Officials are concerned the Ontario PC government’s decision to cancel the cap and trade program will cost the local social services programs close to $1 million.
A report to a meeting of the Hastings-Quinte Community and Human Services committee on Wednesday indicated the Social Housing Apartment Improvement Program was funded through cap and trade proceeds.
This year the department had applied for $736,000 for energy efficient upgrades, in four social housing buildings. This would have been used to improve insulation and lighting. Director Erin Rivers indicated it would have improved energy efficiency, reduced the county’s operating costs and “improved tenants’ quality of life.”
Committee member Belleville Councillor Egerton Boyce.
BOYCE CAP&TRADE
Boyce says the program improves energy efficiency and “saves money down the road.”
Committee Chair Belleville Councillor Garnet Thompson says a number of people are depending on the funding.
He says, “It’s going to affect long range financing of our projects. It’s almost like a downloading and we can’t afford any more downloads. We need to
maintain the funds that are coming from the provincial government to sustain the number of projects that we want, whether it’s a city project or a county project, it’s important that we try to maintain these dollars.”
Thompson tells Quinte News, later this fall, a letter will go to county council calling on the province to re-examine the project and possibly find different funding to allow it to continue.
He says the idea would be to have other municipalities write to the provincial government on the issue as well.