Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to stand and speak in support of this motion today. I think it is a good idea. I think it's simple. It doesn't
have to be complicated. I think, as a government, sometimes we like to make things complicated, but I think people would understand and buy into the principle that it is a non-interest-bearing, interest-free loan over a period of time with the intention that this money you would save on your utilities would be what you would use to pay back the loan. It would be like a revolving fund. It would go back in and then once they've paid it back, of course that makes the money available for someone else to take advantage of the same program.
I think it could be very successful. I agree with Mr. Ramsay; I don't think we need to hire an army of people to administer it. We saw a few years back where we did the Expanded Downpayment Assistance Program where a lot of people accessed that program. It was fairly easy to determine and ascertain who actually was going to put the $10,000 towards the purchase of a home. I think we should keep it simple. This does not mean that there will not be other things to add. For example, the Housing Corporation with any programs for their folks or federal government programs that come out. This is tangible. So much of what we have seen on energy so far has been studies. I think we spent $1 million in the last government studying and consulting. This is tangible.
This is something that can go into somebody's home and I can tell you from firsthand experience, Mr. Speaker, a pellet stove is very nice. My husband had one installed while I was up here last time and I went home this weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It can be aesthetically pleasing. They are energy conserving and they are all natural. The pellets are just held together by the natural residue from the woodchips and the sawdust, so it's a very environmental product. Of course, there are other ways people may choose to conserve energy. So, Mr. Speaker, with that, I will be supporting the motion. Thank you.