Latest news with #LowerMainland
CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Hundreds of $10K FortisBC heat pump rebates in jeopardy over contractor certification
FortisBC has rejected multiple applications for $10,000 heat pump rebates because of a temporary lapse in the necessary certification of a major Lower Mainland contractor. The CBC has learned the rebates of as many as 200 Moore and Russell customers have been jeopardized by a situation that has resulted in complaints and one small claims lawsuit from people who claim they were guaranteed they would qualify for money they were later denied. "I'm not stoked about it, that's for sure. I'm definitely pissed off," said Jeff Thompson, a North Vancouver man who has spent the past four months trying to figure out who to blame for the rejection of the rebate for his new heat pump. "I would say be wary of Fortis rebates and who you hire. It turns out it's not a straightforward process." 'I was horrified,' says customer Thompson is one of thousands of British Columbians who have taken advantage of rebates offered by FortisBC and the province in recent years to encourage homeowners to replace their old heating and cooling systems with high-performance electric heat pumps. The program has become so popular the province announced plans this week to expand the program this summer to include individual suites in multi-unit residential buildings. But in order to qualify for a rebate, customers need their heat pump to be installed by a contractor certified with B.C.'s Home Performance Contractor Network (HPCN), a database of retrofit contractors that meet specified trade designation and training qualifications. Moore and Russell was certified with the HPCN at the time Thompson agreed to pay the company $20,000 to install his dual fuel pump. And they are certified today. But the HPCN paused the company's certification from March 5 to May 31 — something Thompson says he only learned about after submitting his rebate application. "I was horrified," said Thompson, who told the CBC the offer of a rebate was the main reason he had decided to go with a heat pump in the first place. "It was a huge part because it's half the value of what the install was." Contractor says it never got HPCN's email Moore and Russell general manager Jeremy Slater says he only learned the company's certification had been put on pause in May after complaints started coming across his desk. He says the problem dates back to the departure of an employee late last year. The HPCN requires all technicians to be up to date on four courses involving the basic principles of HVAC technology. "When that person left, we needed to qualify somebody else with those courses with them, and the deadline for having that done lapsed," Slater said. He says the Home Performance Contractor Network sent an email saying the company's account had been put on pause, but claims the email hit a firewall. Regardless, Slater says he never received it. "And HPCN doesn't have a process — even still — to follow up or confirm with a contractor when they put them on hold. They just expect that we would get the email." Despite the change in status, Slater says the company was still listed as a qualified contractor on FortisBC's rebate application menu, which is why customers like Thompson were even able to apply for a rebate in the first place. "So there was no way that a customer could have known that we were put on pause, and there's no way that we could have known we were put on pause, unless we had actually received the email," he said. "Which is concerning for us at Moore and Russell because this could still be going on with other contractors and other homeowners purchasing heat pump equipment from Fortis and any of the rebate programs, as HPCN actually provides governance for all of the rebate programs in B.C." 'It's going to turn me off in the future': homeowner Slater says rebates worth a total of up to $1.5 million could be on the line for as many as 200 of his customers. One of those customers filed a small claims lawsuit against Moore and Russell earlier this month, seeking $10,000 compensation for the heat pump rebate they were denied. "After the installation, FortisBC rejected my rebate application, stating that Moore & Russell was not a certified HPCN contractor, which was a requirement for eligibility," the lawsuit reads. "Had I known this, I would have chosen a different contractor." Coquitlam homeowner Desmond Saisitthidej says FortisBC also denied his rebate because of Moore and Russell's HPCN certification. "I think it's really frustrating," he said. "I think a lot of us did this in good faith, knowing that the rebate was available, knowing Moore and Russell had previously done this and that Fortis had previously paid out — and then to get caught in the quagmire between the two ... It's going to turn me off in the future." FortisBC 'reviewing the matter' FortisBC says the company is dedicated to providing rebates and incentives to adopt higher-efficiency technology. "We are aware of the concerns raised by customers regarding their rebate applications due to the standing of Moore and Russell's membership with the Home Performance Contractor Network," said corporate communications advisor Lauren Beckett. " We appreciate our customers' understanding, and we are reviewing the matter." In a statement, the HPCN said members are required to assign a company administrator as a sole contact for membership-related information. "Company administrators are notified by email if there is a concern with their membership status and provided with instructions and a deadline to rectify the situation as appropriate — this includes multiple follow-up emails," the statement said. "They can also see their membership status at any time in the HPCN Portal." Saisitthidej and Thompson say they hope FortisBC will ultimately pay out the rebate to customers who feel they are paying for someone else's mistake. Slater says he has been in talks with both HPCN and FortisBC. "I would expect that, in the spirit of the program overall, they would honour those rebates for our customers," he said. Slater says he has made changes to avoid a repeat of the problems leading up to the lapse in Moore and Russell's certification, but he also feels FortisBC and HPCN need to address communications issues that saw customers left in the dark about their status. "I would want to know what are we going to do differently so this never happens again," he said.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
E-scooter hospitalizations up 32% in Canada: research
We see them zip around in cities across the country, including in the Lower Mainland – but new data shows a big spike in related injuries. The Canadian Institute for Health Information shows a 32 percent year-over-year increase in e-scooter hospitalizations. 'It is a very big increase in a one-year period,' noted Diana Craiovan, the institute's hospital data advancement and engagement program lead. 'Our hope is [this research] will lead to more informed decisions.' This new national data is being released shortly after Lime expanded its shared e-scooter system into Downtown Vancouver. The company did not make a spokesperson available, but sent a statement. 'Safety is critical to the success of micromobility programs in Canada and around the world. We invest considerable time and resources in the safety of riders and non-riders alike,' a spokesperson wrote in an email to CTV News. 'This includes designing our vehicles in-house, developing rider education and on-vehicle technology to help riders feel confident, and sharing our data with cities to determine where infrastructure improvements like protected bike lanes would be most valuable. We're proud that 99.99% of rides globally end without a reported incident.' In local hospitals, doctors have been seeing more people coming in for injuries related to e-scooters, although data collection on causes isn't always consistent. 'There likely has been an increase in the number of injuries, just based on the fact that we know more people are using them,' acknowledged Dr. Brandon Yau, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health. 'With the novelty of the device and more people using them, it does make logical sense that we would see more injuries.' As for whether e-scooters are here to stay, that could depend on how things go. Paris had shared e-scooters for half a decade before banning them a couple of years ago following public dissatisfaction and a referendum on the issue.
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Longtime Save-On-Foods customer from B.C. wins $1M ‘Touchdown to Win' prize
New Westminster, B.C., resident Roy Lyster (middle) collects his grand prize from the "Touchdown to Win" promotion at Save-On-Foods. A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has scored $1 million through the Save-On-Foods 'Touchdown to Win' CFL promotion – and there's still one more potential jackpot up for grabs. The grand prize will be paid out to New Westminster resident Roy Lyster in $50,000 annual installments. Heidi Ferriman, senior vice-president of marketing for Save-On-Foods, said Lyster is a longtime customer of the grocery chain's Burnaby location, having shopped there since it opened nearly 20 years ago. He still comes in about five times a week, she said. 'He's an early bird and he's often the first customer in the store every day,' Ferriman said Friday, at a news conference announcing his win. 'I'm told that Roy has built many great relationships here with the team members and the many managers over the years.' He'll be celebrating the win with his wife of more than 50 years, Glenda, and their family, Ferriman said. Under the rules of the promotion, customers are 'automatically entered' every time they shop at Save-On-Foods and scan their More Rewards card. They also receive bonus entries for purchasing participating products – which Lyster benefited from when buying Clamato, Ferriman said. The grand prize is only awarded when two kickoffs are returned for touchdowns in the same CFL game – which happened on July 4 between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts. Save-On-Foods said there is still one more $1 million grand prize that could be awarded this season, along with smaller prizes such as free groceries for a year.
CBC
06-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Future of Volleyball B.C., Burnaby Velodrome up in the air as council calls for bids on new lease
The future of Volleyball B.C.'s home base is up in the air after Burnaby city council voted to issue an open call for bids on a new lease for the facility. The city owns the Harry Jerome Sports Centre, just off the Barnet Highway, about six kilometres from the Vancouver border, and has leased the 53,000-square-foot air-sprung building to Volleyball B.C. since 1997. Volleyball B.C. president Jake Cabott said the organization is disappointed with council's decision to go to an open bid process. "Literally, the facility is lined with our blood, sweat and tears," Cabott said. "If you talk to anybody in the volleyball community, they've played volleyball at Harry Jerome. It's a hub for volleyball in the Lower Mainland." The lease on the building has expired, and a consultant's report indicates the sports centre needs up to $20 million in repairs over the next 20 years to keep it in good working order. Volleyball B.C. disputes the amount needed for maintenance and is concerned for its future at the centre. 'Some decisions to make' Cabott said almost 2,400 Burnaby residents participated in Volleyball B.C. programs last year and more than half of its youth recreation participants were from Burnaby. The organization leases the facility for $1 a year from the city, though Cabott said the non-profit pays for the facility's capital upgrades and maintenance and has spent almost $2.3 million since 2017. "We do spend what needs to be spent to keep the facility maintained," he said, noting an independent consultant commissioned by Volleyball B.C. estimated a much lower repair cost of about $5 million over the next two decades. "We don't think that the city needs or should be out there looking for a new tenant when they have a great tenant," he said. He noted it's a challenge for sports organizations all over Canada to find indoor recreation space. "Volleyball is growing exponentially, and we're so excited. But it's a real challenge for us as a provincial sport organization to be able to capture that growth, and having six courts available to us … means that we can continue to try to capture some of this growth." Cabott said the Volleyball B.C. board is considering whether to bid on the request for proposals. "It's too early for us to tell. Certainly that option is open to us.… We have, as a provincial sport organization, some decisions to make." 'Terrible' if Harry Jerome lost: velodrome club Volleyball B.C. subleases the 200-metre indoor velodrome, a cycling track designed for racing, to the Burnaby Velodrome Club. It's the only indoor velodrome in the Pacific Northwest, and the only one in Canada east of Milton, Ont., according to John Mayr, a director of the Burnaby Velodrome Club. "To say that we're a bit stressed, I think would be an understatement," Mayr said. He said losing the velodrome would be the "worst case scenario" for track cycling in the region. "We think it would be a terrible loss," Mayr said. He said while it's still early days in the planning process, the board is hoping to put together a multi-sport coalition to bid on the Harry Jerome lease that could maximize the use of the facility and raise the kind of funds necessary to maintain it. Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley said council wants the winning bidder to deliver "strong community benefits" while minimizing the financial burden on taxpayers. "We're very concerned about the maintenance costs that are coming for this building, and we want to be sure that we place it well, so we can have those maintenance costs taken care of," he said. While the consultant suggested three possible future options, including demolishing the facility and converting the site to parkland or an alternative municipal use, Hurley said the call for bids will focus on what can be done to keep the facility as a recreational space.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Yahoo
Police announce arrests in South Asian extortion cases
Police say they've arrested two people with alleged ties to extortion cases in the Lower Mainland South Asian community. It's an issue that has recently received high-level attention from politicians, including Premier David Eby and Solicitor General Garry Begg. But as CBC's Rafferty Baker reports, no charges have been filed, and little information is being shared about who was arrested.
