The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable John Baird, Minister of the Environment, announced the introduction in the Senate this week of legislation that will expand the scope of the Energy Efficiency Act.

Under the Energy Efficiency Act, Canada has implemented minimum energy performance standards for a number of products since the Act's approval in 1992. The amendments introduced this week will modernize the Act by increasing its scope.

As a result, the groundwork will be set to make it possible to introduce comprehensive standards to regulate the amount of standby power consumed by many products — such as computers, battery chargers, CD players and televisions — when they are not in use.

"We want to help Canadian consumers choose energy-efficient products by amending the Energy Efficiency Act," said Minister Lunn. "Modernizing this legislation will not only help combat climate change but also provide real options for reducing the energy consumption of many products that Canadians use every day."

It is estimated that standby power now accounts for as much as 10 per cent of household electricity consumption in Canada. The amendments also allow for improvements to the well-known EnerGuide label that will make it even easier for Canadians to make informed choices when shopping for products that use energy.

Regulations of the type authorized by the Act have a proven record of reducing energy consumption. While the use of major household appliances in Canada increased by 38 per cent between 1990 and 2005, the total energy consumed by them declined by 17 per cent as a result of the regulations introduced in 1992.

"Energy efficiency is an important element of our Turning the Corner plan's balanced approach to tackling climate change," said Minister Baird. "Canadians have told us that they also want to do their part to help reduce their environmental footprint, and today's announcement is a big step in that direction."

The proposed amendments to the Energy Efficiency Act build on the Government of Canada's Turning the Corner plan to fight climate change, which sets a course to achieve an absolute reduction of 20 per cent in Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

The amendments will make it possible to prescribe standards not only for more products that use energy but also products, such as thermostats, that affect energy use. Other provisions of these amendments will also ensure a level playing field for dealers of all products subject to the regulations.

The amendments also require the Minister of Natural Resources to submit an energy-efficiency progress report to Parliament every three years. This report will compare the stringency and comprehensiveness of energy-efficiency standards in Canada with those in other North American jurisdictions.

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