Monday, January 22, 2007

rebate for green homes

sadly the conservatives haven't addressed or felt the need to help low income families on the energy efficient home renovation program; and going by an earlier report regarding dion and the gst, when he talked about his proposed retrofitting homes. both parties have failed on this issue. when i see grants / programs proposed; that will seriously effect my choice when it comes time to vote.

'Green' homes to get rebate
January 22, 2007 Richard Brennan Bruce Campion-Smith Ottawa Bureau The Star

"The hydro bill is cutting into their food money so some of them turn off their heat. ... So to ask them to come up with the money to do the (energy) audit and retrofitting, they can't. They don't have that kind of money," Chow said.

The plan calls for homeowners and small business to first pay for an energy audit and the retrofit before applying for the rebate.

Those measures, say critics, fail to specifically recognize the plight of low-income Canadians.
An energy audit of a house can cost $200 to $300. And new windows, for instance, can easily cost $5,000 for a small home.


---and earlier when dion was talking about the gst:
He told the university audience that he would not follow through with a promise by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to reduce the GST to five per cent, from six per cent, by 2011.''(The GST cut) is $5.5 billion out of the economy every year and it will not transform the economy and it is not a good social policy,'' Dion said.Instead, he would introduce tax measures that would encourage people to choose appliances that conserve electricity, cars that use the least amount of gas and for retrofitting homes to reduce heating fuel consumption.''We want to make a link between your wallet and the planet,'' he said, adding that such measures will be part of the party's next election platform. ''It's the way you change the culture.''




'Green' homes to get rebate
January 22, 2007 Richard Brennan Bruce Campion-Smith Ottawa Bureau The Star

Tories plan $5,000 grants for energy-efficient improvements. But poor ignored, critics say

The federal Conservatives yesterday dangled the promise of $5,000 rebates for energy-efficient home renovations but critics say low-income homeowners have been left in the cold.

Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn announced the program yesterday at the Metro Home Show in Toronto, saying Canadians can apply for grants of up to $5,000 to make homes and businesses more energy efficient as part of a $300 million program.

All Canadians "regardless of their income will be eligible and the size of their grant will depend on how much they can realize in gains in becoming more energy efficient," Lunn told a press conference.

Details of the program, such as how to apply, are not being released until April.

But Lunn said big-ticket items like new windows, insulation, furnaces and energy-efficient appliances would all be eligible under the program. And he added measures as simple as installing a programmable thermostat would also make a huge difference.

The plan calls for homeowners and small business to first pay for an energy audit and the retrofit before applying for the rebate.

Those measures, say critics, fail to specifically recognize the plight of low-income Canadians.

An energy audit of a house can cost $200 to $300. And new windows, for instance, can easily cost $5,000 for a small home.

"I believe seniors and hard-working families have been left out in the cold," NDP MP Olivia Chow (Trinity Spadina) said of the Conservative plan.

"The hydro bill is cutting into their food money so some of them turn off their heat. ... So to ask them to come up with the money to do the (energy) audit and retrofitting, they can't. They don't have that kind of money," Chow said.

Ron Tabata, of Toronto, who was wandering through the Home Show with his wife, Julianne, also had misgivings. "I don't think you will get as many people taking advantage of it simply because of the upfront costs and then you don't know if you are going to get it."

Last year, the Conservative government scrapped a new five-year, $500 million program proposed by the Liberals called EnerGuide for Low Income Households, which would have paid the full cost of renovations to improve energy use for low-income earners.

The Tories continue to come under fire for their sudden interest in global warming when many of the programs announced in the past week – totalling $2 billion over several years – are dusted off or watered down Liberal plans killed in last year's Tory budget.

Despite this, Stephen Dupuis, CEO of the Greater Toronto Home Builders Association and Urban Development Institute, gave the Conservative plan two thumbs up, while Toronto Mayor David Miller gave the announcement polite support.

Lunn said the $300 million so-called ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative spread out over four years has three components:

A $220 million retrofit program aimed at helping homeowners and small and medium businesses make the necessary energy efficiency improvements with grants up to $5,000.

A $60 million program to promote the use of the latest energy efficient practices in new buildings.

A fund of $20 million to encourage the industrial sector to accelerate energy saving investments.

Lunn said Canada's 13 million homes and 380,000 commercial, industrial and retail buildings use 30 per cent of the country's energy, and are responsible for almost 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Lunn denounced the former Liberal government EnerGuide program as being administratively top heavy with too few dollars finding their way back to consumers' pocket.

But John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, said the Tory plan's failure to set aside money for low-income households is a huge disappointment.

"They are hardest hit by the rising cost of gas and electricity and most in need of immediate ability to retrofit (their) homes," Cartwright said.

Cartwright was part of a coalition of environmental, housing and poverty groups and community leaders, including Miller, who appealed to the Tories last fall for an energy-efficiency program aimed at low-income households.

The group cited figures showing low-income families pay 13 per cent of their incomes on energy, compared with 4 per cent paid by average households.

Liberal MP David McGuinty (Ottawa South) said there's little assistance promised low-income seniors at the very time population is aging.

"It is the stated objective of most governments in this country to try to encourage older folks to stay in their homes and lead an independent and dignified life as long as they can," said McGuinty, the environmental critic.

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