Government still facing criticism over cancellation of green home programs

The federal government is still receiving plenty of criticism over its choice to cancel one of its green home programs almost one year early.

In March, the government suddenly and surprisingly cancelled the ecoEnergy home rebate program at the end of March, while most homeowners were under the impression they had until March 2011 to complete the required energy audit that would qualify them for $5,000 in rebates and grants for green home renovations and the replacement of older energy-sucking appliances.

The program also created countless jobs and plenty of work for contractors who were scrambling to keep up with the demand for renovations.

One company that manufactures various forms of insulation, NAIMA Canada, told Canwest News Service in June that, “At a time when the economy is just beginning to recover from a major recession, the government has threatened to put an entire industry out of work,” they said. “This was a wonderful program that did exactly what it was supposed to do and more. It was one of the government’s most impactful programs to deal with climate change.”

According to the president of the Canadian Energy Alliance, the program saved the entire country of Canada over $300 million in energy costs thanks to all of the energy saving renovations.

The government said the program was only “suspended for further review” when it made the announcement, but there has been no news since.

The city of Ottawa has also just recently announced that they are scrapping their low-flow toilet rebate program because of changes to the Ontario Building Codes that would make them mandatory anyway, something that will eventually effect Toronto.