Soaring diesel prices are sparking worry about what people will have to pay to heat their homes this winter.
The price of furnace oil hit 198.4 cents per litre in Halifax this week, according to Natural Resources Canada. It’s gone up about 30 cents since Oct. 4.
With temperatures dropping, and the first day of winter roughly two months away, some say if governments don’t step in, the consequences may be dire.
“I'm not so sure we're not going to see incidents of people literally freezing this winter,” said Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
Nova Scotia’s finance minister says the province has taken steps to try to help but wouldn’t commit to more assistance.
“We increased the seniors' care grant in advance of the fall because we know heating costs have risen,” said Allan McMaster. “If there are situations where we see people hurting we want to go out and help them."
McTeague, who was a Liberal member of parliament for 18 years, says his former party needs to “wake up and smell the coffee” when it comes to Canadians struggling to heat their homes.
“It's not about climate, it's about consumers -- people being able to make ends meet,” said McTeague.
At Loaves and Fishes, a soup kitchen and food bank in Sydney, N.S., the general manager says he expects to see a spike in demand this winter.
"The last half a tank I put in [at my house] a week ago was about $500,” said Marco Amati. “So imagine people that are running on empty and trying to fill a tank. It's probably going to cost them $1,800 or $1,900 to fill a tank."
He says the organization already feeds about 200 people every day.
“If we hit more, it's going to be difficult,” said Amati.
