.... almost everybody will be affected.

Retrofit grant program gets axed

By tbnewswatch.com

A popular home renovation grant program came to a sudden end Wednesday.

The federal government’s ecoEnergy grants program rewarded homeowners for making energy efficient retrofits with grants of up to $5,000. The Natural Resources Department announced Wednesday that homeowners who have already booked an appointment for a pre-retrofit evaluation will still be eligible to apply for a grant but future bookings will not be considered.

"We received an email notification at 4 p.m. (Wednesday) afternoon," said EcoSuperior Executive Director Ellen Mortfield. "It’s a huge blow to our organization and to the green economy that was really taking off in our community. The program was planned to continue until March 31, 2011."

The federal government last spoke of its 2011 commitment on March 4 when it released its budget. The budget document stated the government would commit another $80 million to the program because of "unprecedented demand under the ecoEnergy Retrofit." "The Harper administration cancelled the grant in 2006, reinstated it under public pressure in 2007 and now is pulling it again," Mortfield said. "This is no way to build a strong green economy and workforce in Canada."

Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis told the Globe and Mail in an email that the decision to axe the program was based on fiscal responsibility.

"We have responsibility to taxpayers to ensure the program operates within its existing budget and no longer accepting new bookings for pre-retrofit evaluations is the kind of prudent fiscal management Canadians have come to expect from this government."

Ontario has a program that matches the federal grants, however, it has not been announced what will happen to the program following the federal government’s Wednesday announcement.