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New Investments to Help Yukoners Reduce Energy Costs and Stay Warm

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WHITEHORSE, YT, Dec. 19, 2024 /CNW/ – Yukon residents know how to live with Arctic outdoor temperatures, but indoors they need good heating systems to live comfortably and affordably in extreme weather.

Today, Member of Parliament Brendan Hanley,  on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson and the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, announced a federal investment of $1.4 million from the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program (OHPA) and approximately $287,000 from Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF) to support climate action in the Yukon and help low-to-median-income homeowners reduce their energy costs. He was joined by John Streicker, Yukon Minister for Energy, Mines and Resources, who announced an additional $700,000 in territorial funding toward this initiative.

As part of the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program, low- and median-income Yukon homeowners could receive a rebate of up to $24,000 plus an upfront payment of $250 to add high-efficiency heat pumps in homes currently heated with oil. Low- to median-income Yukon residents who own homes heated with other energy types such as propane, wood or electric baseboards could also be eligible for cold-climate heat pump rebates funded by the Yukon Government and the LCEF.

The federal government also has OHPA program co-delivery arrangements in place with British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Active discussions are underway with other provinces and territories to deliver new, strengthened OHPA co-delivery agreements to make heat pumps even more affordable for Canadians across the country. In jurisdictions without co-delivery arrangements, oil-heated households can continue to apply to the national program to receive up to $10,000 in federal OHPA funding for switching to electric heat pumps.

Together, we can take steps to reduce energy usage and bills, help Canadians maintain safe and comfortable indoor temperatures, reduce their carbon emissions and help to protect our homes from the increasingly harmful effects of climate change — all while creating good-paying, sustainable jobs.

Quotes

“Making the switch to more energy-efficient heating systems can help Canadians save thousands on their energy bills, reduce their energy use and decrease their carbon footprint. That’s why we are strengthening the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program and ensuring that families in the Yukon are supported in making the switch from heating oil to an efficient heat pump.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

“Yukoners face some of the coldest temperatures in Canada and need reliable, affordable heating systems to stay warm. This is now truer than ever as climate change is making our weather increasingly unpredictable. Heat pumps are an efficient way to heat homes while reducing emissions, protecting the environment and helping Canadians save on their utility bills. That’s why we are investing in programs like this that support the transition and get us closer to our emission reduction goals.”

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“Transitioning to energy-efficient heating systems offers Canadians and Yukoners the opportunity to save money on more-efficient home energy systems. The Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program will ensure that families in the Yukon receive the necessary support to switch from heating oil to efficient heat pumps, which will benefit local installers and businesses while also helping ease northern Canada’s pathway to home heating that is less expensive and more environmentally friendly.”

Brendan Hanley
Member of Parliament for Yukon

“Our government believes that we can save money and our planet at the same time. Through Our Clean Future, our government committed to helping Yukoners transition from fossil fuels to smart electric heating systems like heat pumps. I’m pleased that these new investments will help make life more affordable for Yukoners while reducing our territory’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Honourable John Streicker
Yukon Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources

Quick facts

The Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program was first introduced in November 2022 as a $250-million investment in a new stream within the Canada Greener Homes Initiative. On February 22, 2023, the program was opened to pre-registration and was fully launched in late March 2023, with the first grants being issued shortly thereafter.Introduced in October 2023, the federal government announced working with provinces and territories on co-delivery agreements including:A strengthened OHPA program that will partner with provinces and territories to increase federal funding eligible homeowners can receive for installing a heat pump from up to $10,000 to up to $15,000, where up to $5,000 matches supplementary provincial and territorial contributions via co-delivery arrangements.An upfront payment of $250 for eligible applicants through the Canada Heat Pump Bonus.The Low Carbon Economy Fund supports provincial and territorial initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This can include support for households to switch from oil or natural gas to heat pumps and increase energy efficiency in their homes.Heat pumps are one of the best ways for homeowners to save money on energy bills and fight climate change. They are also two to three times more efficient than other electric home heating sources. This results in greater savings for homeowners and reduced energy intake for utilities and grids.Every year, on average, a household participating in the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program saves $1,337 on energy costs and achieves 2.78 tonnes in greenhouse gas reductions.The Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program has received approximately 287,000 applications to date nationally.Under Budget 2024, the Government of Canada is taking numerous steps to make life more affordable for Canadians while addressing climate change. This includes the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program, which will support the direct installation of energy efficiency retrofits for Canadian households with low to median incomes.

Related Information

Yukon: Rebates on Your Home Heating SystemOil to Heat Pump Affordability programLow Carbon Economy FundCanada Greener Homes InitiativeCanada Greener Homes Affordability ProgramCanada Green Buildings StrategyElectric Heat Pumps

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

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World’s doctors call for urgent solutions to harmful false health information

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ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Oct. 10, 2026 /CNW/ — The World Medical Association (WMA), representing doctors worldwide, is prescribing necessary steps to curb false health information that harms patients and erodes trust in evidence-informed health care.

Today, the 77th General Assembly of the WMA, meeting in the Netherlands, adopted the first-ever global policy to combat false health information. Led by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and the Conseil National de l’Ordre des Médecins (CNOM), the policy provides recommendations for governments, technology companies, and medical professionals to strengthen trustworthy health communication worldwide and protect public health from the harmful effects of inaccurate and misleading health claims.

“Physicians have an ethical duty to provide accurate, evidence-based health information,” says Dr. Jung Yul Park, WMA President. “But that trusted voice is increasingly competing with a flood of false and misleading content online, particularly on social media. With AI now able to produce convincing medical deepfakes at scale, this is a global threat to patient safety and public trust that demands an urgent, coordinated international response.”

The policy calls on national health authorities and governments to develop strategies to reduce the spread of and risks associated with false health information, engage social media platforms to develop stronger accountability and transparency measures and remove harmful content, and explore appropriate disciplinary action against non-compliant offenders. It also offers guidance to the medical community on navigating false health information with patients.

“False health information affects us all, sometimes with dire consequences,” says Dr. Alika Lafontaine, CMA delegate. “When inaccurate claims spread, people may reject proven treatments, postpone necessary care, discontinue evidence-based treatment, or adopt harmful practices that damage their well-being. False information can also erode trust in the clinical relationship. Physicians can counter false information one patient at a time, but we also need a systemic response to slow its spread and stop it at its sources.”

“This statement highlights the serious impact of false health information and the need for a coordinated international response. It calls on all involved in producing, publishing and disseminating health-related information to develop a greater sense of responsibility and ensure that information provided to the public is evidence-based,” says Dr. Philippe Cathala, CNOM’s delegate.

About the CMA
The Canadian Medical Association leads a national movement with physicians who believe in a better future of health. Our ambition is a sustainable, accessible health system where patients are partners, a culture of medicine that elevates equity, diversity and wellbeing, and supportive communities where everyone has the chance to be healthy. We drive change through advocacy, giving and knowledge sharing – guided by values of collaboration and inclusion.

About the CNOM :

The Conseil National de l’Ordre des médecins brings together all physicians in France, regardless of their status, specialty, or practice setting. It safeguards the independence, ethical standards, and honor of the medical profession, and serves as the guardian of the doctor-patient relationship.

SOURCE Canadian Medical Association

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AI Made Music Fast. CITY JAM Founder Pat Villaceran Says the Real Asset Is the Artist’s Own Sound

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As AI music races on speed and volume, CITY JAM’s INDUSTRY.AIFF works on what no pipeline can force: drawing original sound out of human creators.

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Generative AI has made music fast, and the race in AI music is now about speed and volume. Pat Villaceran, founder of CITY JAM, says that race leaves one input untouched: original sound from human creators. Drawing that sound out of artists is both an art and a science. It is the craft behind INDUSTRY.AIFF, which takes a label’s signed-but-unfinished artists to catalog-ready work and carries them through launch.

“When you stack up the progress around AI, it’s all about speed, and about getting human creators back on track. That is an art and a science of its own,” said Villaceran. “There are blueprints in it. Anyone can copy a blueprint: the roadmap, the pipeline, the scheduling and the workflows. But you cannot force the sound to come out if it has to be an original sound. The creativity is in how you bring out and evoke insights from musicians and creatives, and that is what CREATOR LABS and INDUSTRY.AIFF do. How you do that is the expertise we have at CITY JAM.”

In tech terms, the blueprint is the easy part. A release plan can be written down and handed to anyone. Software can run it. The sound, Villaceran says, cannot.

The figures show how fast supply has moved. Luminate’s 2025 Year-End Music Report counted 106,000 tracks a day reaching streaming services in 2025, up 7% on 99,000 a day in 2024. In 2025, 120.5 million of 253 million audio tracks had ten streams or fewer. That is almost half.

A growing share of that supply is not made by people. On Deezer, fully AI-generated tracks reached almost 75,000 a day in April 2026, roughly 44% of daily uploads, and passed 50% of new uploads at the June 2026 peak. Yet AI tracks are 1 to 3% of streams on Deezer, and up to 85% of those streams were fraudulent in 2025. On Deezer, the flood is in uploads, not listening.

The CISAC and PMP Strategy study projects that generative AI “could put 24% of Music creators’ revenues at risk in 2028.” That is a projection.

The US Copyright Office is now asking what that volume costs. Its inquiry into music streaming fraud names, in its Federal Register notice, “the dilution of the royalty revenue pool” as the primary harm, and asks which industry practices may be “inadvertently contributing to streaming fraud.” Initial comments are due November 23, 2026, and replies December 21, 2026.

Detection and enforcement sit with regulators and the streaming services. CITY JAM’s work sits earlier, in the stretch between signing an artist and a finished record. The royalty pool is diluted by volume without an audience. Fully finished, genuine releases are what the pool is for, and those still depend on an artist finding a sound of their own.

So if speed is no longer the hard part, what is music for? Villaceran’s answer is the artist’s own sound. It has to be drawn out of the musician. Then the speed AI brings can serve an original sound instead of replacing it.

INDUSTRY.AIFF does this for record labels and artist services companies. It works with their signed artists from unfinished work to catalog-ready releases, and stays with them through launch.

INDUSTRY.AIFF sits within the AI-era accelerator and incubator model for music that Villaceran launched on October 9, 2026, starting with record labels. Artists get the kind of support a startup accelerator gives founders. Education and professional development sit alongside community and live jam sessions. Collaborations and commercial opportunities come with it, and so does technology.

About CITY JAM

CITY JAM is holistic, end-to-end infrastructure for the music industry, built for everyone from independent musicians to record labels and artist services companies. It runs INDUSTRY.AIFF and CREATOR LABS with a global network of experts and producers, including CITY JAM New York. Pat Villaceran founded and leads CITY JAM. She also founded the innovation agency The MooVe, and has built innovation programs for companies and founders in Asia Pacific and the United States as well as in the United Kingdom and Europe. CITY JAM brings that record to music. INDUSTRY.AIFF is CITY JAM’s program for record labels and artist services companies, and the name of its weekday letter for music label CEOs. CREATOR LABS is a holistic support system for independent musicians. It is a separate offering and is not part of INDUSTRY.AIFF. CITY JAM is a brand of HINABI PRIVE, INC. For updates, follow CITY JAM on LinkedIn.

Media contact: CITY JAM, press@themoove.co

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SOURCE CITY JAM

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APsystems to Showcase Advanced C&I Energy Storage Solutions at Smart Energy Forum 2026

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PRAGUE, Oct. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — October 14–15, 2026, APsystems will present its latest solar and energy storage solutions at Smart Energy Forum (SEF) 2026, held on October 14-15 at PVA EXPO PRAHA in Letňany, Prague. Visitors are invited to meet the APsystems team at Booth 1-10 and discover a comprehensive portfolio of solutions spanning commercial & industrial energy storage, residential storage, DIY energy storage, and microinverter technologies.

As Europe’s energy landscape continues to evolve, the integration of solar generation, energy storage, and intelligent energy management is becoming increasingly important. Commercial and industrial customers are seeking energy storage solutions that deliver exceptional safety, long-term reliability, and operational flexibility. These market demands are at the heart of the technologies APsystems will present in Prague.

Advanced Liquid-Cooled C&I Energy Storage in Focus

Taking center stage at the APsystems booth will be the APstorage 261L and APstorage 2000L, two all-in-one liquid-cooled energy storage systems designed to meet the needs of demanding commercial and industrial projects.

The APstorage 261L is a robust industrial-grade solution engineered for challenging environments. It features a four-layer fire protection architecture, IP65-rated battery packs, and a C4/C5 anti-corrosion cabinet for enhanced durability. The system has successfully passed the rigorous UL 9540A fire propagation test, further validating its industry-leading safety performance. Its all-in-one design supports up to ten units in parallel, providing up to 2 MWh of storage capacity, while its compact 1.3 m² footprint and factory pre-assembled configuration can reduce on-site installation time by more than 40%.

For larger-scale applications, the APstorage 2000L delivers utility-grade performance with system availability exceeding 99%. Its cluster-level independent management architecture ensures continued operation even in the event of a PCS failure. Equipped with advanced grid-forming capabilities, the system supports black-start functionality and reliable performance in both weak-grid and off-grid environments. It also maintains full-rated output at ambient temperatures of up to 50°C, making it suitable for a wide range of operating conditions.

Residential Storage, DIY Solutions and Microinverters

In addition to its C&I portfolio, APsystems will showcase the ELT-12 three-phase AC-coupled residential energy storage solution, paired with the APbattery 51.2V / 10.24 kWh battery system. The company will also feature the APB-U-16L, its latest high-capacity 16 kWh battery, providing homeowners with even greater flexibility when designing residential storage systems.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to discover Lake-6, a single-phase plug-in AC-coupled energy storage system featuring an integrated 6 kWh battery and 2,500 W charging and discharging power. Designed for simplicity and ease of installation, Lake-6 makes DIY and residential energy storage more accessible than ever.

Completing the lineup is the QT2D, APsystems’ proven three-phase microinverter solution. Offering module-level monitoring and control, the QT2D combines high efficiency, safety, and intelligent energy management, making it an excellent choice for both residential and commercial solar installations.

Meet APsystems in Prague

Throughout SEF 2026, APsystems product specialists and sales representatives will be on hand to demonstrate the company’s latest technologies, answer technical questions, and discuss project opportunities and potential partnerships.

Visitors can also take part in interactive games and activities at the booth for a chance to win exclusive APsystems giveaways while exploring the full range of solutions on display.

Visit APsystems at Booth 1-10, PVA EXPO PRAHA, Prague, on October 14-15, 2026.

For more information, please visit APsystems to Showcase Advanced C&I Energy Storage Solutions at Smart Energy Forum 2026 – APsystems EMEA 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/apsystems-to-showcase-advanced-ci-energy-storage-solutions-at-smart-energy-forum-2026-302905058.html

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