Your electricity bills are already going up because of higher rates, the HST and smart meters. Now, the provincial government wants to drive power bills even higher by offering free energy-saving home retrofits and appliances to low income Ontarians. The full cost will almost certainly be passed on to all electricity users in their hydro bills.
This is another McGuinty government burden on consumers, much like the government’s eco fees, and it comes right out of the blue. The program was quietly ordered into existence by Energy Minister Brad Duguid through a ministerial directive in July. Despite the lack of public awareness, Duguid wants the Ontario Power Authority and the Ontario Energy Board to have something ready to go this fall.
While ordinary Ontarians can get up to $5,000 in government grants for energy efficiency improvements, the grants cover only a fraction of their real cost and homeowners have to pay more than $300 for energy audits to qualify.
The new low-income program proposes to include free energy audits as well as free programmable thermostats, low-flow showerheads, faucet aerators, compact fluorescent bulbs, insulation, weatherstripping, light fixtures, air conditioners, freezers, refrigerators and dehumidifiers. The showerheads and aerators will even be “professionally installed,” presumably to assist those who are unable to twist something on and off.
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So, if the “poor” do not own their homes, condos or apartments, will they still qualify for a retro fit and an energy efficient dishwasher? How about seniors who are a few scant years away from assisted living or perhaps minimun numbers of persons in the home? Will landlords be part of this program? What if the poor don’t cook – what if they prefer to go to a fast food establishment? I used to work in a food bank/soup kitchen – many patrons do not cook – and they don’t have the necessary equipment to cook (I am talking basic pots and pans). Will the government teach them? What if you are a shutin, receiving a delivered meal from an agency? If you move are you allowed to take your themostat with you – does the appliance follow the individual or stay with the address? Which appliances will qualify - are microwaves on the list? What brand name appliances will be acceptable? Will there be fraud (rhetorical question)? There are so many questions but few answers. Cheers.
More insanity from cradle-to-grave big government knows best Dullard McGuinty. If Johnnie Tory hadn’t run such a disastrous campaign in the last election we might have been spared Nanny McGuinty’s interventionist schemes. Then again, Tory was a red tory so he too may have granted subsidies to wind farms that will scar the landscape for years to come when the tax dollar flow dries up and the companies bail leaving them as rusting inoperative hulks. If I sound frustrated, IT’S BECAUSE I AM!