NL NDP MHA Sheilagh O’Leary (St. John’s East–Quidi Vidi) raised questions in the House of Assembly today about the rising cost of home heating and electricity, calling on the Premier to outline his government’s plan to address these costs and what it will do when rate mitigation expires in 2030.
O’Leary began by discussing rate mitigation to offset the outrageous rates that will be inflicted on residents due to the Muskrat Falls project. Rate mitigation will expire in 2030, and without a plan, prices will become unaffordable for many.
“Speaker, rate mitigation is set to expire in 2030 – a year before the first oil is projected at Bay du Nord. Nearly $600 million was committed in the first nine months of 2025 alone to offset the skyrocketing cost of power due to Muskrat Falls,” O’Leary said. “The Bay du Nord project is expected to bring in $6.4 billion over 25 years – roughly $250 million a year.”
“So, I ask the Premier: what is his government’s plan for 2030, and will he admit that the projected revenue from this project will not even cover the cost of rate mitigation?”
She continued pressing the issue of affordable home heating, calling on the government to outline a clear plan to deliver relief to people whose heating bills are skyrocketing beyond what their budgets can handle. She noted that removing the HST from all forms of home heating – a measure that could already be in place if the former Liberal government had the political will – would provide immediate relief, but the PCs have remained firmly opposed.
“Speaker, home heating is already hitting people’s pockets, and this war will only drive the cost of heating a home even higher. In 2024, the NDP called for the HST to be removed from all forms of home heating, but both the government and the opposition voted against it. If the Liberals had the political will, people would already have that relief,” she said.
“Seeing as the current government is still against the policy, I ask the Minister, what specific policy aimed directly at home heating costs will this government bring forward to give people relief?”