The Canadian Journal of Public Health (CJPH) said as many as one-fifth of Canadians face energy poverty due to high costs, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “Depending on the measure, 6% to 19% of Canadian households face energy poverty,” said the CJPH in a study. McGill University Canada Research Chair in Housing, Community and Health Mylene Riva said households facing energy poverty “start at a disadvantage in the energy transition.” With Riva’s researchers, she said they documented cases where Canadian homeowners forced to cut back on winter heating saw their breath while inside their homes. “In Canada, home heating during the winter months is a matter of life and death,” said the CJPH. CJPH researchers defined energy poverty as households spending more than one-tenth of their annual income on home heating or cooling or paying more than twice the national median for fuel and electricity as a share of their family budget. It called energy poverty “not yet on the national policy agenda.”“Despite Canada being an important energy producer, not all Canadians can access or afford adequate levels of energy services at home to meet their needs, maintain healthy indoor temperatures and live a decent life — a situation known as energy poverty,” it said. The researchers did not single out the carbon tax or the clean fuel standard as a cause for higher costs, but they said climate change programs had an impact. “As Canada transitions towards cleaner energy and a lower carbon economy, it will be important to ensure energy prices remain affordable, especially for households in situations of vulnerability,” it said. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) acknowledged in a report in 2022 climate change programs made energy unaffordable for some Canadians. “Some measures may have a disproportionate impact on lower income Canadians if they lead to increased energy or vehicle costs,” said the ECCC. However, the ECCC admitted it had no data on their unintended consequences. “There is no evidence that beneficial and adverse economic and social impacts of mitigation measures are being measured or estimated for population groups across relevant identity factors,” it said.This incident comes after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith mocked the Canadian government on February 15 for wanting to rebrand the carbon tax. READ MORE: Smith launches online poll to ‘rebrand’ carbon tax to ‘Ottawa Poverty Surcharge“What should they name it?” said Smith. The top choice Twitter users selected was the Ottawa Poverty Surcharge at 47.4%
