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(Daniel Martins photo)

Frustrated - Bertrand Durelle stands outside the house where he found his diabetic brother, Paul-Emile, frozen almost to death after four days. Paul-Emil later died in hospital. NB Power had shut off the power to the house in February despite a "no disconnect" policy designed to protect those who can't pay their hydro in the winter. Durelle says he wants a public inquiry.

“Get ready for the smell.”

Bertrand Durelle offers that warning as he struggles with the jammed front door, but it is barely enough.

The stale smell of waste and kerosene hits you like a cloud as you step inside the Baie-Ste.-Anne house Durelle shared with his brother, Paul-Emile, who died there earlier this month after NB Power cut off electricity to the home.

Paul-Emile Durelle’s last recognizable words were a plea for an ambulance. He was rushed to hospital on April 1, dying five days later of multiple organ failure.

Now Bertrand Durelle makes his way through the filthy dwelling, passing blankets, furniture and other debris scattered in small rooms darkened by drawn, tatty curtains.

Here and there can be seen the odd 20-pound propane tank, one of several the brothers were forced to use for heat. The bathroom is best not mentioned.

Finally, Durelle comes to the open door of the small bedroom where his brother had lain on the floor for four days.

The scuffed hardwood floor is barely visible under the bundle of blankets and broken furniture that surrounded him when he was found near death. His bare feet were black with frostbite, his kidneys were failing and he was dehydrated. His only source of warmth was the brothers’ dog.

“It hurts. It’s a nightmare,” Durelle says in a soft Acadian accent.

“Every time I walk in here and I see that, I picture him. It’s not something I would not wish on anyone. To even find an animal in that situation, it would still be a nightmare.”

Durelle says NB Power cut off electricity to the house in February, despite the brothers’ expectation to stay connected under a “no disconnect” policy intended to guarantee heat to people on social assistance who cannot afford to pay.

Durelle says he explained their situation to the utility when they called looking for money, but NB Power cut them off anyway. At one point, his desperate brother went outside and reconnected the meter, only to have an NB Power worker disconnect it again and remove it completely to prevent a second attempt.

After almost a month of living without power in temperatures often below –20 C, relying on kerosene lamps for light, propane for heat and melted snow for water, he moved in with his niece while Paul-Emile made arrangements to move to a hotel.

“He had planned to go to Miramichi, and he had propane,” says Durelle. “He thought it would be enough to keep him going until he found a place.”

Durelle says he felt guilty for leaving his brother alone in the house. When four days passed without news, he hitched a ride with a friend to check on him, but it was too late.

The brothers owed NB power around $1,500 at the time. Bertrand had taken out a loan of $2,100 to pay off previous debts from past years. He was using his meagre income to pay off that loan slowly, instead of paying for winter power this year. In the past, NB Power had not disconnected the brothers, and they thought it would be the same this year.

Neither Durelle brother was then employed. Aside from Paul Emile’s diabetes, Bertrand has suffered from epilepsy ever since a car crash more than a decade ago.

Paul-Emile was once a fisherman — until, Bertrand said, his brother descended into alcohol abuse, eventually losing everything. But, he added, he had been recovering prior to his death, and he dismisses alcoholism as a factor, placing the blame solely on the shoulders of NB Power.

“Booze is not the cause for this,” he says, his voice hardening slightly. “Nobody has to freeze to death. [But] to be angry, I’d lower myself to the level of the people who made the policy or signed the order to disconnect,” he says.

“I’ll forgive them. They should get to see what they’ve done and correct it.”

Government under fire

The New Brunswick government has come under fire over the failure of the no-disconnect policy, which left around 610 people without power between November 1 and March 31. The government has said it is up to struggling residents to get in touch with NB Power if they can’t pay their bills.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives spent all of question period Tuesday attacking the government over the issue, demanding to know when it became aware of the Durelles’ situation. Energy Minister Jack Keir said the government cannot talk specifically about that case, only about the no-disconnect policy, and then only in general terms.

Durelle wants to add his voice to the chorus of protests and says he plans to go down to Fredericton this week to demand a public inquiry.

“I don’t want revenge. I don’t want money,” he said. “I don’t like speaking to the press, but I don’t want this to happen to anybody. That’s the assurance I want from the premier and the ministers —that this will not happen again.”

Durelle turned down the offer of ride to Fredericton Tuesday from MLA Bill Fraser, saying the itinerary he was offered would have given him time to meet with the premier and other ministers, but not with the ombudsman or the opposition.

However, Fraser says Durelle cited a doctor’s appointment as his reason for not accepting the offer.

Another attempt to get to Fredericton Thursday with funds provided by friends was foiled after floods forced the legislature to close. Durelle said is still hoping to go next week.

“Quite a few people who have been disconnected have contacted me, and I want to take the time to speak ... on their behalf,” he said. “I want to take the time. I won’t let them down.”

Meanwhile, Durelle said, the house he shared with his brother weighs heavily on his mind.

“The warmer weather’s coming along,” he said. “Maybe I’ll clean this out. I’ll try get some help, because I can’t do very much work. I’ll get some friends to come help me and I’ll clean this out. I’ll live here.”

Meanwhile, he said, he continues to wake up every day with the memory of his brother on the floor, freezing to death in a house without power.

“We didn’t get along like angels. We had our differences, but he’s still my brother, he’s still a human being,” he said, “Even if he wasn’t my brother, I’d still have the same feeling. Nobody deserves that. Nothing deserves that.”