MY THREE-MINUTE CASE
AGAINST THE TRUST, ROGERS & THE TOWER
Text & Photos by Will Thomas
Spoken submission delivered by William Thomas to the Islands Trust/LTC on Hornby Island, Sept. 8, 2023:
I speak for the voiceless ones. When does consultation become collusion? More specifically, when does the required Trust advice to Rogers Communications become complicity with an arrogant corporation that mocks our democratic process and emphatically voiced concerns?
Answer: Consultation becomes collusion when distant Trust officials correspond with a Rogers representative over a period of five months — from June 10 to Nov. 23, 2022 — without informing this community — or our Local Trust Committee — of plans to impose a 63-meter cell tower on an environmentally sensitive island, whose residents had overwhelmingly rejected a similar Telus proposal in favor of the fiber-optic network currently under construction.
That lesson had been learned: too much public consultation endangers corporate profits. Federal (ISED) statutes mandate that local government regulations be followed for any proposed cell tower. Among a list of legal stipulations — of which our lawyer has just reminded the Trust — is a mandatory face-to-face public meeting with the proponent.
We’re still waiting.
The timing is suggestive. Rogers waited until we chose fibre-optics — before pushing a cell tower whose untested 5G component requires fiber’s bandwidth to operate.
If both “fiber” and a telecommunications tower seem needlessly redundant — if the trashing of our community process by Rogers and the Trust feel insulting — that’s because they are. Cancelling our trustees, and delaying until the winter holidays to spring this announcement — then refusing postponement until March — was so incredibly cynical I’m lost for words. At least polite ones.
Does the Trust have no shame?
Is any of this necessary? Cellphone coverage is already available throughout much of Hornby. For those who cannot tolerate “dead zones”, Elon Musk’s STARLINK currently offers satellite connectivity, as two people in this room can confirm.
Earlier this year, Rogers signed contracts with STARLINK and LYNK GLOBAL to provide additional satellite-wireless service to rural communities. When will our Trust officials look UP?
Two superior alternatives to an obsolete, unsightly and risky tower — and a glaring lack of public consultation — show that we are nowhere near concurrence.
If I could make a motion, I would move to reject this irreparably flawed application from a bullying Toronto corporation — outright.
Not “reconsider” it.
Throw it out.
We can do so much better than this.
We already are.
See Also:
TRUST DOCUMENTS REVEAL DEEPLY FLAWED TOWER PROCESS
HORNBY’S CELL TOWER FIGHT HOMEPAGE