Vancouver and Quebec recently banned certain kinds of fossil fuel-based heating in new home construction. Similar — and, in some cases more extensive — bans are happening around the world, from Norway to New York City. The goal? To cut CO2 emissions from buildings by replacing fossil fuel burning with electric heating. But are such bans necessary? And what impact will they have on people who live in those cities? Here’s a closer look.
Where are fossil fuel heating bans happening in Canada so far?
At least two jurisdictions have implemented recent restrictions on fossil fuel heating:
This map shows the energy sources used for heating in different provinces in 2015. (CER/Statistics Canada)
Why are fossil fuels for heating being banned now?
During the recent United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Canada and more than 80 other countries signed a Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide — by at least 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030.
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U.S. President Joe Biden pledged a 30 per cent global cut in methane by 2030, an effort to reduce a huge source of greenhouse gases. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press) 4:55
How would banning fossil fuel heating help Canada and the world reach net zero?
In 2019, buildings were the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, after oil and gas and transport.
Space and water heating represent about 85 per cent of residential greenhouse gas emissions and 68 per cent of commercial emissions.
A 2021 report from the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices on different ways to get Canada to net zero said its modelling consistently shows “electrification of heating as a necessary part of the transition to net zero in Canada’s building sector.”
It’s a strategy endorsed by the International Energy Agency (IEA), an intergovernmental organization affiliated with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that’s focused on secure and sustainable energy.
The IEA recommended in May that bans on new fossil fuel boilers need to start being introduced globally in 2025 and that most old buildings and all new ones must comply with zero-carbon-ready building energy codes. That’s because the lifetime of heating equipment can be a couple of decades.
Local/municipal gas bans and state laws prohibiting restrictions on gas in the U.S. as of Jan. 29, 2022. (S&P Global Market Intelligence)
How would banning fossil fuel heating help to cut methane emissions?
Methane is emitted in the production of all fossil fuels, including coal and heavy oil, even if it isn’t collected for use in the process.
It’s also the main component — 95 per cent — of natural gas, the source of 52 per cent of the energy used to heat Canadian homes in 2018.
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Chris Bataille is an associate researcher with the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), a think-tank based in Paris, and an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia who researches decarbonization of the economy.
Bataille said the entire system is leaky right from the production wells to consumers’ stoves and furnaces. Eliminating methane from people’s homes would reduce leaks throughout the system.
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What is replacing fossil fuel heating?
In most cases, fossil fuel combustion is being replaced with electric heating. That can include more traditional but less efficient options, such as baseboard heaters and electric furnaces. However, there has been a big push to instead choose more efficient heat pumps. The Canadian Institute for Climate Choices report found that to drive deeper emissions cuts, the switch to heat pumps “would play an essential and growing role.”
Are similar bans being implemented in other parts of the world?
Yes. They’re most widespread in Europe,which imports 90 per cent of its gas, mostly from Russia, representing a strategic vulnerability beyond climate change itself.
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Some of the leaders include Denmark, which banned installation of oil-fired boilers and natural gas heating in new buildings in 2013, and is now subsidizing the electrification of older buildings, and Norway, which banned the use of oil heating in 2020 and has almost completely electrified its building heating.
Breaking News: The U.S. plans to arrange alternative fuel sources for Europe, in case Russia cuts off gas and crude oil supplies as tensions over Ukraine continue to rise. <a href=”https://t.co/QVmQVIl697″>https://t.co/QVmQVIl697</a>
Meanwhile, in the United States, there are bans in dozens of municipalities. The largest is in New York City. It passed legislation in December that bans fuel-burning systems in new buildings and major renovations. The ban includes heating, hot water and cooking appliances, although there are exceptions for laundromats and commercial kitchens. It goes into effect on Dec. 31, 2023, for buildings fewer than seven storeys, and on July 1, 2027 for taller buildings.
Mike Henchen is the principal of the carbon-free buildings program at RMI, a U.S.-based think-tank focused on the clean energy transition. He said such policies are popular at the municipal level in the U.S. because cities want to take climate change action, and building codes are something over which they have jurisdiction.
Why is new construction being targeted?
New construction is being targeted largely because electrification of a new home is cheap and relatively simple, Bataille said. He estimates it would add between $5,000 and $20,000 to the cost of a home, which is “virtually nothing” on the scale of the total average Canadian home price of $720,850.
In comparison, retrofitting an older home could cost up to $100,000, he estimates.
Henchen said targeting new buildings also stops the emissions problem from getting worse by preventing the installation of new fossil fuel infrastructure. And it helps to expand the market and industry expertise for solutions such as heat pumps.
What is the natural gas industry’s response to bans?
The industry has lobbied hard against them. There are now state laws pre-emptively outlawing municipal gas bans in close to 20 U.S. states, eliminating one option for local climate action, Henchen said.
“These are certainly backed and encouraged by the gas industry, which is concerned about losing some of their market and especially some of their growth with new customers,” he added.
The Canadian Gas Association says it disagrees with bans on energy sources “because they take away customers’ ability to choose what is best for them, based on their needs and circumstances.” It told CBC’s What On Earth that they also kill opportunities for developing solutions such as renewable natural gas (RNG), hydrogen and carbon capture. RNG is derived from biological sources such as food waste from plants that absorbed carbon as they grew and therefore can be theoretically carbon-neutral.
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Enbridge Inc. says the company sees itself as a “bridge to a cleaner energy future,” and its approach is “to continue to provide people with the energy they need while taking steps to reduce the carbon content of the natural gas we distribute” through technologies such as RNG and hydrogen.
FortisBC, which delivers natural gas and electricity to customers in British Columbia, successfully lobbied for Vancouver to allow an exception for renewable natural gas in its new regulations. Doug Slater, the utility’s vice-president of external and Indigenous relations, said that will allow customers to gradually decarbonize using existing gas infrastructure. It aims to have 15 per cent of its gas supply from renewable sources by 2030.
Are these gas bans working? And are they enough?
“They definitely work in eliminating the burning of fossil fuels in new buildings,” Henchen said.
But both he and Bataille acknowledged that they’re not enough to decarbonize cities.
Henchen said governments also need to stop allowing gas companies to subsidize the expansion of gas infrastructure and the connection of new customers through existing customers’ bills (something that’s happening in Ontario). He said there are already proposals in Colorado and California that will require customers to pay the full cost of new gas connections.
Policies are also needed to electrify existing buildings, and gas bans alone aren’t the right solution, given the cost of retrofits, Bataille said. “We do need some sort of federal and provincial support for people to switch,” he said.
In the meantime, Bataille urges homeowners to think ahead about decarbonization of their heating systems. He suggests they look at hybrid gas and electric heat pump systems now and take the option to use renewable natural gas if the option is offered.
“Those kinds of things really do help — and they help build the market in the long run.”
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
After a long day at a work event in July, Kathryn Kozody was relieved when she spotted a car with a lit-up taxi sign.
She thought it was odd when the driver told her she’d have to pay her fare with a debit card. Still, a tired Kozody hopped in the car.
“I was like, ‘Fine, it’s kind of weird, but let’s go home,'” said Kozody, who lives in Calgary.
Nothing else seemed off — until the next day when she discovered that almost $2,000 was missing from her bank account. On top of that, her debit card had someone else’s name on it.
Kozody concluded that the taxi driver was a fraudster who, during the debit card transaction, recorded her PIN, stole her card and handed her back a fake.
“I started freaking out,” she said. “It’s terrifying when they have your debit card.”
It took Kozody about two weeks to get her money back from her bank, and she’s still rattled by the experience.
The day after taking what she thought was a ride in a taxi, Kathryn Kozody of Calgary found out someone had withdrawn almost $2,000 from her bank account. (James Young/CBC News)
“It really felt like an invasion of privacy and a violation to be a victim of this scam,” she said. “I really don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”
The taxi scam isn’t new; Toronto and Montreal have been seeing it for years. But the crime is becoming more widespread.
This summer, police in Calgary,Edmonton and at least five cities in southern Ontario, including Kingston and Ottawa, posted warnings online that they had received multiple reports of the scam.
Police and the Canadian Taxi Association say the fraudsters have a helping hand: with the click of a button, they can purchase a generic — but official looking — taxi roof sign on e-commerce sites like Amazon.
Edmonton Police posted this alert on Facebook in July, warning people about an ongoing taxi scam. The city’s police department says that it received about 10 reports of the scam that month. (Edmonton Police/Facebook )
“They do have a moral responsibility to at least sell the signs to individuals that are properly licensed,” said association president Marc André Way.
However, the U.S.-based company continues to sell the product to all customers.
“These lights are legal to sell in Canada,” Amazon told CBC News in an email.
‘Eye-popping’ numbers
The taxi scam has several variations but typically ends the same way: the victim pays with a debit card, then the scammer secretly steals it and hands the victim a similar but fake card. Shortly thereafter, money disappears from the victim’s account.
Ron Hansen, deputy chief of police in Sarnia, Ont., said his department received 12 reports of the scam in July, with one victim losing $9,900.
Toronto police report that since June 2023 the department has received 919 reports of the taxi scam, totalling $1.7 million in losses.
Jessica Chin King of Toronto said after a recent cab ride, she got a suspicious activity alert from her bank. She learned $600 had been withdrawn from her account. (Craig Chivers/CBC)
The numbers are “eye-popping,” said Toronto police detective David Coffey.
“When they do get a victim, they are quick to go right into the bank accounts. They’re quick to empty them out.”
Jessica Chin King of Toronto said just 15 minutes after a recent cab ride, she got a suspicious activity alert from her bank. Turns out, $600 had been withdrawn from her account.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that just happened.’ I was in shock,” said Chin King, whose bank later reimbursed the cash.
She said she too was fooled by the taxi sign atop the car.
“I was in the car with somebody who wasn’t a taxi driver. Anything could have happened,” she said. “I was thankful that it was only my bank [account] that was compromised.”
Taxi light for $35 on Amazon
CBC News bought a taxi sign from Amazon for $35. It has a magnetic strip on the bottom, so it easily sticks to the top of a car.
To power the light, an attached wire can be run through the driver’s window and plugged into the car’s auxiliary power outlet, also known as the cigarette lighter outlet.
The taxi association says licensed taxi drivers typically get their roof signs from speciality suppliers, and they are hardwired to the car — not powered via the cigarette lighter.
“When you see that … it’s obvious that it’s not a legitimate taxi,” said Way, the association president.
“This is not a safe, practical way to distribute the trusted ‘Taxi’ signs,” he wrote.
CBC News ordered this $35 taxi sign on Amazon. The attached wire can be run through the driver’s window and plugged into the car’s auxiliary power outlet, while the lights for licensed drivers are hardwired into the vehicle. (Sophia Harris/CBC News)
But Amazon told Way — and CBC News — the signs will remain on its site, because the company isn’t breaking any rules.
“It’s going to be quite difficult, I think, for anyone to stop Amazon from selling a product that is perfectly legal to sell,” said Toronto criminal lawyer, Daniel Goldbloom. “It’s true that these taxi signs can be used to commit scams, but kitchen knives can be used to commit murder — and we don’t stop retailers from selling those.”
But Way isn’t giving up hope.
He says the taxi association also plans to ask other online retailers, such as Temu and eBay, to stop selling the taxi signs and will lobby provincial governments for legislation that regulates the sale of the product.
However, Coffey said he believes the best way to fight the taxi scam is to educate people about it.
“Never, never give another person control of your debit card,” the detective said.
Victims Chin King and Kozody also want to spread the word.
“The more people know, the less likely it is to happen again to somebody else,” Kozody said.
