June 23, 2022 Toronto, Ontario Natural Resources Canada
Improving energy efficiency in our communities is an important part of our ambitious plan to fight climate change in every region of Canada. It will help us exceed our climate goals, lower emissions where people live and work, create sustainable jobs and provide opportunities for Canadians to take the lead in building a clean and prosperous future that leaves no one behind.
Today, Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced a $1.8-million investment in the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), which will increase energy efficiency in buildings across Toronto. Parliamentary Secretary Dabrusin made the funding announcement at Retrofit Canada Conference, where she spoke to delegates about the importance of the upcoming Canada Green Buildings Strategy and its role in creating a net-zero emissions building sector by 2050.
The TCHC and The Atmospheric Fund have also invested in the project, bringing the total project value to more than $6.7 million.
The federal investment will support the transformation of an energy-intensive, 80-year-old, mid-rise multi-unit residential building into a high-performance building with enhanced indoor environmental quality. The project will establish an innovative and replicable model for buildings in the TCHC portfolio and for similar buildings across Canada.
Net-zero-energy-ready buildings are designed and constructed to high performance standards and, with the future addition of clean power generation, are capable of producing at least as much energy as they consume on an annual basis.
Federal funding is being provided through Natural Resources Canada's Green Infrastructure - Energy Efficient Buildings Program. This program supports improvements to the design, renovation and construction of our homes and buildings. The government is advancing the development and implementation of building codes for existing buildings and new net-zero-energy-ready buildings through research, development and demonstration projects, in Toronto and across the nation. In addition, Budget 2022 proposed $150 million to develop The Canada Green Buildings Strategy, including initiatives to drive building code reform, accelerate the adoption and implementation of performance-based national building codes, promote the use of lower-carbon construction materials and increase the climate resilience of existing buildings, all to mobilize national action to create a net-zero-emissions buildings sector.
Through this program and others like it, the federal government is creating sustainable jobs, building a clean energy future and charting a path toward net-zero emissions by 2050.
