CPA advocates for propane to be included in Canada’s Greener Homes Grant

The CPA met with officials from the office of federal Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan on December 7 in St. John's to discuss shortcomings in the federal Canada Greener Homes Grant (CGHG).

CPA's SVP Allan Murphy and board member Darren Eavis, along with Dennis Lewis of CPA member company North Atlantic, met with Mark Duggan, senior advisor to minister O'Regan, to review the challenges of the current program and to suggest changes that would result in more affordable energy options and the immediate reduction of GHGs. 

One of the biggest challenges of the CGHG is that in most provinces, heat pumps are not considered a prime energy source and therefore residents cannot get insurance if they only have a heat pump. Therefore, to get insurance, oil furnaces must remain in the house or the house must be refitted entirely with electric baseboards and water heating, which the CGHG does not cover. (Interesting to note, however, that the CGHG provides funding to remove oil tanks.) 

Another significant issue is affordability. Transitioning a house to electric is costly, especially for older homes. 

The CPA advocated that including propane in the off-oil program offered under the CGHG would result in significant savings on annual heating costs per NL house, lower insurance premiums, and reduce 3.1 tonnes of annual CO₂ per house. 

Duggan will brief Minister O'Regan on the meeting while the CPA will follow up the discussion with a letter to the minister.