Proper ID a safety requirement to take bus tour of Bruce Power, says reader

To the Editor:

Recently, 10 seniors from a local retirement home wanted to take a bus tour of Bruce Power. Many had grown up here but had never been inside the grounds. Because some are not able to take stairs, we had to have our mobility bus cleared to take it through.

Bruce Power accepted this and a week before the tour, we had to provide a list of all the people who would be on the bus, including staff, volunteers and the driver. Because most of the seniors don’t drive anymore or travel out of the country, the only government-Issued photo ID they have is their health card. Bruce Power agreed that as long as it was a photo ID health card, the residents would be allowed to go through.

The people without a photo ID would wait in the lobby at the Bruce Power Visitors' Centre while the others went on the tour.

Change of plans. On the morning of the outing, we received a call from Bruce Power to tell us that the government-issued health cards were not going to be accepted. Only three of the seniors had a driver’s licence so, needless to say, the trip had to be cancelled.

It would be easy to blame Bruce Power for this. Why did we have to give a list of the names of everyone on the bus a week ahead of time? Don’t other visitors just show up on the day of the tour without advance notice? Why is a government-issued photo ID health card not accepted? How could these senior citizens, who grew up next door to the hydro plant, pose a threat to security?

Bruce Power has assured me they will make sure that the visitors’ centre and security are in line with the rules. After explaining to the seniors why Bruce Power security has to be so strict, it made us look at the whole situation.

It is a shame that our country’s safety has been put on high alert because of threats from other countries and yes, homegrown threats. What happened to the days when we could trust all our fellow Canadians? After all, we have been called one of the best countries in the world to live in and I agree.

Unfortunately, we have to accept that this is the way of today's world, and we must live with the knowledge that our safety is always at risk. We must thank Bruce Power for keeping our immediate area safe from threats.

Karen Ballok
Inverhuron