VICTORIA — British Columbia's government is tripling a program that offers free air conditioners to people with low incomes as forecasters say the province should prepare for hotter-than-normal temperatures in June. Minister of Energy Josie Osborne told a news briefing that the program, launched last year and managed by the Crown power utility, BC Hydro, had already handed out 6,000 air conditioners and the government was prepared to fund another 19,000 or so. "We know that there's more work that needs to be done, and we're facing another hot, dry summer, and we don't want anyone to be left behind," she said.
The announcement came as an outlook from Environment Canada said the first week of June will be cooler than normal across most of B.C. but the rest of the month is likely to feature above-normal temperatures across the province.
The longer-term outlook for June to August said there was a high probability of above-normal temperatures across the B.C. Interior and "moderate probabilities" of near-normal temperatures on the coast.
Health Minister Adrian Dix told the briefing on Friday that the province's residential tenancy branch had updated its air-conditioning policy to make it clear that landlords cannot ban air-conditioning units in rental agreements "without a rational basis, such as a safety concern." "We are strongly encouraging strata, corporations and landlords to work together with their tenants to ensure air-conditioning units are safely installed to keep peopl.
