Restore ecoEnergy program, Ottawa urged

Nova Scotians are being urged to lobby Ottawa to reinstate a popular home energy rebate program.

The federal government cancelled its ecoEnergy Retrofit program without warning on Wednesday, catching the agency that administered it in Nova Scotia off guard.

"It's a big loss for the environment, it's a big loss for the people of this province, it's a big loss for the people of Canada," said Judy McMullen, executive director of Clean Nova Scotia.

"We've only reached 10 per cent of the house stock in Canada with this program, so there's still a huge amount of work to be done."

Under the program, homeowners receive up to $5,000 for carrying outenergy saving improvements. There's also a grant of up to$1,500 from the Nova Scotia government.

More than 5,000 homeowners in the province have taken part in the rebate program since 2006, according to Clean Nova Scotia.

The federal rebate program will continue until March 31, 2011, for those who are at some point in the process or have booked an appointment for a home evaluation.

McMullen said nonew bookings will be accepted after 5 p.m. Thursday.

She said it's not too late to fight.

"We have seen the Harper government cancel this program in 2006 and reinstate it one year later because of public pressure. We are urging citizens to once again contact their government representatives and voice their displeasure over the cancellation of this program," she said in a news release.

The province stepped up its incentives after the federal government cancelled its program four years ago. But McMullen said she doesn't know what the NDP government will do now.