Across the country, Canadians are feeling the impacts of climate change. By investing in job-creating initiatives that lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase energy efficiency and support green infrastructure, progress toward net-zero by 2050 and building strong, resilient and sustainable communities in every region of the country are possible.
Today, Member of Parliament Sean Casey, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, and Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) President Scott Pearce announced an investment of $1,886,000 to support two projects in Prince Edward Island through the Green Municipal Fund.
The City of Charlottetown received $1,856,000 (a $242,000 grant and $1,614,000 loan) to upgrade the energy efficiency of its city hall, the fire hall and the West Royalty Community Centre through a turnkey energy retrofit that will guarantee energy savings. Building managers will be able to use networked smart technology to view and make changes to mechanical systems in municipal buildings remotely, a brand-new feature on Prince Edward Island. The upgrades are expected to save the city nearly $90,000 in annual operation costs and reduce energy use by 30 percent.
Energy-saving measures like this could be replicated in other communities across Atlantic Canada.
In addition, the Town of Stratford received a $30,000 grant to develop a greenhouse gas reduction plan to address energy consumption focused on five main areas: land use, transportation, buildings, infrastructure and energy supply.
Today's initiatives are some of the ways the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) continues to build on its twenty-year record of supporting transformative environmental initiatives at the community level. Administered by the FCM and funded through an endowment by the Government of Canada, the GMF helps local governments switch to sustainable practices efficiently. By taking action to adapt to climate change, we can build communities and economies that are able to thrive for generations to come.
