Letter: Medicine Hat primed for growth; Landlords a different story

By Letter to the Editor on December 22, 2021.

Dear editor,

Relocating from Toronto to Medicine Hat this past September felt like a dream come true. I, a lifelong Ontarian, could not believe that such a welcoming place existed.

The day I signed my lease, I bounded to city hall, elated with the belonging that being a “Hatter” would surely bring. I was utterly charmed by the river, the huge sundial out front, and the basic fact that people smiled on the street.

Over the next month, I became acquainted with the personality of this city. A part of that, I understand, is learning to live with and love maple bugs. Especially when, as a new Albertan who had never seen a maple bug before September, I was told repeatedly to “just wait a few weeks.”

My landlord communicated this to me in writing, at the same time he stated he would not take any preventative measures, including helping with filling the numerous holes in my unit.

But you see, Christmas is in four days and I still wake up with handfuls of these beetles in my bed. When I start my dishwasher, a flurry of them emerges. The window in my bathroom is riddled with holes, as is the exterior of the building.

At the peak of October, I could not even recognize brick behind the wriggling mass of black and red.

Despite this, I still find joy in Medicine Hat. Specifically, my morning walks to the Riverside Memorial Park, where the tank, Duffy, shares its name with my late Father.

Today however, the sunrise was coloured sour by my landlord’s suggestion that I leave Medicine Hat. This came on the heels of my filing a complaint to Environmental Health. While he has not outright evicted me, the messaging is the same, and leaves me doubting that I am, or will ever truly be, a “Hatter.”

Rebecca Stevens

New to the Hat

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