Regional Municipality of Waterloo Asks Federal Government to Reinstate Funding to EnerGuide

The Council of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, at its meeting of July 12, 2006, approved the following:

WHEREAS there is an ongoing commitment by all levels of government, across Canada, to encourage energy conservation and the reduction of green house gas emissions in both the public and private sectors, including;

• The Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ aim for a reduction of 20% in Greenhouse Gases within 10 years;

• The Partners for Climate Protection Program reference to a 20% - 25% reduction in emissions from a 2004 baseline by 2012;

• Numerous municipalities within Ontario which have set targets for their reduction in energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions ranging from 5% to 25% by 2012:

AND WHEREAS Canadian homes, including those within the Region of Waterloo, are an important focus for emission reduction targets given that the housing sector is responsible for 17 per cent of total secondary energy consumed in Canada;

AND WHEREAS Waterloo Region has some of the worst air quality in the province, and decreasing energy use in the residential sector will reduce airborne emissions, helping to minimize smog days, improve air quality and benefit the Region’s young, elderly and sufferers of asthma, heart and respiratory disease.

AND WHEREAS EnerGuide for Houses (EGH), Canada’s energy efficiency advice and rating system, has been widely acclaimed, internationally, as the most successful among Kyoto-influenced energy conservation initiatives;

AND WHEREAS EnerGuide for Houses provides a practical and proven tool with which to help individuals make energy efficiency gains, thus furthering Canada’s emission reduction achievements and is a “made for Canada”, science based, audit tool; delivered by certified advisors, that includes air leakage diagnostics, computerized energy modeling and a Retrofit Incentive benefits program available;

AND WHEREAS participants in the EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Incentive program save an average of 28% on their energy bills, improve indoor air quality and home comfort, reduce their personal green house gas emissions by 2 to 4 tonnes per year and create jobs and business opportunities which in turn generate tax revenues for the government;

AND WHEREAS over 300,000 EnerGuide for Houses evaluations have been performed across Canada, more than a third of them in 2005-06, and the federal subsidy for the EnerGuide for Houses program makes the service more accessible and affordable and increases participation;

AND WHEREAS hundreds of Canadian businesses and organizations have invested heavily in making EGH a success, explaining the service to homeowners, forming countless partnerships to help with delivery, and training and equipping an army of certified energy advisors;

AND WHEREAS provincial governments and utilities have created numerous programs that piggyback on the federal EnerGuide program;

AND WHEREAS the Region of Waterloo is vitally interested in its citizens having the widest possible access to the growing number of government programs and services to further community education, to improve air quality and encourage energy conservation and benefit the environment and to have economic vitality along with the health and well being of all our citizens;

NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo hereby enacts as follows:

1) That the Region of Waterloo understands the value and significance of the EnerGuide for Houses program, and its role in our community, and calls on the Prime Minister of Canada, the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Natural Resources to:

a) reinstate, immediately, the EnerGuide for Houses program and the EnerGuide for Low Income Houses program, including the Retrofit Incentive program across Canada as a vital resource that works across sectors to meet the demands of the new knowledge- based, environmentally responsible and energy wise economy, and supports the future health and prosperity of Ontario and all of Canada;

b) ensure that any future changes or enhancements to this program will retain the intent and integrity of this quantifiably, successful program; and

2) THAT a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Minister of the Environment of Canada and the Minister of Natural Resources of Canada, the Premier of Ontario, the Minister of Energy of Ontario, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, all area municipalities and local members of Provincial and Federal Parliament so that the Province of Ontario or other Municipalities might consider passing their own resolution; and

3) THAT the Residential Energy Efficiency Project (REEP), as the local representative of the EnerGuide for Houses program, be requested to circulate this resolution to all EnerGuide for Houses representatives, across the Country, requesting support for this resolution.

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