Dear editor,
What a surprise today. I awoke this morning to find a trio of anonymous workers standing on my front yard, apparently trying to decide where to dig a hole.
Who are you and why are you on my lawn, says I.
We are from the water company, says one of them.
Excuse me, says I, but this is private property, and you are trespassing.
We are going to dig a hole right there, says one of them, pointing to a spot on my lawn.
No, I don't think, so says I. Get off my property.
Twenty minutes later I am working in my backyard. They are digging up the front lawns of some of my neighbours. Then one of them comes back over to my lawn and starts to probe around. I'm going to install a meter right here, says he.
No, I don't think som says I.
Why do you have to be like that, says he.
Be like what, says I. Protective of my property? Watching out for strange people who want to dig up my lawn?
Well you have two options, says he. You can allow them to dig up my yard by hand, and install this water meter, or he will have a large excavator come up with a police escort and tear up my front yard, leaving a mess behind.
I don't want a meter, says I. None of us do. And you do not have my permission.
It is just a tax grab, says I. One that they won't dare implement in city limits because people will raise a stink about it.
You've been warned, says he, and he walks away. It is close to lunch time, so he leaves.
Phone calls to the city suits get me no results; this area of town is part of the MD rather than the city. But I get a referral to another phone number.
Finally I get through to someone there, who takes my story and particulars, and tells me he will refer it to his supervisor. Hmmmm.
I wonder how high up this will have to go before someone actually refers to my rights as a property owner. NO trespassing. This means Corix. This is a contractor hired to do the work as the local people don't want to be responsible. A quick Google search shows Corix is a huge company with branches throughout most of Canada and part of the United States.
They identified themselves as being from the water company. Hmmm.
Aren't contractors required to produce identification? Is it the norm that these people should show some customer respect? Is it wrong of me to think that I should have written notification of just what they intend to do with MY property?
I have no paperwork from these people, I haven't given my permission to them to come onto my property, and I do not want any water meter. So there we are, standoff, or in the spirit of the season, faceoff.
This is one property owner who doesn't want to just accept quietly.
Russell Ball
Courtenay