Enniskillen’s mayor is raising concerns about a door-to-door drive where township residents are facing questions about wind energy.

Sun Media is in the middle of a subscription drive for its Petrolia newspaper, but Mayor Kevin Marriot, in a letter to Sun Media executives, says in some cases the contract employees are talking about wind turbines.

“Jeffrey Rowe (one of the contract employees working for Sun Media) is not only trying to sell subscriptions but also giving a very strong opinion on wind turbines,” wrote Marriott. “In fact he is going way beyond what I think is ethical with some of his opinions very wrong. He went as far as saying that landowners who ‘do not agree with them should sell their property and move north.’”

The mayor does not think the questions are a concerted effort by wind energy advocates. In an interview with The Independent, Marriott says he was approached by one of the salesmen who didn’t even ask about turbines. “My gut feeling is this is his (Rowe’s)personal opinion,” says Marriott.

The mayor says in a community which has great concerns about the possibility of wind energy installations, questions from salesmen don’t sit well and residents tell him about the encounters concerned there might be wind companies trying to generate new interest.

When contacted by The Independent, Jeffery Rowe of Unimark which is carrying out the drive, said in an email the comments were personal opinions. “I would like to confirm that we are not representing any wind energy companies,” said Rowe.

“Any comments we make are small talk and absolutely personal opinions,” he added.

“One thing that makes Canada a great country is freedom of speech.”