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By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

fairness

Condo Owners Forum still demanding electricity rebate equity from province

Nov 15, 2023 | 1:57 PM

The Condo Owners Forum (COF), an Alberta organization, says the provincial government is yet to make good on bringing equity to its electricity rebate program.

The COF says the current system, introduced in spring 2022, has made for two classes of condo owners.

The problem arose, they explain, with condo complexes that have only one electrical meter, meaning the condo owners in those buildings weren’t eligible for the rebate, which saw $500 stay in the pockets of each household through parts of 2022 and 2023 — households that is with their own electric meter.

Now that the rebate is over, the ask is for a retroactive payment to be given to condo owners in buildings with one meter, and to ensure those same folks are included in any future similar rebates.

“This is an issue of fairness. The government has suggested that reducing carbon taxes on home heating oil for Maritime provinces was inequitable. We agree, but why has the government not addressed inequities of their own making here in Alberta?” COF Stakeholder Relations spokesperson Phil Rosenzweig asks.

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“Rather than focusing on the federal government’s carbon tax inequity, we ask the Government of Alberta to deliver on its promise of affordability to Alberta condo owners.”

Rosenzweig notes the COF has met with three successive cabinet ministers as well as staff, over the last 16 months, to ask for this issue to be addressed. The first time was July 2022, and the last time was this past August with current Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf.

The COF says the ministry has acknowledged the issue, and committed to dealing with it, but it remains outstanding.

“The matter is very complex as Alberta’s government doesn’t currently have a mechanism to confirm which residents have already benefited from the rebate,” reads a statement from Minister Neudorf’s office. “We’ll continue working with the COF to improve information sharing moving forward to prevent this from happening in the future, should any government programs impact condo owners utilities.”

The COF estimates there are as many as 150,000 Albertan families living in buildings with just one meter, thus constituting a further payment from the province of $75 million, at $500 a pop.

About 567,000 Albertans live in a condo, they add.

“Part of the issue is that the Alberta government does not have a good database of condo information. What they have is a list of condos from land titles, but very little other information,” Rosenzweig says. “This makes it hard to develop programs that might affect condos if they know nothing about them. We are working with Service Alberta to try and find a solution.”

Ultimately, the hold-up comes down to red tape, he adds, clarifying that what the province has told them would be implemented is a program by which each affected condo board could apply for retroactive payments.

According to the 2021 federal census:

• In Red Deer, Alberta, the percentage of occupied dwellings that were condominiums in 2021 was 15.2 per cent
• In Lethbridge, Alberta, the percentage of occupied dwellings that were condominiums in 2021 was 10.0 per cent
• In Edmonton, Alberta, the percentage of occupied dwellings that were condominiums in 2021 was 20.5 per cent
• In Calgary, Alberta, the percentage of occupied dwellings that were condominiums in 2021 was 23.8 per cent
• In Alberta, the percentage of occupied dwellings that were condominiums in 2021 was 18.1 per cent

“We find this all very ironic,” concludes Rosenzweig. “During a time when the Alberta government is raising the inequity alarm over Ottawa‘s carving out of heating oil in the carbon tax, they haven’t got their own house in order yet in treating their own taxpayers equitably just because of the type of building they own a home in.

Minister Neudorf’s office added it will continue to explore options to, “deliver this relief to condo owners.”

READ MORE

• Alberta condo owners group wants change to electricity rebate program
• Condo owners meet with Minister on Energy Rebates

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