Dear Editor:
Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong rose in Parliament on Oct. 20 to criticize, in typical Conservative fashion, the government’s carbon tax, without offering an alternative plan.
He disingenuously emphasized that 20% of Canadians did not get back as much from the rebate as they pay in carbon tax. What he didn’t say is that 80% get back more.
However, he did raise important concerns for rural Canadians in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces who heat with expensive propane and fuel oil. Typical rural homes burn 2,800 litres of oil at a cost of $2.35 per litre, for an annual heating bill of $6,580.
To avoid the tax, why didn’t Chong suggest something positive, like urging the government to do a more convincing job of getting Canadians to switch to heat pumps?
Heat pumps have improved considerably and typically produce 3.5 times as much heat output as they require energy input. For very cold days they do require some supplemental heating.
I installed an air exchange heat pump in October last year, complete with gas burner to provide supplemental heat as required. It used 5,575 kWh more electricity but only 28% as much gas compared to the previous year when I had a high efficiency gas furnace. My older home has similar heating requirements as the rural homes on oil.
If rural people switched to heat pumps, they would burn only 28% of 2,800 litres (784 litres) at $2.35 per litre and would use 5,575kWh more electricity at $0.131 per kWh (average cost in Ontario) for an annual heating bill of $2,573. They would save about $4,000 per year, wouldn’t pay the carbon tax on fuel they didn’t burn, and wouldn’t emit six tonnes of CO2.
My heat pump, including installation and taxes, cost $11,300. Their savings would pay for the heat pump in under three years. There is also a Greener Home grant of up to $5,000 for eligible home retrofits.
Chong said there are 1.5 million homes on oil. They could reduce Canadian emissions by nine million tonnes, while saving themselves a lot of money!
Ron Moore,
Hillsburgh