Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. to provide up to 8,000 free air conditioners to low-income, vulnerable people

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 27 Jun, 2023 03:39 PM
  • B.C. to provide up to 8,000 free air conditioners to low-income, vulnerable people

The British Columbia government is giving its Crown power utility $10 million to provide up to 8,000 free air-conditioning units to vulnerable people. 

A death review panel by the BC Coroners Service found that most of the 619 people who died in B.C.'s heat dome event in 2021 were low-income and vulnerable people who were aged 60 or older. 

One of the key recommendations from the panel was that the government provide air-conditioning units to those living in single-room apartments.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said Tuesday that the funding to BC Hydro will provide up to 8,000 air-conditioning units over the next three years, but if demand increases, that number could also go up. 

Dix said people can apply for the units on their own or health officials working with elderly people will be able to help them get a unit. 

Hydro president Chris O'Reilly said the utility will also offer all customers $50 off purchases of qualified, energy-saving air-conditioning units.

The death review panel released last June said most of those who died had compromised health and lived alone.

Dix said the program is a good and necessary step. 

"This is, by standards on the Pacific coast anyway, an ambitious program that will help keep people safe," said Dix, noting that cities such as Montreal and Chicago have previously experienced deadly heat events.

"What we have here is a comprehensive response," he said. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Canadian accused of killing Indian-origin gangster extradited to Thailand

Canadian accused of killing Indian-origin gangster extradited to Thailand
Matthew Dupre, 38, who allegedly gunned down Jimi 'Slice' Sandhu in February 2022, arrived in Bangkok on a special air force flight on Sunday night. Sandhu, who grew up in Abbotsford, was connected to the United Nation Gang, which was founded in the Fraser Valley in 1997.

Canadian accused of killing Indian-origin gangster extradited to Thailand

BC Health Ministry invests in roads

BC Health Ministry invests in roads
Health Minister Adrian Dix says the road safety grant program is especially important in rural and Indigenous communities, and preventing road-related injuries will lessen pressure on the province's health-care system.   

BC Health Ministry invests in roads

Port Moody arson damages turf field

Port Moody arson damages turf field
Port Moody police say firefighters were called to the Trasolini Field just before midnight on May 26th after a group of young people was seen using an accelerant to light the field on fire before fleeing the scene.

Port Moody arson damages turf field

Vancouver fire lands man in hospital

Vancouver fire lands man in hospital
Vancouver firefighters say a man suffered life-threatening injuries in a fire that broke out early Monday morning on West Sixth Avenue. The fire service says a 34-year-old man was taken to V-G-H with serious and life-threatening injuries.

Vancouver fire lands man in hospital

City of Vancouver speeds up housing construction

City of Vancouver speeds up housing construction
The City of Vancouver says it's made significant changes to speed up new housing construction by moving to clear a backlog of applications. Mayor Ken Sim says the changes voted on yesterday by council will streamline the application process and speed up new housing construction city-wide. 

City of Vancouver speeds up housing construction

Surrey RCMP on the lookout for 2 men facing firearms offences charges

Surrey RCMP on the lookout for 2 men facing firearms offences charges
Surrey R-C-M-P say they want the public's help locating 25-year-old Terry MacDonald and 26-year-old Joseph Gregory, who are both wanted for allegedly breaching their bail conditions. Investigators say McDonald is five-foot-six, weighing 150 pounds, while Gregory is six-foot-two and 220 pounds, and both men are considered armed and dangerous.

Surrey RCMP on the lookout for 2 men facing firearms offences charges