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Ottawa's green grants program for homeowners is running out of money faster than expected – CBC News

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A federal grant program that offers homeowners money to make their homes more energy efficient is running out of money faster than anticipated — alarming homeowners and industry stakeholders who fear the program might end earlier than expected.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson confirmed the program is spending its allocated budget quickly because of high demand for home retrofit grants. He stopped short of saying Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) could abruptly close applications and suggested the program could be extended.

“Yes, we’ve actually started to exhaust the funds earlier than what we had anticipated, and that’s largely a function of the popularity of the program,” Wilkinson said.

The Greener Homes Grant program, launched by the federal government in 2021, provides homeowners with up to $5,000 for energy efficiency retrofits and home energy evaluations and up to $600 to help with the cost of home energy evaluations.  

Homeowners must spend the money upfront and then be reimbursed. The $2.6 billion program was supposed to last until 2028, but some suggest the money will run out in 2024.

Diana Birsan thought she had until 2028 to apply. She said she has been delaying committing to renovations and signing up for the program as she juggles mortgage payments on her new Ottawa home.

“So it’s a shock to me,” Birsan said when CBC told her the program is burning through cash faster than planned. 

Birsan said she hoped the program would help her replace her gas furnace with a heat pump and swap out her leaky windows. Birsan said that if the program is cancelled, she and her partner may have to invest in a fossil fuel heating system.

“It would be such a shame because I would love to be more environmentally friendly,” Birsan said. “But it does come down to what can I afford, what’s possible with the money that we have.”

She called on Ottawa to extend the program, given the large number of Canadians struggling with the cost of living.

WATCH Ottawa resident shows CBC some needed home improvements

Ottawa homeowner hopes Ottawa extends Greener Homes Grant

13 hours ago

Duration 1:23

Featured VideoOttawa homeowner Diana Birsan shows CBC the windows in her older home she hopes to replace with the help of a Greener Homes Grant. But the federal grant program is running out of money faster than anticipated. Birsan said she hopes the federal government extends the program.

Natural Resources Canada says more than 124,000 applicants have received funding through the national portal or co-delivery partners in Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia. The department has paid out over $450 million from the $2.6 billion budgeted for the program.

Wilkinson said heat pumps are the most popular retrofit funded by the program so far.

He left the door open to topping up the program with new funds in the next federal budget.

“We have a certain budgetary envelope. We have to exhaust or utilize that envelope before we can ask the minister of finance for additional money,” Wilkinson said.

“Typically, the budgets happen in March or in April, but at this stage, we have money for some number of months to be able actually to continue to accept applications.”

‘Significant havoc in the sector’

Brent Kopperson, executive director of Durham’s Windfall Ecology Centre, said one of his staff members attended a meeting in November with NRCAN officials and was warned the program could wind down soon.

Kopperson said the program’s current plight feels like déjà vu. He pointed out that the previous federal government pulled the plug on a similarly popular ecoEnergy home retrofit program in 2012.

Kopperson said that retrofit program led to the emergence of new firms specializing in decarbonizing homes. History could repeat itself, he warned.

“We are in a climate emergency and we can’t be putting our feet on the brakes. We need to really be accelerating the program,” he said. “So to end this program prematurely without an immediate replacement would cause significant havoc in the sector.”

After launching the retrofit program, the Trudeau government announced it would provide up to $10 million in contracts to recruit, train and mentor 2,000 energy auditors to advise homeowners on energy efficiency.

WATCH What ending the Greener Homes Grant could mean for the energy efficiency industry 

Cancelling the Greener Homes Grant program would be a ‘big change’ for energy auditors

12 hours ago

Duration 2:32

Featured VideoDylan Trebles trained to help people with their home energy retrofits. The 30-year-old left his corporate tech desk job hoping to become part of an army of registered energy auditors.

Dylan Trebles was one of the trainees who went through the NRCAN program. The 30-year-old left his corporate tech job hoping to become part of an army of registered energy auditors. Trebles calls himself a “climate quitter” who took a pay cut and joined a movement to decarbonize homes and electrify them.

Dylan Trebles is an Ottawa based registered energy auditor. Here he demonstrates how he assesses the energy efficiency of homes. (David Thurton/CBC)

Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings accounted for 13 per cent of Canada’s total emissions in 2021 — about 87 megatonnes — making it the third-highest source of emissions after oil and gas production and transportation. Canada has vowed in its emissions reduction plan to slash emissions from buildings by 37 per cent by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.

  • World leaders will meet at the annual climate conference in Dubai this month. We want to know what questions you have about COP 28. Send an email to ask@cbc.ca

Trebles said that if the Greener Homes program abruptly ends, he may not be able to continue his work.

“I’ve been doing this about a year now. And so to have the rug pulled out a little bit … We knew this program was going to end at some point, but it feels a little soon,” he said.

Others connected to the energy efficiency industry urge Ottawa to refrain from interrupting growth in a nascent clean tech sector that includes registered energy auditors and heat pump installers.

“All these people who entered into this sector with the hopes of a better career and livelihoods, I worry that this kind of start-and-stop funding cycles could put their livelihoods at risk,” said Abhilash Kantamneni, a research manager at Carleton University’s advocacy and research centre Efficiency Canada.

He called on the government to commit early to extending the program, and to other supports that could help all Canadians boost their homes’ energy efficiency.

“What the government should be doing is to signal an intention for long-term policy commitment and policy certainty … as a way to … get to our climate goals and [do] so in a way that leaves no one behind,” Kantamneni said.

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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