MONTREAL -- The Town of Mount Royal (TMR) was expected to adopt a motion on Monday evening that would ban oil heating and dual-heating systems in the area -- but the mayor decided to hold off to a later date. 

Councillors were set to vote in favour of the proposal, which would make oil heating illegal by 2025 and dual heating systems – which combine electric and oil heating – illegal by 2030. 

Mayor Philippe Roy said many questions remain before the town can move forward with the plan. 

The town’s urban planning representative will be responsible for verifying if individuals and businesses have made the necessary changes in their homes and buildings. Those who don’t comply by the deadlines will be fined. 

Back in 2019, Roy that he wants to ban not only heating oil, but to tighten restrictions on wood heating.

“The fight against climate change is now part of everybody’s reality,” said Roy in a statement from 2019. “This has repercussions for all our daily actions. As a public organization, the town has the duty to act with residents in order to redouble our efforts, reduce climate change and support sustainable development.”

In 2019, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante announced a decision to phase out oil heating by 2030 as part of the plan to make Montreal as carbon neutral as possible.

Three decades ago, almost one in five dwellings in the city relied on heating oil, but that number had dwindled to only six per cent in 2019. Still, in 2019, heating oil was the source of 28 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from residences and 14 per cent from commercial and industrial buildings in Montreal.