Tories stop short of $400-million home retrofit promise

The federal Conservative government is ending a popular program that helped Canadians make their homes more energy efficient even though industry officials say less than half of the $400-million promised for the initiative in the last federal budget has been spent.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver announced in a release issued Sunday morning that the government would no longer be accepting applications for funding under the ecoENERGY Retrofit program.

The government originally gave homeowners until March 31 to register for the program – which helped offset the costs of replacing aging doors, windows, insulation and other energy draws – but that has been cut off two months early.

The explanation given by the minister for refusing new requests for money was that the ecoENERGY retrofit program had successfully reached its goal of helping 250,000 registered homeowners.

But there was no such qualification included in the budget promise to provide $400-million to help retrofit homes – something that was added to the Conservative government’s financial plan before the election in an unsuccessful effort to convince the New Democrats from voting to bring down what was then a minority.

Only when the details of how the money would be awarded were rolled out in July, after the Conservatives had won a majority, did the government state that it would be limited to 250,000 people.

Jeff Murdock, the vice-president of a Vancouver-based energy audit company, says his industry estimates that, by capping the registration at this point, the federal government will invest, at most, $192-million in ecoENERGY Retrofit grants.

“They haven’t really fulfilled their investment commitment and to have closed the program early when there is so much money still on the table, that’s surprising and it’s shocking, really,” said Mr. Murdock, who is also a member of the Save ecoENERGY Coalition, a national group of industry associations, environmental organizations, and small businesses that wants to grow the market for home energy retrofits.

When homeowners make upgrades through the program, they save an average of 23 per cent on their energy use, Mr. Murdock said. That amounts to about 3.14 tonnes of greenhouse gases per household.

When asked on Monday whether the retrofit program had, in fact, been cancelled before half of the promised money had been spent, Katie McDougald, a spokeswoman for Mr. Oliver, said in an e-mail that applications were cut off for budgetary reasons.

"This decision demonstrates prudent management by our government to ensure that we can return to balanced budgets during this time of fiscal constraint," wrote Ms. McDougald.

In the final year of the 2007-2011 phase of the program, over 84 per cent of homeowners who registered applied for a grant, with the average grant being over $1,500. "If some registered homeowners choose not to apply for a grant, there is the possibility that some program funds will not be used. However, it is more important that the program ensures there will be sufficient funds for all registered homeowners."

In the same release to announce the demise of the program, Mr. Oliver said the government would spend $117-million over three years to other ecoENERGY efficiency initiatives including improvements to housing standards, building codes, industrial practices, vehicle labels and consumer appliances.

But that is not the same thing as helping Canadians save money on their home heating bills, Mr. Murdock said.

Other government initiatives to reduce energy use, such as a ratings system that will allow consumers to know the energy efficiency of homes before they buy, will take time to be completed, he said. “We want to maintain the industry’s capacity to do these energy evaluations that are so important,” Mr. Murdock said.

Megan Leslie, environment critic for the federal New Democrats, said the retrofit program works well and pays for itself in spinoffs and tax revenues.

“This program creates jobs in every community across Canada,” Ms. Leslie said. “These are not jobs that can be shipped offshore. These are not temporary construction jobs that are shut down once a pipeline is built.”

It reduces energy consumption and it saves families money, she said. “But now they are cancelling it. It’s pretty mind-boggling that they would do this.”

Mr. Oliver should be a champion of this program, Ms. Leslie said. But “I get the sense that the minister is doing everything he can to create more demand for his oil and gas buddies.”

Original Article
Source: Globe 
Author: gloria galloway