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Aug
11
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MacDonald Government Lacks Energy Plan
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As our summer days get shorter and our evenings cooler, many Nova Scotians are growing anxious — and with good reason. Autumn is nearly upon us, and winter’s frigid grip will soon follow. Home heating season is on the horizon, and the price of energy in this province has a lot of us concerned.
As Atlantic Canadians, we are always ready and charmingly eager to face record low temperatures. Unfortunately this winter, we must brace ourselves for the record highs — oil bills, electricity costs and energy prices across the board.
After having been gouged weekly at gas pumps provincewide, our wallets will be squeezed even harder as we fill and refill our oil tanks. About 60 per cent of Nova Scotians heat their homes with oil, significantly more than residents of any other province. That means the demand for home heating oil in this province is about to skyrocket; in turn, so will the price.
With oil companies already experiencing dizzying levels of profit, the MacDonald government has done little but count its share of the windfall. Nova Scotians shouldn’t expect that to change with the seasons.
But oil companies and the Conservative government aren’t the only winners in this energy crisis. Nova Scotia Power has already earned nearly $90 million in profit this year, with six very prosperous months to go. Has the government stood up for Nova Scotians on electricity rates which it failed to do with fuel prices? Quite simply, the answer is no.
In fact, Premier Rodney MacDonald is entertaining a 12.1 per cent rate increase for Nova Scotia Power. Apparently, $90 million just doesn’t go as far as it used to.
The MacDonald government certainly won’t be left out in the cold when it comes to hiking our electricity costs. By removing the HST rebate from electricity, the power bill in each and every Nova Scotian home will swell by eight per cent. This represents great news for the government’s coffers and more bad news for the rest of us.
From what I can tell, Mr. MacDonald’s energy plan consists of little more than continuing to wring out hard-working Nova Scotians. The government continues to drag its feet on the development of renewable energy sources and technology, choosing instead to feed Nova Scotia’s absolutely unsustainable addiction to oil.
We can avert any further energy crises by shifting our focus and our resources to renewable sources of power right now. Investing in the development of our wind, tidal and solar assets will insulate Nova Scotians and put us on the leading edge of the sustainable energy sector. It is too late for this type of investment to assist overburdened Nova Scotians this winter, but we must kick our reliance on oil if we are to re-establish fair and reasonable energy prices.
Raising the efficiency levels of homes must become more of a government priority. With outrageous energy prices providing ample encouragement, Nova Scotia homeowners need to be assisted — both technically and financially — with this process.
The cumbersome provincial rebate program hasn’t achieved the necessary results, and for the most part, people aren’t aware of what available assistance they qualify for. If Nova Scotians don’t know that help is out there, how can they possibly take advantage of it?
As the energy crunch intensifies, so too will our efforts to provide solutions to a Conservative government with none. Liberals will be working to ensure that no one has to choose between heating their home and feeding their family this winter!
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Leader's Column Overview
