542 8000 number and related dynamic is useless.
My brothers and sisters and I are very concerned about my parents health and well being, since they cannot go home and have no idea when they will be able to return.
I want to make sure Hydro sends out a truck as soon as possible to fix their line, and get at least a rough ETA as to when this is likely to happen.
thanks for your consideration about this, WK,
MUCH APPRECIATED!
josh X
416 922 XXXX
Well, a couple of MSM sources including the Globe and I think CBC carried a story that quoted some supposed experts who claimed Ford had made the right decision in not declaring an emergency. Can’t see it.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’m thinking if an emergency had been declared, the Canadian Military and it’s resources would have come into play, and they do have considerable resources. Including some really able bodied, capable folks who really do want to do the right thing for Canadians, wherever they might be needed.
Better than busting your hump and taking one for the gipper in some foreign land for the sake of geopolitics.
No, a State of Emergency declaration would have not sped anything up. When power started going out, Toronto Hydro put their own emergency plan into force whic included calling on other jurisdictions both in Canada and the U.S that Toronto Hydro has assistance agreements with to send any available crews. Problem was the storm covered such a huge area, those jurisdictions had issues of their own. The Ontario government said from day one Toronto would have all provincial resources needed available to them wit or without a SOE being declared.
Also interesting: If you read the Provinces emergency management legislation, TWO people had the power to declare a SOE in Toronto. One was Ford. Care to guess who the other was? Premier Kathleen Wynne. Funny who Ford’s detractors in the media and the gutless wonders on council critical of Ford for not calling the SOE didn’t ask Wynne the question even once why she didn’t call it.
And that it not a criticism of Wynne by me. As I said, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
Rob Ford home phone number 416-233-6934.
Ford’s cell number, according to a google search is (416) 805-2146.
There is no privacy issue with posting these as Ford himself gives his home # out to everyone who asks.
josh X said “This is horrible emergency planning.”
Emergency planning in Ontario? Ontario’s Emergency planners are Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot and the Tooth Fairy
As of this morning, when you call Toronto Hydro at the 416-542-8000 number, you can actually talk to a real person (if you push #3 after the prompt and wait a bit. OK. A lot longer than just a bit.)
I found a card in my powerless neighbours’ mailbox yesterday. It was from Hydro and it said that a new wire needed to be connected from their Hydro metre to their stack. I called their son, who then called Hydro. He asked about the form and was told that Hydro was “taking care of things” and that his parent’s home was on their “radar”.
Seeing no Hydro action in the last 24 hours, I called Hydro this morning, read them what it said on the card, and asked if it was the homeowner’s responsibility or Hydro’s responsibility to fix this issue (it certainly wasn’t clear on the form). Their answer was that the homeowner had to source out a certified ESA electrician (www.esasafe.com), have that piece of electrical repaired, pay for it, call Hydro with the official “ESA” work documentation number, and then Hydro will send a truck to reconnect the power.
Problem is, my neighbours aren’t checking their mailbox because they’re living at their son’s place in an attempt to avoid freezing and/or starving to death. (Nor have they been able to do a “drive by” to check on the status of their home because they can’t get their car out of their driveway due to fallen limbs.)
After my call to Hydro, I called the family (after sourcing out an ESA-certified electrician for them). The electrician was up north driving from Home Depot to Home Depot, trying to find wiring and other assorted electrical supplies because there is zero stock available in Toronto.
Bottom line? If I hadn’t opened that mailbox and found the card beneath a pizza flyer, this could have dragged on forever. Perhaps a secondary Hydro alert system (e.g. text, voice mail, email) would be prudent, especially now that Canada Post is about to have the Last Rights administered to it.
The electrician is coming tomorrow to give us an ETA of when he can do the job. With any luck, my neighbours might be home in time for New Year’s Eve. But then again, maybe not… Hope the battery in the older gentleman’s pacemaker lasts as long as his patience has.
Thank god you have family around to step up …that is what we do as Canadians …emerg planning needs work for sure
I realize this will sound like an anti left rant, but the administration of former mayor David Miller, including several current councillors needs to take some heat here.
They instituted policies that made it impossible for home owners to be able to even TRIM trees on thier OWN PROPERTY without getting permission and a permit from the city.