[greenon-l] Support Green Communities Energuide For Houses

[Conservation Council of Ontario]

Dear friends,

 

I was told that my article on Al Gore and Stephen Harper last week was
premature in announcing the demise of federal support for the Energuide for
Houses (EGH) program.  Well, the official news is in, and it’s not good.
The Harper government has officially announced it is canceling its support
for the EGH program, including low-income housing support and the popular
rebate program for residential homes.

 

EGH incentive program was one of the leading lights in Canada’s energy
conservation strategy.  I have often used it as an example of the effective
use of federal funding.  It rewards individuals for voluntary leadership, it
supports community-based outreach, advisory services for homeowners, and it
supported the development of a conservation industry.

 

Even better, EGH was a made-in-Canada solution.  It was Canada at its best.

 

Fortunately, the federal government can’t cancel home energy audits
altogether, and as you’ll read below our friends at Green Communities Canada
will do all they can to make sure this essential program is continued!

 

Please support EnerGuide for Houses by writing the minister of Environment,
Rona Ambrose, the Minister of Natural Resources, Gary Lunn, and the Prime
Minister. 

 

The Hon. Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900

e-mail to pm at pm.gc.ca

The Hon. Rona Ambrose, 
Minister of the Environment
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
10 Wellington St., 28th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Tel.: (819) 997-1441
Fax: (819) 953-3457
E-mail: Rona.Ambrose at ec.gc.ca 

The Hon. Gary Lunn,

Minister of Natural Resources

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

Telephone: 613-996-1119

Fax: 613-996-0850

EMail: Lunn.G at parl.gc.ca

 

 

With thanks,

 

Chris Winter

 

 <http://www.weconserve.ca/> weconserve.ca 

Ontario's conservation movement

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: gcanews-owner at lists.gca.ca [mailto:gcanews-owner at lists.gca.ca]On
Behalf Of Julia Esrom
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 5:26 PM
To: managers at gca.ca; advisors at gca.ca; gcanews at gca.ca
Subject: [Green Communities News] Green Communities Special Bulletin -
Ottawa Pulls Out Of Energuide For Houses

 


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15 May 2006 

Special Bulletin: OTTAWA PULLS OUT OF ENERGUIDE FOR HOUSES. PLEASE HELP.

Dear friends of Green Communities

Over the past two weeks, we have received shocking news: the federal
government has summarily dropped out of Canada’s EnerGuide for Houses (EGH)
programs, including programs serving both low-income and the able-to-pay
households.

This decision by the new minority government in Ottawa – imposed without
warning or consultation – will have serious implications for residential
energy efficiency in this country. It will also have serious implications
for Green Communities, many of whom deliver EGH, and for Green Communities
Canada, which has administered a federal EGH contract on behalf of its
members since 1998. EGH is our flagship joint program, providing substantial
revenues and full- or part-time direct employment to well over 100 people
among our membership.

Although resources to deliver EGH come from many sources, federal funding is
critical.

SAVING ENERGUIDE FOR HOUSES 

In the coming days and weeks Green Communities will work hard to address the
federal government’s sudden withdrawal from a long-established program.
Together with our supporters we are publicizing the government’s action and
its impacts, and calling on the government to restore support for EnerGuide
for Houses. Friends of Green Communities are urged to join in, by
communicating with your local MP and the Prime Minister, and writing letters
to the editor. (See the Green Communities Canada website
<http://www.gca.ca/indexcms/index.php?news>  for additional information.)
Please let us know what you do, and what you hear.

We will also pursue other ways to continue delivering residential energy
efficiency services, including user-pay offerings, and various options
involving initiatives by provincial governments and energy utilities. Both
New Brunswick and Quebec have already announced plans to continue with
EGH-based programs; other provinces are considering their options. 

THE STORY UNFOLDS 

News of the government’s action began to emerge on budget day, 2 May, when
we learned informally that funding for the recently launched low-income
program, EnerGuide for Low-Income Houses (EGLIH), had been cancelled. 

In addition, it appeared at first from a CBC report that a non-fatal cut had
also been made to the EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Incentive, which serves
able-to-pay customers. However, grim rumours continued to circulate, and at
end of work last Thursday we received a terse email from Public Works
directing that no further EGH A labels would be honoured as of midnight
Friday (i.e. no “new” customers). In effect, funding for the program has
been killed (although existing customers already in the system can continue
to receive post-retrofit B labels and incentives until March 2007, or until
the money runs out). 

IMPACTS 

Until now, the federal government has provided a subsidy to increase the
affordability and accessibility of EnerGuide for Houses. To date, over
300,000 EnerGuides have been completed Canada-wide by all 50 contracted
service organizations. Prior to federal withdrawal from the program, one
million more EnerGuides were projected over the next four years.

In addition, under the EGH Retrofit Incentive, 52,000 Canadians have
received a cheque from the federal government as a reward for improvements
to the energy efficiency of their homes. The cancellation of federal
participation in this incentive will deprive 200,000-300,000 more Canadians
of the opportunity to participate in the incentive program. (Other
implications are elaborated in backgrounders on our website).

GREEN COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP 

For Green Communities, the government’s withdrawal from EGH is particularly
bitter given our leadership in program delivery and development. Green
Communities initiated, designed, and tested the retrofit incentive, which
generated a major expansion in program results when it was adopted by the
federal government in 2003. Green Communities also led the nation-wide call
that resulted (if briefly) in a low-income energy efficiency program, so
that Canadians with limited incomes could share in bill reductions and other
program benefits.

The federal drop-out from EGH was unanticipated. Although the Harper
government had clearly targeted Kyoto and associated programs like the One
Tonne Challenge, they said they supported effective, accountable energy
efficiency programs. Since EGH is effective and accountable, non-advocacy,
and delivered by private contractors and entrepreneurial social enterprises
like Green Communities, we believed it would be spared. Instead, EGH was
simply lumped in with other programs the government doesn’t support. (See
our backgrounder for our response to specific allegations regarding the
effectiveness and administrative costs of EGH).

NO REPLACEMENT 

The government’s official position is that it will develop its own
“made-in-Canada” energy efficiency programs and announce them in the fall.
Meanwhile, however, they have pulled the plug on existing programs with
nothing to replace them. If the government eventually decides that EGH is
the right answer after all, the infrastructure of delivery organizations,
skilled staff, and partnerships will need to be rebuilt. Immediate action is
needed to protect the delivery system that has taken years of hard work to
create.

On behalf of Green Communities, thanks for your support.

Clifford Maynes <mailto:cmaynes at greencommunitiescanada.org> , Executive
Director
Green Communities Canada


 

 

 




  _____  

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founded 1995. 
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