This morning (April 1st), HRAI forwarded an e-mail alert to members concerning cancellation of the Eco Energy grant program by the federal government. The termination of the program coincides with the end of the government’s fiscal year (March 31st). HRAI recognizes that this grant program had a significant effect upon the residential HVAC marketplace and for this reason, we are forwarding this communication to clarify what transpired over the last 24 hours and the action HRAI will be taking going forward.
1. It is important for our members to know that no stakeholder groups (including HRAI) or individuals (outside of the representatives of the federal government) received advance notice or were aware of the decision being made to curtail the Eco Energy program prior to the announcement at 5:00PM on March 31/10. HRAI has had ongoing dialogue with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) on the Eco Energy program (as recently as last week) and we were assured by NRCan that the program was not going to change. We have subsequently learned that the provinces also had no knowledge of this decision until it was announced. In this case our long standing relationship with NRCan did not provide HRAI (or any other association for that matter) with prior knowledge of this decision.
We are convinced that the federal government timed the announcement to try and curtail any discussion and feedback from stakeholders in advance of its release.
2. HRAI will be forwarding a communication to the Minister of Natural Resources strongly stating our opposition to this abrupt cancellation of the program, the negative impact this cancellation will have on our industry and the need to provide more lead time to the public and industry when a program such as this is curtailed. We will also be asking the Ministry to reconsider its decision.
3. HRAI is currently discussing the impact of the announcement with the province of Ontario and other provinces who partner with the federal government on the Eco Energy program. Once we have received a response from these provinces, we will communicate this to you.
I trust this provides you with a better perspective on this announcement. As more information becomes available, Ottawa Home Services will be keeping you informed.
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retrofit homes_final_eng_for print2_april1_2009.pdf
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Testimonials
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Hi Marc,
I just had my new furnace and Tankless HW installed and I had to write to let you know how impressed I was with the team (Nick and Tayler).
They were professional, knowledgeable, and informative. The workmanship was neat, precise...Top notch! You have a great team!
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J&R Blais |
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