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Remarks for Premier Rodney MacDonald
Your Energy Rebate Program Announcement
World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax
October 30, 2006
Hello everyone. Thank you for coming.
I know that you've had a technical briefing, so I’ll cut right to the chase. I am pleased to be here with Minister Muir to announce Your Energy Rebate.
This new program will save the average Nova Scotian family $200 per year by providing an eight per cent provincial tax rebate (the province’s full share of the HST) on almost all energy sources including: electricity, oil, natural gas, coal, propane, kerosene, wood and wood pellets.
I am also pleased to announce that my government is fast-tracking the implementation date from January 1, 2007, to Dec 1, 2006, for all energy sources, with the exception of electricity and natural gas.
As promised in last spring’s budget, electricity and natural gas consumers will see their eight per cent energy rebate come into effect on January 1st. Consumers who receive power bills any time after that date will see the full eight per cent rebate for the full billing period.
To the greatest extent possible, we are making our energy tax rebate available to as many Nova Scotians as possible in the simplest manner possible. Bulk fuel and electricity consumers, which make up the vast majority of Nova Scotia consumers at over 85 per cent, will see their provincial tax rebate reflected directly on their bills.
I would like to thank Nova Scotia Power, the Municipal Utilities Co-operative and our bulk fuel vendors for their support in making the rebate directly available to their customers upon point-of-sale. Application forms for all other energy sources will be made widely available mid-November through the government’s website, Access Nova Scotia Service Centres, or by calling a 1-800 number.
We’re are also making an extra effort to ensure that seniors, low income Nova Scotians, and Nova Scotians with disabilities (often those who need the help the most) are aware of, and get, speedy access to their tax rebate.
Simply put, today’s announcement is designed to address an immediate need to help families stay warm and better manage the high cost of their energy bills. There’s also a very real and pressing need for all of us (government, the private sector, and homeowners) to reduce wasteful energy consumption – something that will benefit consumers, the environment and the economy.
To that end, government recently announced a number of initiatives designed to conserve energy and reduce costs. Through our EnerGuide Program, we’re providing homeowners with grants of $2,000 or more for energy efficient repairs. We have installed 9,000 energy efficient thermostats in the homes of low-income Nova Scotians. We are providing rebates for solar water heating panels, energy efficient wood burning stoves and energy-efficient oil furnaces.
These are just some of the measures we have taken to reduce the financial burden on consumers as well as the harmful affects green house gas emissions have on our environment and our economy.
As a government, we’re doing our part to step up to the plate, too. We’re working to increase the amount of electricity produced through renewable energy sources such as wind, tidal, solar, hydro and biomass to at least 20 per cent by 2013.
We have established a new energy efficient tax credit to help business and industry reduce their energy consumption. We’ve committed $20-million to switch Halifax hospitals and universities from Bunker C fuel to natural gas.
We are funding a green-roof project at the new Citadel High School, and we have launched Conserve Nova Scotia, a new agency designed to develop programs and policies to promote greater energy efficiency.
Ladies and gentlemen, while today’s announcement addresses an immediate need, I encourage Nova Scotians to do all they can at home and at work to conserve energy, which will reduce their costs and will help Nova Scotia become the most energy-conscious and energy efficient jurisdiction in Canada and beyond.
Thank You.