RELEASE

For Release: Immediate
June 28, 2006

Liberal Critic Calls for Return of EnerGuide Program Now

Ottawa - The Honourable Roy Cullen, Official Opposition Critic for Natural Resources, and Member of Parliament for Etobicoke North, today called on Minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn to re-instate the EnerGuide for Houses retrofit program immediately.

"The government has been exposed on this, and I am today calling for the Minister to immediately re-instate the EnerGuide programs," said Cullen

Documents obtained by the Liberal Opposition reveal that senior experts within the Ministry of Natural Resources counselled Minister Lunn to keep this program - advice that was rejected for purely crass political reasons.

"Trying to justify this ill-advised decision the Minister has said that the program was not getting any bang for the buck. But we now know that his own officials were telling him the exact opposite - briefing notes prepared for the Minister by officials advised the Minister that this program was working and it was efficient," said Mr. Cullen.

Media reports today suggest that the Conservative government is still struggling to replace the EnerGuide Program with a new scheme of its own, but has yet to offer anything.

"EnerGuide worked. It was helping thousands of Canadian households achieve energy efficiency increases in the range of 30 per cent - and it was doing this in a way that was cost effective," said Mr. Cullen. "The Minister should do the right thing, stand up for the environment and for Canadian consumers, and bring EnerGuide back."

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