By Angela Bischoff, Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Despite the fact that Ontario has a $16 billion deficit, Conservative Opposition Leader Tim Hudak and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath are asking Premier McGuinty to increase the province’s deficit by $350 million by removing the HST from home heating bills.
Angela Bischoff, Ontario Clean Air Alliance
While we recognize that some Ontarians are struggling to pay their heating bills, the opposition’s proposed solution is fiscally and environmentally irresponsible. Fortunately, there is a better solution: invest in energy conservation and efficiency.
By investing in energy efficiency we can create jobs in Ontario right now and permanently reduce our home heating bills while reducing the outflow of Ontario dollars to Alberta to purchase natural gas.
The main barrier to home energy retrofits is their high up-front capital cost. However, Ontario’s electric and natural gas utilities (e.g., Toronto Hydro, London Hydro, Hydro One, North Bay Hydro, Enbridge and Union Gas) can eliminate this barrier by:
· Providing financial incentives and low interest, on-bill financing for home energy retrofits; and
· Establishing rental programs for high-efficiency water heaters and furnaces, thermal storage units (for those with electric heating), and solar and geothermal heating systems.
Please email Tim Hudak and Andrea Horwath ( cc me ) and ask them to advocate for energy solutions that will lower our energy bills, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while not increasing the provincial deficit.
P.S. For more info, see our report An Energy Efficiency Strategy for Ontario’s Homes, Buildings and Industries
Angela Bischoff is the outreach director of the Toronto-based citizens group, Ontario Clean Air Alliance.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post below.)
Niagara At Large 
Angela Bischoff says that ‘despite the fact that Ontario has a $16 billion deficit, Conservative Opposition Leader Tim Hudak and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath are asking Premier McGuinty to increase the province’s deficit by $350 million by removing the HST from home heating bills. Does Angela Bischoff feel the same way with her Liberal Leader, Premier McGuinty, finally doing the right thing by REDUCING student tuition?
Angela Bischoff says she ‘recognizes that some Ontarians are struggling to pay their heating bills. She says that ‘the opposition’s proposed solution is fiscally and environmentally irresponsible and that there is a better solution such as: investing {Code for spending more tax dollars} in energy conservation and efficiency. But is Angela Bischoff and her Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s endeavours a NEAR TERM solution for those who are suffering NOW? Is providing relief NOW somehow an interference or deterrence to the successful goal of her OCAA?
Angela Bischoff says that ‘by investing in energy efficiency we can create jobs in Ontario RIGHT NOW and permanently reduce our home heating bills while reducing the outflow of Ontario dollars to Alberta to purchase natural gas.
She says the main barrier to home energy retrofits is their high up-front capital cost. However, Ontario’s electric and natural gas utilities (e.g., Toronto Hydro, London Hydro, Hydro One, North Bay Hydro, Enbridge and Union Gas) can eliminate this barrier by adding to the home owner’s expense of:
• Providing financial incentives and low interest, on-bill financing for home energy retrofits; and
• Establishing rental programs for high-efficiency water heaters and furnaces, thermal storage units (for those with electric heating), and solar and geothermal heating systems.
It’s just like a flaming Liberal impoverator to expect someone else to pay and pay and pay.
When the OCAA proposals and the eventual viability of her desires become a reality, we will all embrace the new technology as we always have. We do not need or want another tax burden on top of the Ontario portion of the HST to be created by the premature enforcement of more failed McGuinty Policies.
Angela expects us to email Tim Hudak and Andrea Horwath ( cc me ) and ask them to advocate for energy solutions that will lower our energy bills, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while not increasing the provincial deficit. If it is any comfort to Angela Bischoff, I for one will ask Tim Hudak and Andrea Horwath to advocate for energy solutions while also pleading with them to remove the shameful Ontario portion of the HST from the backs of Ontario HARD-PRESSED Citizens.
While we’re at it we can email Rick Dykstra to eliminate the rest of the dishonourable HST from home heating fuels. After all the feds have been dishing out $Billions on everything else!
If taxation was really the panacea we are all looking for, then Ontario should be the shining example of prosperity instead of a financial basket case.
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Cut the HST and also cut the boondoggle messes that suck up the tax money then we wont need HST on basic essentials remember E HEALTH
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Ontario’s pernicious investment in solar and wind is driving up the cost of electricity plus adding the PST portion (HST) is a double whammy that punishes both consumer and commercial customers. I would have much preferred a conservation approach first, then apply proven efficient alternative or new technologies afterwards. We can’t do both without adding even more crippling debt. We are thus stuck in between a proverbial rock and a hard place. Thanks, Dalton.
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Thanks for posting this. Really great information on greenhouse gardening.
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