Federal Government Proposes to Modify Energy Efficiency Act

The Government of Canada last week introduced legislation to “modernize” the Energy Efficiency Act by giving the government new tools to make regulatory process smoother and more cost effective.  Announcing the legislation on November 26th, Minister Tim Hodgson said that Natural Resources Canada is “taking action to build a clean, affordable and economically competitive future for all Canadians. Modernizing legislation and delivering programs to enable tenants, homeowners, building operators, manufacturers and industrial facilities to choose energy-efficient equipment and technologies helps them save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The amendments to the Act were introduced in the Senate on November 26th.

First passed in 1992, the original Energy Efficiency Act aims to reduce the overall energy consumption of energy-using products and allow consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.  The new amendments presented will build on progress to date, ensuring the Act functions in modern online marketplaces, and enable it to keep pace with technological innovations in the ways energy is used and managed.

Among other updates, the amendments will:  

  • expand the legislation to include online sales and digital labels;
  • bring tools in the Act in line with those in other modern legislation, like adding regulatory sandboxes and more nimble and targeted compliance options; and 
  • make the regulatory processes faster and more cost-effective by introducing new mechanisms that streamline government processes.

NRCan reports that, since 1995, Canadian households, businesses and industries have saved over $110 billion as a result of regulations under the Act. It is estimated that the Canadian industrial sector will see annual savings of $743 million in 2030, arising from regulations already in place.

Over the past several decades, HRAI and its members have engaged regularly with NRCan in discussions on the timing, sequencing and details of its amendments to the Act, which regularly capture products of the HVACR sector.  The current amendments proposed in this legislation do not reference changes in performance standards for products but are instead aimed at making the act more responsive to the changing needs of industry and policymakers.

HRAI will be reviewing the changes proposed in this legislation over the next week and comments from members are welcome.  Generally, the industry has been supportive of amendments that increase responsiveness and streamline the regulatory change process, but some closer analysis will be required to determine if those objectives will be achieved.

If warranted, HRAI might schedule a webinar before the end of the year to walk through the proposed changes and their implications for industry members.

Click on the following links for more details:

For more information, or to comment on the proposals, contact Martin Luymes at 416-453-5899 or mluymes@hrai.ca.


 

Back to Newsletters