RNNR Committee Report

Supplementary Opinion of the New Democratic Party

While the New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) largely agrees with the committee’s report, we feel there is a need for much more robust and active involvement from the federal government in supporting increased energy efficiency. The NDP particularly feels there needs to be greater action to support average Canadians lower their home energy usage.

Improving energy efficiency of Canadian homes is vital to reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. It will also create a large number of jobs. Martin Luymes (Vice-President, Government and Stakeholder Relations, Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada) testified that:

“According to Efficiency Canada's analysis, an average of 118,000 jobs would be created every year between now and 2030 due to economic activity associated with energy efficiency investment. Many of these jobs will be in the HVACR sector as a result of retrofits on mechanical systems in homes and buildings. In saying that, I would also add that these are for the most part highly skilled and well-paid jobs in all parts of the country where Canadians live, work and play.”[i]

Mr. Luymes added:

“According to Natural Resources Canada, space heating is the single largest source of energy consumption in Canada's building sector. It accounts for 64% of energy consumed in homes and 56% of energy consumed in commercial buildings. According to their analysis, if today's best technologies were deployed more broadly, total home energy use could be reduced by 30% and greenhouse gas emissions could be lowered by 18 megatonnes per year. Meanwhile, water heating represents between 8% and 19% of energy use in homes and buildings. Again, if today's best technology were deployed, total home energy use would be reduced by 5% and greenhouse gas emissions lowered by more than three megatonnes.”[ii]

On April 1, 2010 the then Conservative government ceased taking new applications for the ecoEnergy Retrofit program and completely ended the program in March 2012. This successful program provided grants up to $5,000 to help homeowners make their homes more energy-efficient and reduce the burden of high energy costs. Among other eligibility criteria, participants needed to obtain a pre-retrofit evaluation by a certified energy advisor using the EnerGuide Rating System before starting work and a post-retrofit evaluation within program deadlines. The current government has not reinstated the program nor has it replaced it with a similar program.

The cancellation of programs like these have a negative impact on the Canadian economy as companies align their operations based on government priorities. Brad White (President SES Consulting) testified:

“In the past, government efficiency programs have often fallen victim to changing political whims. Companies like ours invest a lot in aligning our services to help our clients take advantage of these programs, and it is hugely disruptive when they are suddenly cancelled, often with no warning. This perception of unreliability also makes it more difficult to plan for expansion and to have the confidence to invest in growing our business when we are uncertain as to what kind of support there will be.”[iii]

Mr. White added: “...it's often cheaper to buy energy efficiency through incentives than it is to put up a new power plant, or, as in our case in B.C., a new dam.”[iv]

The NDP recommends:

Government should provide financial assistance for home owners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes including financial support for energy audits.

The issue of trained energy auditors should also be addressed. Energy audits are vital as they provide baseline information on a home’s current energy use and provide areas where to target for the greatest energy savings. SES Consulting is one of the largest energy efficiency consulting firms in Canada, but employs only 30 people. As Mr. White said, “There’s a limit to how many buildings even we can audit.”[v]

The NDP recommends:

The Government should provide financial assistance both to post-secondary institutions and to average Canadians to train more energy auditors.