Right to Heat Campaign

Right to Heat

A government knows it’s got an ‘election issue’ on its hands when even the so-called middle class is talking about it. Indeed, it seems the high cost of fuel – and what it will mean for the cost of home heating this winter – has made it onto just about everyone’s agenda. Read more»

What’s needed

The insufficient rebate program must be improved to meet the needs of those most vulnerable to the effects of rising energy costs.We also recommend long-term no-interest loans for the purchase of renewables. This would allow energy consumers to continue to pay a rate, but an affordable one, and with a stabilized future, all the while becoming less dependent on non-renewable resources. Read more»

Help where it’s needed

The federal “ecoENERGY Home Energy Retrofit” rebate (up to $5,000) and, here in Nova Scotia, a provincial rebate called “EnerGuide for Houses” (up to $1,500), are designed to help homeowners reduce energy costs by up to 30%. But this maximum savings is only achieved if the homeowner implements a long list of often costly improvements, upgrades and retrofits, leaving the government grant program inaccessible to those most vulnerable to rising energy costs. Read more»

Change Needed

In response to growing concern about climate change, Nova Scotia’s Environment and Sustainable Prosperity Act mandates that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced, to 10% below 1990 levels, by 2020. This conservative target signals just how difficult it will be to meaningfully lower emissions within the current energy framework. Read more»

Long-term Solutions Needed

Financial assistance in the form of tax cuts and rebates, targeted at those most in need, are necessary for short-term relief. Fiscal solutions are, however, unsustainable in the long-term, as the cost of non-renewable energy resources is expected to continue to rise. Read more»

What is a ‘right’?

A non-discriminatory reading of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms would include the protection of economic rights as components of the rights to equality and life, liberty and security of the person (Sections 15 and 7, respectively). Such an improvement to the Charter rests on whether these rights amount to more than simply having one’s government remove impediments to one’s pursuit of happiness, to the gaining of a livelihood, to the “free development of [one's] personality” (as put in Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Read more»