The Nova Scotia Liberal Caucus is calling on the provincial government to help customers impacted
by Maritime Fuels’ bankruptcy by ensuring they are eligible for the Heating Assistance Rebate
Program (HARP).

On Friday, the province warned customers of Maritime Fuels to stop future payments right away
after the company declared bankruptcy. But many Nova Scotians have been pre-paying the
company a monthly fee all year for home heating fuel that was never delivered.

“We’re hearing from Nova Scotians who have pre-paid over a thousand dollars worth of home
heating oil to this company and they can’t afford to lose that investment in the current cost-of-living
crisis we’re in,” said Opposition Leader Zach Churchill. “The province can help Maritime Fuels
customers by ensuring they’re eligible for the Heating Assistance Rebate of $600 so they can heat
their homes this winter.”

The HARP helps low-income Nova Scotians with the cost of home heating, but after record inflation,
rental and utility prices, more people are struggling to make ends meet than ever before. The
provincial government needs to make an adjustment to the eligibility of HARP today to help the
many households who stand to lose thousands of dollars on home heating fuel.

Another immediate step the government could take to help Nova Scotians heat their homes this
winter is act on our Liberal bill tabled this fall, The Working Families Power Bill Reduction Act, to
provide a grant of up to $5,000 to assist households in increasing the energy efficiency of their
homes by installing a heat pump.