New poll says Ontarians want more support for energy conservation in the home

Conservation Council of Ontario calls on provincial government to eliminate PST on energy-efficiency related products, and enhance the Ontario Building Code


(Toronto) The Conservation Council of Ontario released on Feb. 2 an Ontario-wide poll, conducted by Oraclepoll Research, which shows that Ontarians want higher energy-efficiency levels in their homes, and they want the government to show a commitment to this by improving standards and providing financial support and incentives.

Chris Winter, Executive Director of the Conservation Council of Ontario, observed that, “93% of the respondents say energy conservation is important to them, with 84% feeling that Ontarians can do a better job of conserving. But overall, the findings suggest that we need to establish higher energy-efficiency standards in the Ontario building code, and encourage the government to fund the promotion of conservation and establish financial incentives for energy-efficiency upgrades, such as eliminating the PST on insulation and energy-efficiency related products.”

Here are some of the important observations from the poll:

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80% support upgrading the building code to ensure that the energy-efficiency in buildings is higher than the current building code standards.
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85% support having homeowners that upgrade the energy-efficiency of their homes receive a tax subsidy.
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88% support requiring that builders and contractors in Ontario inform homebuyers of energy-efficiency upgrades and their benefits.
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89% support having new homes carry an energy-efficiency rating similar to those found on new appliances.

“Clearly, Ontario already has a strong culture of conservation when it comes to home electricity and heating bills,” comments Mr. Winter, “and people are already taking the first steps by themselves. But, what they want is more help for becoming better conservers, and we can see from the poll that there is an exceptionally high degree of support for government leadership in raising energy-efficiency standards and providing financial support and incentives for energy-efficiency upgrades.”

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For more information or to secure a copy of the poll, visit www.weconserve.ca, or contact Chris Winter, Executive Director, The Conservation Council of Ontario,
416-533-1635 x1, cell: 647-393-5000,

The Conservation Council of Ontario is a province-wide association of organizations and individuals dedicated to conservation and a healthy environment. They seek to make Ontario a conserver society by promoting conservation solutions, raising public awareness and building a strong province-wide conservation movement. The Council expresses its appreciation to The Beer Store and NAIMA-Canada for their generous support of this research.

The poll was conducted between December 16th and December 23rd, 2005. It included a sample of 956 adults and has a margin of error of +/- 3.2%, 19/20 times.

This release was published on openPR.