Homeowner fuel rebate offered for another winter

George Hickes, MLA for Iqaluit-Tasiluk, says many homeowners in his constituency have benefitted from the Department of Finance’s fuel rebate program. (PHOTO BY PETER VARGA)

Nunavut residents will have a chance to benefit from a $500 home heating fuel rebate again this winter, Keith Peterson, territorial finance minister, announced in the legislative assembly, Nov. 4.

The government’s 2014-15 Homeowner Fuel Rebate is a repeat of a program the finance department offered last winter, when it gave a one-time, non-taxable payment of the same amount to Nunavummiut who owned a home in the first three months of the year.

To be eligible for this year’s rebate, homeowners must show they owned a home in the territory, which they lived in as their primary residence, on Oct. 31, 2014.

“In the coming days, everyone who received the rebate last winter will be contacted directly by my officials, either by e-mail or by Canada Post,” Peterson announced in the legislative assembly.

Peterson did not say how many applicants the government will accept this winter. More than 1,200 Nunavut households received the $500 payment last winter amounting to a total pay-out of more than $600,000, Peterson said last month.

“The budget amount in the overall scheme of things may not seem like much, but this one-time payment to support homeowners in the fuel rebate is very much appreciated,” said George Hickes, MLA for Iqaluit-Tasiluk, on behalf of his constituents.

Hickes has consistently called on the government to renew the program, citing Nunavut’s fuel costs, which are “still some of the highest in Canada,” he said.

For more information, and to apply, visit Nunavut’s Department of Finance website.

You can also pick up application forms at Department of Finance offices in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay and Igloolik. The deadline to apply is March 31, 2015.