Richard Cannings, MP, South Okanagan-West Kootenay. (Photo supplied)
MP Richard Cannings is calling on the federal government to bring back a home retrofit program that helped Canadians reduce energy bills.
Last week Cannings tabled motion M-119 in the House of Commons, which seeks the return of the EcoENERGY Home Retrofit program.
That program under the Stephen Harper Conservatives ran from 2007 to 2010 and briefly between 2011 and 2012 before being cancelled.
It followed a similar Liberal government program called EnerGuide for Houses, which the Conservatives cancelled when they came to power in 2006.
The programs provided incentives for homeowners to have an energy audit done that would show them how they could retrofit their homes to achieve the greatest energy conservation.
Further financial incentives were provided to homeowners who made those improvements.
“Canadians loved it and Canadians signed up by the hundreds of thousands,” Cannings said in an interview last week.
He added that the Canadian Homebuilders Association also supported it for the work it generated in communities across Canada.
Cannings said he was inspired to introduce his motion when he travelled with Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr to San Francisco for a ministerial meeting on clean energy.
One speaker pointed out that the best “new” energy is efficiency, which has produced as much energy as other new energies such as solar and wind.
Cannings calls the retrofit program a “win-win-win,” with consumers and industry liking it and with government leveraging its money – putting up about $1 for every $4 spent by consumers on conservation.
Like other motions presented in the House, Cannings’ motion would not be binding on the government, even if it passes. It’s more to send a message to the government, he said.
And Cannings hasn’t yet decided whether he will put this motion or one of his others forward for a vote when he finally gets his turn later this year. Normally, a backbench MP only gets one chance in each Parliament to bring a bill or motion to a vote.
Meanwhile, Cannings says his Pop-Up Offices around the constituency have been going well.
These have been run in communities like Osoyoos, Grand Forks and New Denver on selected dates so that his staff can help constituents with federal concerns.
The next one in Osoyoos is this Friday, Feb. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Legion Hall. Those wishing to attend should call his Penticton office at 1-844-241-0018 for an appointment.
Cannings said most people who have come to the Pop-Up Offices have sought personal help with issues such as pensions, taxation and immigration, including obtaining visas for family members to come to Canada for events such as a wedding.
A few people, he said, have come to talk about political issues, though most have come for casework.
Some people aren’t clear on differences between federal and provincial areas of responsibility, but where staff can’t help directly, they’ve listened and steered constituents in the right direction, he said.
People can get help by phone, but Cannings said when they contact an MP’s office, they are often at their wits end and sometimes cases are complex, so many prefer to meet in person.
Asked about several other issues that have recently come before federal politicians, Cannings gave brief comments.
Electoral reform is not dead, he said, even though the Liberal government has backed away from a pre-election commitment to get rid of the first-past-the-post system of voting.
“People have told us loud and clear that they care about this,” he said. “Many thousands of people feel totally betrayed. We don’t think it’s dead. It may be a longer road than we thought.”
On Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent visit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Cannings expressed disappointment about an event to highlight the positive role of women in business and society.
“We just thought that was a very inappropriate thing to do with Trump, who is such a clear misogynist, basically giving him license to do that,” he said, adding that the Trump presidency also concerns him for its potential impact on NAFTA, softwood lumber, and recent actions like the ban on people from certain Muslim countries.
Cannings would like to see the Canadian government take a firmer stand towards Trump.
“I think the American government is a little more resilient than people think and we could push back more on certain issues, especially around the border, without endangering our trading status,” he said.
On the controversy surrounding a motion by Liberal backbencher Iqra Khalid to condemn Islamophobia, Cannings points out that a very similar motion from the NDP was passed unanimously in the fall.
“The Conservatives didn’t seem to have any problem with that,” he said.
The recent motion M-103, which is not binding, has been the subject of a fear campaign by right-wing extremist commentator Ezra Levant and now many Conservatives are saying they won’t support it.
“He’s been fomenting this whole fear mongering thing and that is what I find so disappointing,” said Cannings. “I’m very disappointed in the Conservatives for going with this and encouraging it.”
People have been convinced that this motion will lead to Sharia law in Canada, which “is ridiculous” and “patently false and it is spreading hatred” at a time when there has just been a killing of worshippers at a mosque in Quebec City, Cannings said.
He also says he’s convinced that there will be a number of candidates for the federal NDP leadership at the time of the first debate in March.
Currently B.C. MP Peter Julian is the only one who has thrown his hat into the ring to replace outgoing NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
