Saskatchewan Green Rebates

SGI’s fouryear rebate program is part of the provincial government’s “Go Green” plan, designed to encourage Saskatchewan residents to be environmentally friendly at home, at work and on the road.

In spring of this year, SGI provided a rebate to owners of 2006 through 2008 model year hybrids and vehicles qualifying for the Government of Canada’s ecoAUTO Rebate Program. SGI’s rebate was 20 per cent of basic insurance premiums and registration fees paid for the 2007 calendar year. No applications were necessary; owners of qualifying vehicles received their rebates in the mail by cheque. Privately and commercially registered vehicles were included. Check out the entire list of vehicles eligible for the 2008 rebate at www.sgi.sk.ca.

SGI will continue to provide a 20 per cent green rebate in 2009. Eligibility for this rebate will be announced at a later date.
Meanwhile, Canada’s ecoAUTO Rebate Program is in effect for qualifying purchases till the end of 2008. To apply for this program or learn more about it, please visit http://www.tc.gc.ca/programs/environment/ecotransport/ecoauto.htm.
Why is SGI introducing this green rebate? SGI’s rebate is part of the provincial government’s “Go Green” plan, designed to
encourage Saskatchewan residents to be environmentally friendly at home, at work and on the road.

The rebate is a great incentive for people to choose fuelefficient, lower emission vehicles and in turn help create a cleaner, healthier environment for everyone in our province.

When is the green rebate effective?
SGI’s rebate is a fouryear program, beginning this year.

What was this year’s green rebate?
SGI provided a 20 per cent rebate on registration fees and basic insurance premiums paid for 2007.

What if I didn’t know about the rebate and didn’t apply?
Applications were unnecessary. SGI identified qualifying vehicles from registration history and sent the registered owners their rebate cheques.

What vehicles qualified for the rebate?
Qualifying for this year’s rebate were 2006 through 2008 hybrid models and vehicles qualifying for the Government of Canada’s ecoAUTO Rebate Program. Privately and commercially registered vehicles were included.

What is the ecoAUTO program?
Canada’s ecoAUTO Rebate Program encourages Canadians to buy fuelefficient vehicles. It offers rebates of $1,000 to $2,000 to people leasing (for at least 12 months) or buying a qualifying new vehicle. To learn more about the program, visit the Transport Canada website. (http://www.tc.gc.ca/programs/environment/ecotransport/ecoauto.htm).

Why did SGI base its 2008 green rebate on the ecoAUTO program?
As a national program, ecoAUTO was perhaps the most recognizable of green incentive programs. It was a natural basis for SGI’s green rebate.

Why not include pre2006 hybrid and fuelefficient vehicles?
The purpose of SGI’s green rebates is to reward customers driving the most environmentallyfriendly vehicles on the road. As well, for this year’s rebate SGI wished to be consistent with the ecoAUTO program, for which only 2006 through 2008 models
qualify.

What about someone owning more than one qualifying vehicle?
There was no limit on the number of qualifying vehicles per customer. If someone registered five qualifying vehicles for 2007, the rebate was based on the registration fees and premiums for all five vehicles combined; however, the customer would have
received only one cheque for the total, fivevehicle rebate amount.

How many customers received a green rebate this year?
This spring 3,400 customers received rebates averaging $173.

What was the cost to SGI?
Altogether, qualifying owners received $597,000 in this year’s rebate; of this, $564,000 was paid by SGI from insurance premiums, while the remainder came from the provincial government’s General Revenue Fund.

Will the rebate be offered again?
SGI’s green rebate will be offered each year for another three years, after which it will be evaluated whether to continue.

Why four years?
The provincial government committed to a fouryear program. With hybrid and fuelefficient technologies evolving, it makes sense to evaluate the program after the commitment ends.

Why can’t you tell me which vehicles will qualify for SGI’s 2009 green rebate?
The Government of Canada’s ecoAUTO Rebate Program will discontinue after 2008, which means we can no longer model our rebate after this program. As well, we feel it is important to be sensitive to changes in emissions standards nationally and define eligibility for our green rebate in a way that keeps pace with these developments.

Why not apply a 20 per cent discount at renewal?
The rebate is a reward for driving a green vehicle. To avoid confusion with discounts for safe driving, which are given at registration renewal time, SGI delivered the green rebate separately.

Will the green rebate impact my Safe Driver or Business Recognition discount?
No. The rebate is separate from safe driving discounts.

If I owed money to SGI, would I have qualified for the rebate?
Customers who owed money to SGI had the rebate amount deducted from the money
they owed.

If I had just moved to Saskatchewan, would I have qualified for the rebate?
Only residents of Saskatchewan and businesses operating in Saskatchewan who registered an eligible vehicle for 2007 qualified for the rebate.

Did students studying outside the province receive rebates?
Yes. Most jurisdictions exempt qualifying students from driver and vehicle licensing if they are properly licensed in their home jurisdictions. In Saskatchewan, students technically remain Saskatchewan residents, which means if they registered an eligible vehicle for 2007, they qualified for the rebate. Rebates were mailed to the students’ most recent addresses on our database.

Will I be taxed on the rebate?
No. Rebates are not subject to provincial or federal income taxes.