Transmission failure

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/03/2015 (3324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They say timing is everything and in the case of Mikel Rondeau and Ashley Poiron, Manitoba Hydro’s timing could not have been worse-destroying their dream of a quiet, serene, rural home.

At the very least that dream is serious jeopardy. The very day the couple took possession of their property just south of Ste Genevieve, Manitoba Hydro announced that its new preferred route for the Manitoba-Minnesota transmission line will cut through the heart of the property.

The location was seen as ideal, Rondeau scouted six or seven properties in the area. Being located in Ste Genevieve suited them well. The couple, who both currently live and work in Winnipeg, have connections to Lac du Bonnet and St Labre, making a dream home just south of Ste Genevieve a great central location.

Rondeau, who grew up in Lorette, said the ability to purchase the property came from an inheritance after his father passed away from cancer a few years ago.

“I had the money to pay this land because of my dad. I wanted to use it for something I really wanted,” Rondeau said.

When he came across the property, which was most recently used as a paint ball field, he knew this was the spot.

Birds, deer and beavers are prevalent on the 80-acre parcel, which is also home to number of duck ponds.

Rondeau, who has his Metis harvester license, said the property was ideal for him to also exercise his traditional hunting rights.

“I take it seriously,” he said about hunting and his Metis heritage. He credits his late father for connecting him with his Metis roots which, in his younger days, lead Rondeau to be a successful boxing competitor at the North American Indigenous Games.

Now Rondeau, 29, has another big fight on his hands.

Hydro’s proposed routing change hit him with shock. A childhood friend, who also owns property nearby, sent him a text message after learning about the new route and added that it looked as though it was running right through the couple’s new land.

Rondeau shook his head at the odds of picking this property over others, only to have Hydro make plans for a transmission line.

With a yard site well off the closest roadway, the couple was looking forward to some solitude.

“All you hear is the cattails in the breeze,” said the 28-year-old Poiron.

The couple’s dogs, Stella and Tito, love the property too as an expansive escape from their current downtown Winnipeg home.

Hydro officials have provided little consolation in meetings that Rondeau has attended.

“You’re not going to get what you probably think that it is worth,” Rondeau says he was told by one official at a recent meeting in Ste Anne.

The official figured they might receive compensation for about 16 acres at 150 percent of market value. The other option was even less promising.

Either you accept the easement offer or they move to expropriate, Rondeau said.

“I don’t know what to do,” he admitted.

He feels bad to try and put the property back up for sale, fearful he won’t get back his investment. It was a move that was encouraged, he said, by Hydro officials who reminded him this is not yet the definitive route.

But would they choose to stay?

The couple express concerns, as others have, about living so close to power lines.

If this does become the definitive route in June, they estimate the lines will run within 170 metres of their yardsite.

“There are health concerns,” Poiron said, “Especially if you want to have a family.”

Rondeau says he appreciates Hydro’s efforts to export power but questions how that balances with the needs of Manitobans.

“You don’t have to do it at the expense of taxpaying citizens,” he said.

Though Hydro may deliver an offer, Rondeau says it can’t match the intrinsic value of the property.

“I just try to continue to get their attention but it is hard to convince them because they just don’t seem to care about the little guy,” Rondeau said.

“It’s bringing down the value in my heart,” he said. “They aren’t paying people for that.”

This story appeared in the March 12 print edition of The Carillon.