Before post-tropical storm Fiona hit, Rob MacNeish knew one particular tree in front of his Willow Street home in Halifax would be trouble.
“The same one has ripped [the meter mast] off three times in this house's life,” he says.
The last time was during Hurricane Dorian, which knocked out his electricity for eight days.
The tree is on city property, and MacNeish says he’s been asking the municipality to deal with it for years. But, he says nothing was done.
So, when Fiona tore through the area, it happened again.
This time, the tree’s trunk broke midway, dragging power lines down and ripping the meters masts off several homes.
Getting an electrician to replace and install the equipment cost MacNeish $1,200 -- a bill he also paid each time before.
“We have to wait and watch and say 'thank you' when we get a bill for $1,200,” he says. “This tree alone has cost us probably $4,500 in three years.”
“It’s frustrating,” he says.
Across the street, chiropractor Dr. Brian Seaman shares a similar tale. The big tree in front of his office is also on city land. During Fiona, a large branch crashed to the ground, taking power lines and the meter mast from his property with it.
Seaman says city workers inspected the tree back in April. His receptionist took a picture of one worker hoisted in a bucket truck among its branches. The date stamped photo is marked April 11 -- the same day Seaman says the workers told him they would come back to remove the tree, along with two others.
He says that would have included the tree that took out MacNeish’s electricity.
“They had five or six months to deal with it. They didn't, and we wind up having damages to our power services as a result and having to pay for it,” he says.
Nova Scotia Power says 2,300 meter masts were damaged in Fiona -- four times the number destroyed during Dorian in 2019. The utility’s storm lead says the “vast majority” were taken down by trees.
“When the weight of a tree comes down on the [service] line,” says Matt Drover. “In some cases, it’s such a big force that it actually causes the mast to break.”
Drover says the utility is waiving reconnection fees for affected customers and has a team set up to direct them to the resources needed to have the mast repaired and power restored. But Drover says paying for that is up to homeowners.
“The actual mast itself, there are some relief funds that government has put in place that might be able to help with that,” says Drover.
But, according to a provincial spokesperson, Nova Scotia’s Fiona relief money likely won’t cover the expense. In an email, Khalehla Perrault says homeowners should contact their insurance company instead.
“If the homeowner does not receive assistance from their insurance company they can submit an application to the province,” writes Perrault. “However, financial assistance for power mast damage has not been paid for in the past.”
MacNeish has home insurance but doesn’t want to make a claim every time this happens, which could increase his premiums.
To him, the responsibility lies with the city.
But even though the trees are municipal, provincial legislation governing the municipality relieves it of that liability.
According to Section 77 of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, “The municipality is not liable for failure to remove a diseased or dangerous tree or limb from property, whether publicly or privately owned.”
“Generally, residents should speak to their insurance providers. In general, the municipality is not liable for any damages to private property,” says Maggie-Jane Spray, a public affairs advisor with the city.
Both MacNeish and Seaman say that’s not enough.
“It would be nice to see the city come forth and actually get the trees cut down that they were supposed to cut down earlier this year,” says Seaman. “And reach out to the neighbours here that had damage done by the trees to make things right.”
“We’re going to talk this evening with the other residents here and see what to do moving forward,” says MacNeish. “We want the city to do the right thing.”
With several trees still looming over the power lines near his house, MacNeish is worried about the next storm.
“If they’re going to have this issue, and they’re not going to deal with these trees, maybe they should look at being able to support homeowners,” he says.
