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A federal initiative that offered loans for retrofits to improve energy efficiency will be closing after October 1.
The program, available under the Canada Greener Homes Initiative, offered 10-year interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to pay for things like air-sealing new windows and more.
That said, applicants from the NWT said the program was made “practically inaccessible” due to a years-long waitlist to have advisors audit homes, as the program required.
To get around the waitlist, some Yellowknifers formed groups with other homeowners waiting for an energy audit and hired southern companies to make a special trip to complete the evaluations.
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Funding streams that continue to operate under the Greener Homes Initiative include the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program, which is available to those in the NWT who are at or below the median household after-tax income threshold for the program.
The new Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program, which offers retrofits for low-to-median-income homeowners and tenants at no cost, launched earlier this month for Manitobans.
The program is expected to become available in other jurisdictions soon.
