I sure do. It really becomes a numbing factor. I heard the comment about competency. We're losing the confidence of the consumer to the extent that they are beginning to ask the question, “Where do we go from here?”
I'm going to go back a bit, if I may, to 1989-90 in British Columbia. We launched the BC Hydro Power Smart program, which became a national program right across the country, across the nation, and across the world. It eventually was drawn back into the province of British Columbia. Then we had the EnerGuide for Houses program, which was a federal program for renovation and upgrading. Then we went on into the LiveSmart program and then ecoENERGY. It just goes on and on. All of a sudden these start to cease to operate, or seize up, or slow down. They're going to stop it for a while or do an assessment of what's going on in the program, as with the eco-program that we're involved in now.
As the spokesperson across western Canada, by media and through the radio, I'm really here representing the homeowner. To give you an example, they just reinstated the LiveSmart program in British Columbia, with no eco-program reinstatement at this point. In order to participate in the LiveSmart program in British Columbia, you have to go back and have an energy analysis, even if you've had one or two, and this may be the third or fourth energy analysis on the home. The homeowner is saying, “Wait a minute; what's going on? How come so many? It costs me $125 here and $150 there.”
I have homeowners calling me to tell me that they have over $1,000 invested in energy analysis. They ask, “For what? I haven't got that much money back. Nobody is telling me where I'm saving. Eighteen months is not really enough time to say if I'm going to get it back over the next one, two, five, 10, or 15 years.”