Opposition leaders criticize drop in home heating assistance from $1,000 to $600

Opposition party leaders say the Nova Scotia government's decision to reduce the amount of money available this year for a program to help people heat their homes could not come at a worse time.

On Monday the province announced that this year's instalment of the heating assistance rebate program would provide $600 toward heating bills for families that make $75,000 or less and single-income households earning up to $55,000.

While that's more than the $200 the program has traditionally provided, it's less than the $1,000 the rebate was worth last year. Eligibility last year was for households with an income of up to $85,000.

"Nova Scotia has the highest inflation in the country, we've got the highest increase in rents, we've got power rates that are going up by 14 per cent," Liberal Leader Zach Churchill told reporters at Province House in Halifax on Tuesday.

"This is not the time to reduce this level of support to Nova Scotians and to prevent many Nova Scotians from even getting this in the first place."

During the 2022-23 heating season, 155,800 people got the rebate for a total of nearly $156 million. The budget for the program this year is $82 million.

Churchill said the Liberals will introduce legislation this week to make the rebates permanent so people can budget accordingly. The legislation would increase eligibility for the program and return the rebate to $1,000, he said.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the government's decision to cut the value of the program and reduce eligibility is "deeply puzzling."

"I'm not sure where this government thinks people are going to get the money to heat their homes and I'm not sure what the rationale is other than things aren't as bad as they were, which just isn't true."

Chender told reporters that the decision is a reflection of the government's priorities. And at a time when inflation remains high and many people are struggling with the cost of living, the priority for the Tories "is not with the people who are struggling to find a place to live or struggling to heat their homes, who are struggling to put food on the table," she said.

But the minister responsible for the program, Colton LeBlanc, does not view Monday's announcement as a cut.

"We indicated that last year was a one-time increase and when we reviewed the program we decided to land on three times what was the previous rebate for a number of years," he told reporters.

LeBlanc said the government received more than 23,000 applications for the program since it was announced on Monday.

"We recognize that Nova Scotians are facing tough economic times."

On Wednesday, Premier Tim Houston said the government is doing what it can with the money it has.

"We have to be conscious of the financial capacity of the government," he told reporters at Province House.

"We try to reach as many people as we can with as much as we can."

LeBlanc said there are a variety of programs the government uses to support people, including the seniors care grant, seniors property tax rebate and funding to help people make their homes more energy efficient.