Dear Editor:
Our MP Michael Chong wrote in the Georgetown Independent and Free Press an opinion piece titled “Fuel prices are out of control.”
I was immediately struck by the irony of a member of the Conservative Party, a party that advocates for smaller government and the supremacy of the market and the law of supply and demand, suggesting that fuel prices (or any prices) should be under some form of government control.
In his column Chong recommended that the federal government suspend the carbon tax for oil and propane heat. I found this astonishing, given that when Chong ran for the leadership of the federal Conservative party, he was the only candidate who was in favour of a carbon tax.
Surely Chong understands that in order for a carbon tax to be an effective incentive for the use of non-carbon emitting energy sources, the tax must apply to all sources including home heating.
Chong correctly notes that one in 10 Canadians rely on heating oil or propane to heat their homes. However, by suggesting that the government suspend the carbon tax on these energy sources, he fails to recognize that this number needs to be reduced.
Additionally, Chong states that, for these rural residents, there are no energy alternatives for home heating, and there won’t be for years to come. In fact, there are alternatives; not only is the carbon tax one of the reasons they exist, it is also partly why they are becoming increasingly economically viable. Electric furnaces and heat pumps are among these available options.
The federal government has a program called Greener Homes that offers grants and interest free loans to homeowners for converting home heating systems from oil or propane to heat pumps and electric furnaces.
My family has recently made this change, replacing the oil furnace in our rural Erin home with an air source heat pump and electric furnace. We have applied for a $5,000 grant and an interest-free loan on the balance through the Canada Greener Homes Initiative.
Fortunately, Ontario’s energy supply is relatively “green,” thanks to the previous provincial Liberal government and Ontario Hydro already has a number of programs to assist with energy costs and security.
I applaud Chong’s desire to assist rural residents with their home heating challenges, but I believe his recommendation to suspend the carbon tax on home heating oil and propane is misguided.
A better idea would be to use the funds raised by the carbon tax on these fuels to increase the financial assistance available to Canadians to make the switch to carbon-free heating solutions.
We need to make consistent efforts to minimize climate change; the cost of procrastination is massively more than the cost of immediate proactive measures encouraged by a carbon tax.
We can no longer afford to subsidize and encourage the use of fossil fuels. Fortunately, with the advances in heat pump and green electricity technology, we don’t need to.
Dave Mattar,
Erin