Depending on where they live, British Columbians can receive rebates of up to $19,000 toward installing heat pumps under a joint federal-provincial initiative.
Up to $255 million with B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 share being up to $151 million will go toward helping low and middle-income households help replace oil, propane or natural gas systems with heat pumps. The rebates and the funding arrangements behind them mirror heat pump rebates as part of a pilot project announced in late October 2023 and first rolled out in Atlantic Canada, with B.C. initially left out in the cold.
The substance as well the timing of that announcement drew criticism from provincial cabinet minister including Premier David Eby, who showed his disappointment by wearing a 乌鸦传媒淚 Heart Heat Pumps乌鸦传媒� T-shirt in media appearances.
乌鸦传媒淚 think at a minimum, fairness demands equal treatment of British Columbians,乌鸦传媒� he said in late October. 乌鸦传媒淧eople struggling with affordability around home heating face the same struggles in B.C. as in Nova Scotia, it乌鸦传媒檚 not a distinct or different struggle.乌鸦传媒�
Ottawa needs to work with B.C., Eby added.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e been, frankly, lobbying them for months to get this kind of recognition,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淪o my expectation is that they will meet us in delivering that program for British Columbians just like they do Nova Scotians.乌鸦传媒�
The moment appeared to have come Monday as Steven Guilbeault, federal environment minister, and Jonathan Wilkinson, federal energy minister, joined George Heyman, B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 environment minister, and Josie Osborne, B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 energy minister, to announce the rebates.
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Eligible British Columbians could receive rebates of up $16,000, with those living in northern B.C. eligible for another $3,000 if they qualify.
Wilkinson said British Columbians are treated the same on a per-capita basis as residents of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
乌鸦传媒淭his is not a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease,乌鸦传媒� Wilkinson said. 乌鸦传媒淲e have made it clear that we were interested in working with all provinces and territories to develop plans to address the oil-to-heat-pump-issue and put in place agreements under the Low Carbon Economy Fund, which is under the purview of my colleague Minister Guilbeault,乌鸦传媒� he said. He added other agreements could be forthcoming.
乌鸦传媒淭he announcement today is actually broader than what we have announced with Nova Scotia and Newfoundland,乌鸦传媒� Wilkinson said. It also allows people using propane or natural gas systems 乌鸦传媒� rather than just heating oil 乌鸦传媒� to switch, Wilkinson added.
乌鸦传媒淭he issue of oil-to-heat-pumps was actually not a political decision,乌鸦传媒� Wilkinson said, when asked if today乌鸦传媒檚 announcement was about shoring up federal Liberal support in urban British Columbia. 乌鸦传媒淚t was a decision to actually try to help folks, who were paying three to four times the cost of natural gas,乌鸦传媒� Wilkinson said.
He added that the program is open to all provinces and territories.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 up to provincial governments to take advantage of that,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淪o yes, I乌鸦传媒檓 very pleased that (B.C.) is taking advantage of it, because I乌鸦传媒檓 very pleased that people are going to be saving money on their energy bills and I乌鸦传媒檓 very pleased that people are going to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.乌鸦传媒�
Heyman linked Monday乌鸦传媒檚 announcement to other agreements with Ottawa advancing common goals.
乌鸦传媒淚t assists British Columbians with affordability as well as with乌鸦传媒eating costs.乌鸦传媒�
