VICTORIA, BC—The 2010 budget recommits to the successful Live Smart retrofit program, but fails to take the bigger steps necessary to transition to the new, green economy of the future, says Tom Hackney, Vice-President of Policy for the BC Sustainable Energy Association.

“$35 million to continue the successful Live Smart building retrofits program is a welcome step, retrofitting about 20,000 more houses,” said Mr. Hackney. “This program needs to be embedded in a bold vision to energy-retrofit 100,000 buildings for the next 20 years, – which would address the entire existing BC building stock – leveraging the grant program with regulatory and policy changes.”