MCNEIL: NDP PLAN TO SLASH THE ‘KEEP THE HEAT’ PROGRAM
Date: Thursday October 8, 2009

(Halifax, NS) Liberal leader Stephen McNeil is looking to Premier
Darrell Dexter to defend his NDP government’s decision to slash the
Heating Assistance Rebate for middle and low-income Nova Scotians from
450 dollars to 200 dollars.

“Last September, when Premier Dexter was in opposition, he called on
the Conservative government to double the HARP rebate from $200 to
$400,” explains McNeil. “This is another case of the premier and the
NDP saying one thing in opposition and doing something completely
contradictory in government. It’s hypocritical, to say the least.”

McNeil and his Liberal caucus successfully lobbied the previous
government to reinstate the Heating Assistance Rebate Program, formerly
called the Keep The Heat program. The rebate was intended to help the
most vulnerable Nova Scotians deal with skyrocketing home heating fuel
prices.

“What the NDP have done here is taken 250 dollars out of the pocket
of the Nova Scotians who need the assistance the most - the very people
they promised to help,” McNeil said.

“Nova Scotians should not have to choose between heating their homes
and putting food on the table,” concluded the Liberal leader.

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