Ford hasn't even officially taken office yet, and he's already costing me money:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/greenon-program-ends-1.4713161
We were planning to have our basement insulated this summer, but hadn't contracted the work yet.
That's why we replaced our furnace and a/c last year. We didn't know who would be in power this year, but afraid these kind of programs would be cancelled. We got an energy audit for free, plus the rebates added up to enough to give us our new a/c for free too.
Our audit showed our house's energy consumption to be almost on par with new builds, even though it is 25 years old. We will be using that as a selling feature when we sell in the next year or so.
Without having any hard data at all, I have to wonder if ending these programs might be a good thing. Probably not a good way to start a discussion here! Forging ahead regardless, is there much sense in replacing a furnace and a/c before it's worn out because of a government funded rebate?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying HE units are bad. When our old furnace and a/c units wore out, I replaced them with modern high efficiency units. I was reluctant at first, but the furnace in particular is a nicely engineered, self contained unit. I like it much better than the old furnace.
I'd rather the government funds were used to get the province's finances under control.
We didn't replace our units only because of the rebates - that just moved it up a year. Our house is 25 years old, and we'd already had some issues. We would have had to do it anyway, so the rebates were merely a bonus. As mustachians, of course we took advantage of them. We have already noticed lower costs for the a/c, and although our bills did not decrease for heating (we already had a HE unit that was 92% efficient), the new furnace is much quieter and results in fewer swings in temperature. Plus it didn't break down when it was -30C.
I don't know if these programs are "worth it" in the larger sense either. But if the goal is to have us consume less electricity and gas, then they do accomplish that. I have no confidence that cutting these programs will mean money will be spent wisely or to cut the deficit. Doug Ford thought it would be a great idea to use tax dollars to put a ferris wheel on the shores of Lake Ontario a few years ago, so I'll wait and see what his plans are when/if he finally decides to share them with the people of Ontario.
I am wondering what will happen to the high speed train line that was supposed to run between London, Kitchener and Toronto by 2025. (and eventually Windsor too). Housing prices here shot up last year when that went into initial planning stages. Since construction on the line itself has not actually started yet (I think?), I can see him yanking that too. I hope he doesn't - it's about time Ontario came into the 21st century. A lot of our local tax dollars have already been spent on infrastructure for the high speed rail station and city transit to connect to it.
