Rising cost of home heating oil making it difficult for some New Brunswickers

As the cost of living continues to rise in many factors of life, it seems the price of home heating oil is also forcing New Brunswickers to dig deeper into their wallets.

"I pay more in oil in two weeks than I pay for my mortgage in a month. I pay almost twice as much in oil," says Dayne Dunn, a homeowner in Boiestown, N.B.

Dunn says he spends about $650 every two weeks on furnace oil, adding it's been incredibly taxing on his life.

"My home is my favourite thing about this entire place. We bought it about two years ago, it's 150-odd years old,” Dunn said.

Dunn and his husband bought the home expecting to save money with a mortgage that was less than their previous rent.

“The difference between rent and mortgage is insane. I'm paying less than half of what I was, so I should be able to save money but with the cost of oil, the way it is, I'm actually spending more now than when I had an apartment in the city,” he said.

The Coalition for Seniors is also concerned for people on a fixed incomes.

"Seniors have been telling me that they've basically been cutting back on other sources in order to make heat, or get their medication. Food is very expensive these days,” said Cecile Cassista, the executive director of the Coalition for Seniors.

New Brunswick Green Party Leader David Coon says the government should better market the Low Income Energy Savings Program.

"Your oil bill could drop by 30 per cent if you took advantage of this program,” Coon said.

“Government doesn't market it because they don't want a waiting list and they don't want to have to put more money into it from the carbon tax. It's funded through the carbon taxes we already are paying on oil,” he said.

Currently, the maximum price of furnace oil in New Brunswick is $1.94 per litre.