The Government of Canada is updating a 30-year-old law.
Tim Hodgson, who functions as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, says the federal government is taking action to build an affordable and economically competitive future for all Canadians.
This includes modernizing the Energy Efficiency Act, according to the federal minister.
“Modernizing the Energy Efficiency Act ensures Canadian families, homes, and businesses can access higher-performing, lower-cost energy-using products that save them money and reduce greenhouse gases,” said Hodgson.
The Energy Efficiency Act, first passed in 1992, launched to reduce the energy consumption of products.
“The Energy Efficiency Act cuts emissions and saves Canadians money by ensuring appliances and equipment use less energy,” explains Corey Diamond, the Executive Director of Efficiency Canada, which launched from Carleton University’s Sustainable Energy Research Centre in 2018.
Since 1995, Canadian households, businesses and industries have saved over $110 billion as a result of regulations under the Act, according to data from the government, which also estimates that the Canadian industrial sector will see annual savings of $743 million in 2030 through regulations already in place.
“This is good news for our environment and Canadians’ wallets,” commented Hodgson.
Energy efficiency is noted as being “central to how the Government of Canada is improving affordability and supporting industrial competitiveness.”
Amendments will build on progress, a statement from the government reads, ensuring the Act functions in modern online marketplaces and keeps pace “with technological innovations in the ways energy is used and managed.”
“It’s one of the federal government’s clearest and most powerful levers,” Diamond says of the Act, “and it’s overdue for a 21st-century upgrade.”