Canada is investing in community-led clean energy projects with rural and remote Indigenous communities to develop innovative solutions that will displace fossil fuels, advance reconciliation and self-determination, and combat climate change.
Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs and Member of Parliament for Labrador, on behalf of the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a $2.8-million investment to support three community-led clean energy projects across the northern coast of Labrador. These projects will build capacity and help rural and remote communities reduce their reliance on diesel and fossil fuels for heat and power.
Each project is unique, but all of them share the same goals: building a clean energy future, supporting new economic opportunities and creating more energy-resilient communities by reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.
All three projects were funded through Natural Resources Canada's Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program, a $220-million program to reduce reliance on diesel in rural, remote and Indigenous communities by deploying and demonstrating renewable energy technologies, encouraging energy efficiency and building local skills and capacity. The program is part of the government's Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, a more than $180-billion investment in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.
Canada's strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, ensures Canada will remain a world leader in clean power. Canada is investing an additional $300 million over five years to help rural, remote and Indigenous communities, currently reliant on fossil fuels, to transition to clean, reliable energy by 2030.
Quotes
"Canada will reduce the reliance on diesel for heat and power in rural and remote communities by increasing the use of local renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency. We will continue to empower and support local efforts toward sustainability and meeting the challenges of climate change."
Yvonne Jones
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs Member of Parliament for Labrador
"Indigenous Peoples are taking economic development into their own hands. They're finding the low-emissions solutions to build the clean energy future we need. We're working in partnership to get to net zero."
The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr.
Minister of Natural Resources
"The principle of sustainability is at the core of Titjaluk's operations. As an Inuit woman, having lived most of my life in the Nunatsiavut region of Northern Labrador, I am extremely passionate about preserving the environment. Knowing how expensive diesel heating is on the North Coast of Labrador, and with the high cost of shipping firewood north, Titjaluk saw NRCan's BioHeat program funding as a rare opportunity to explore the feasibility of setting up a firewood supply network to provide people in northern communities with a cost-effective, reliable, renewable source of heating fuel. This BioHeat project allows us now to build economies of scale into the development of a permanent supply network that will sustainably improve the lives of the Inuit in remote Labrador hamlets."
Zena Sheppard
President and CEO, Titjaluk Logistics Ltd.
"The Nunatsiavut Government continues to make progress on advancing energy security within our region. The Nain Wind Micro-grid Project will displace one million litres of diesel fuel per year, and the High Efficiency Woodstoves Program will benefit over 200 homes. We look forward to building on these successes in collaboration with our valued partners."
Johannes Lampe
President, Nunatsiavut Government
