MISSISSAUGA, Ontario - On Oct. 6, the Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) received an official response from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Minister Christian Paradis to a letter forwarded to the Ministry in April expressing the industry’s concerns about the curtailment of “A” energy audits under the federal ecoEnergy program and requesting a re-examination of the decision.

In the letter forwarded by HRAI President Warren Heeley, the insitute pointed out how the program has assisted the industry in continuing to improve the energy efficiency of residential HVAC systems in Canada and that HVAC products have been the largest contributors to reductions in energy use and greenhouse gases under the program.

In his response, Minister Paradis stated, “To ensure the program operates within the existing budget, effective March 31, 2010, the program is no longer accepting new bookings for pre-retrofit evaluations. This demonstrates prudent management and will aim to ensure that all eligible homeowners who previously entered the program have the opportunity to apply for a grant. Informing all parties on the same day, including provincial partners, energy advisors, retailers and homeowners, helped ensure fairness and transparency to all Canadians.”

He went on to say that the federal government is continuing to review the program for the post-March 31, 2011 period. It is anticipated that the federal government’s plans for the program will be known in the next few months. All indications HRAI is receiving from NRCan is that the federal government is not going to proceed with a similar grant program. However, the association has not received anything specifically stating this direction from the Ministry. HRAI will continue to pursue this with NRCan and communicate any decisions once they are made public.

For more information, contact Warren Heeley at 800-267-2231 or e-mail warren.heeley@hrai.ca.

Publication date: 11/08/2010