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Finance
May 7, 2009
The following statement was issued by the Honourable Jerome Kennedy,
Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board. It was also read in
the House of Assembly:
Update on 2008-09 Home Heating Rebate Program
I rise in this Honourable House today to update residents of the
province on the 2008-09 Home Heating Rebate Program.
This is the fifth consecutive year that our government has provided
assistance to individuals and families associated with the high cost of
heating their homes.
Since our government assumed office, we have both increased the
amount of the home heating rebate and expanded the number of people
eligible under the program. The program has been expanded to include
electricity, and the income threshold has been increased to $40,000 or
less. Approximately 76,000 families are eligible for the rebate, as
opposed to over 10,000 families who qualified for the rebate when our
government took office.
Despite the lower costs of home heating fuel last year as compared to
2007, our government maintained the rebate at the same levels as 2007.
The rebate was increased for coastal Labrador communities due to the
high costs associated with home heating fuel in that region.
Under the program, eligible residents receive up to a $300 rebate for
households which use heating oil, stove oil or propane, up to $200 for
households which use electricity or wood, and up to $500 for those
living in coastal Labrador communities. Families with a net income up to
$35,000 receive a full rebate. The rebate gradually decreases as income
levels rise to $40,000, with no eligible family receiving less than
$100.
I am pleased to advise Honourable Members today that approximately
67,000 applications have been approved, with a value of $15.3 million
processed to date.
The Home Heating Rebate is one way our government is working to
put more money back in people�s pockets. Other examples include $776
million in cumulative tax relief over the last three years, the
reduction of motor vehicle registration fees, enhancement of the
seniors� benefit, and the elimination of the sales tax on insurance
premiums.
Our government is also committed to rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
As recently announced in Budget 2009, beginning next year administration
of the Home Heating Rebate program will be relocated to the Grand
Falls-Windsor area, providing seasonal employment opportunities for
residents in the region.
2009 05 07 1:50 p.m.
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