Let me add my protest to those of most Canadians in saying that it is unfair to charge those of us in rural Canada with increased rates. The phone is an essential service, and should not be a money-making venture (and I say this as an Aliant Stock Owner). Many people in rural areas (at least in this part of Nova Scotia) survive on under $10,000 a year for a family of four or five people. The proposed increase while it may seem small to Aliant, seems huge to them.

    There are both advantages (better life style) and disadvantages (the need to travel many miles for consultant level medical and dental care) to rural living, but those of us who have chosen it do so recognizing the problems. Those with enough money to move from the city to the country are not the ones who concern me, but rather those who have always lived in the country and get by on an income that I find unbelievably low.

    I hope that members of the CRTC will refuse Aliant's request, and insist that rural people will not have the additional burden of trying to decide if the phone or food is more important for their families.

    Margot R. Roach (retired Medical doctor from London, Ont. living in Tatamagouche)