Richmond North Sales Meter Station Upgrade Project and Protect Yourself Against Fraud

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Happy New Year and welcome to my first Messenger column of 2018. A new chapter for my column begins this week, as this will be the first time that the Messenger is delivered to Richmond. Following an incredible 50+ year run of the Stittsville News, which sees its last issue delivered this week, communities in Goulbourn will experience a void and the Messenger is stepping up to help fill that void. As a result, my column will now feature some information that Rideau residents would not normally see.

Up until now, I have been writing columns in the Messenger, Stittsville News, Kemptville Advance and the Carleton Place Gazette. Each column is usually different and speaks to the readership in the appropriate catchment area. Because of the change in delivery and the elimination of the Stittsville News, my Messenger column will now focus on things from Richmond in addition to matters in Manotick, North Gower and Kars.

Having said all of that, welcome to the Messenger, Richmond! I first had the privilege of writing articles in the Messenger when I was in high school reporting on the South Carleton High School hockey team. That was twenty years ago. It is a great local, independent paper that focuses on community and provides coverage of our Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee. It is a perfect opportunity for residents to stay informed. I hope you will enjoy it.

Richmond North Sales Meter Station Upgrade Project

This is an update that our office received recently on the status of the Richmond North Sales Meter Station Project. TransCanada initially mailed communication about the Project in January 2017 and filed an application with the regulator, the National Energy Board (NEB), in February 2017.

On November 24, 2017, TransCanada received approval from the NEB to upgrade its existing Richmond Sales Meter Station. The Richmond Sales Meter Station is located at 6783 Fallowfield Road, between Conley Road and Huntley Road, in Stittsville, Ontario. The Project will provide TransCanada with the capability to accommodate a customer’s forecasted future natural gas needs.

After the new sales meter station is put into service, the existing Richmond Sales Meter Station will be decommissioned. TransCanada submitted notification to the NEB in February 2017 under a Section 45.1 regulatory application for this decommissioning activity.

Construction of the Project will commence once the pre-construction conditions of the NEB Order are satisfied by TransCanada. TransCanada currently anticipates that construction will commence in May 2018, however some clearing activity is expected to take place in February 2018. TransCanada will provide further notice once the timing of construction is confirmed.

Please note that this project is not related to the Energy East pipeline proposal that was cancelled in October 2017. If you have any questions on this, please let me know and I will make sure to get a response from TransCanada.

Protect yourself against online fraud

Everyone is vulnerable to fraud, including you. Sadly, the Internet has made it much easier for criminals to take advantage of people, and much more difficult for investigators to track. With the tax season upcoming, protect yourself against online scams. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) does not send emails or texts with links requesting your financial or other personal information. Do not give your personal information over the phone until you have checked the status of your CRA account.

Ottawa Police Staff Sergeant Stephanie Burns offers these tips to keep you safe from tax scams and enticing offers:

  • Be suspicious of emails that ask you for confidential information.
  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of contests asking you to pay money to collect your prize, or winnings for contests you did not enter. 
  • Take your time to think and ask questions. Contact someone you trust for a second opinion.

Learn more about fraud and how to protect yourself:

While CRA related scams can be quite frequent, they are not the only ones you need to be concerned about. You also need to be cautious of charitable organization scams. While there are many organizations that do tremendous work in our communities, there are some that scam people using pressure tactics to give on the spot and have you sign up for monthly donations with your credit card.

For more information about common scams, please visit the Ottawa Police website at ottawapolice.ca/en/about-us/common-scams.asp.

The following was published in the last edition of the Stittsville News:

The end of an era is now upon us. Unfortunately, this is the very last edition of the Stittsville News. For over seven years, I have been able to use this newspaper as the prime means of communication between my office and the residents of former Goulbourn Township. While this one form of communication comes to an end, my office continues to find ways to communicate with you in a variety of forms.

If you have been relying on this column as your source for information, rest assured that we have you covered. My office will increase the frequency of our e-Newsletter in 2018 to bi-weekly. You can easily register for that newsletter on our www.rideaugoulbourn.ca website. In both Richmond and Munster, I actively participate in Facebook conversations concerning issues throughout the ward. If there is any issue on one of these pages that you feel needs my attention or input, just tag me in a post and I will jump in. We also send out paper newsletters, usually twice per year.

Richmond and Munster also have active community associations that help out as well. In Munster, the MCA produces the Munster Mash four times a year and they allow me to communicate with residents through that. In Richmond, the Village Association has been working diligently in recent weeks and have developed RichmondHUB.ca. You can get your Richmond fix by visiting online or following them on Twitter @HUBreport. The RVA has been kind enough to welcome my submissions as well.

In addition to all of this, do not expect to wait too long before another print weekly community paper comes to Richmond. A new paper could be in your community as early as this week. The lines of communication will continue and I will endeavor to do everything that I can to keep you informed. If there is any method of communication that you suggest, please feel free to email me and let me know your thoughts.

In closing, thank you to all of you for following along these past seven years. Thank you to Mike Stoodley of Metroland for running my column each week in addition to running my monthly column in the Carleton Place Gazette and the Kemptville Advance. Thank you to John Brummell for always having a smile on his face every time I saw him in the community. Most of all, thank you to John Curry for everything you have put into this paper for so many years. I know I said this all a few weeks ago, but it really cannot be said enough. On behalf of an appreciative community….

THANK YOU!

*****

If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.