February 05, 2009
Grants fund now-banned foam
BY CHRISTINA SPENCER
SUN MEDIA
The federal government will end up rebating homeowners at least $1.15 million for installing a brand of insulation it abruptly banned this week, according to figures from the product’s Canadian distributor.
Paul Weigel, president of Retro- Foam Canada, said virtually all of the 700 homes his company insulated over the past 18 months had applied for energy-efficiency grants from the federal government’s ecoEnergy Initiative.
“Ninety-nine per cent would have capitalized on the government’s ecoEnergy rebates,” said Weigel, who believes his product is safe. “In effect, the government would have financed most of the installation of this material into people’s homes.”
Despite that, the federal government issued a “cease and desist” order against Weigel’s company Tuesday for selling RetroFoam. Health Canada says the product contains urea formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI), banned almost 30 years ago over worries it could cause respiratory problems.
Natural Resources Canada, which runs the ecoEnergy program for homeowners, confirmed that about 640 of the 700 homes insulated with Retrofoam had received a pre-retrofit assessment, the first stage of the rebate plan.
Spokeswoman Patti Robson wasn’t sure how many will claim rebates, but said the order against RetroFoam will not disqualify homeowners who bought the insulation.
A typical rebate for full-home insulation is between $1,800 and $3,000,Weigel said. Using the lower figure, it is likely the government will end up doling out at least $1.15 million to help homeowners install a product it now says is illegal.
RetroFoam is not the same as UFFI, the product Canadians by the thousands ripped out of their homes in the early 1980s, Weigel argued. “This product is very, very different than the original UFFI materials that were banned. It has 30 years of technological innovation behind it.
“The product is safe, it is recognized in the U. S. and just about every other industrialized nation in the world today from EU countries to the other side of the world.”
NDP natural resources critic Nathan Cullen said it was “offensive” that the government could be rebating money based on an illegal product.
“It sort of suggests that if someone started a new asbestos company up, this government would help fund it into Canadian homes.
“Have we learned nothing about consumer protection?”
A spokesman for Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt could not be reached yesterday.
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Health Canada has set up a telephone line for inquiries about the product: 1-800-443-0395.
