The new Canada Green Buildings Strategy (CGBS) outlines the federal government’s next steps for improving energy efficiency in homes and buildings and industry stakeholders say it will be important for all levels of government to work collaboratively to reach strategy objectives.
The mandate to create a strategy was first announced in March 2022. It focuses on three priorities: accelerating retrofits; building green and affordable from the start; and shaping the buildings sector of the future.
“The release of Canada’s first Green Buildings Strategy is great news for the construction industry, and a long-awaited next step in building sustainably,” said Rodrigue Gilbert, president of the Canadian Construction Association, in an email to the Daily Commercial News. “After over two years of development, following the end of consultations in September 2022, the industry was growing concerned about the future of the initiative.”
The document, which aims to decarbonize and improve the resiliency of Canada’s building stock, was released July 18.
“We were very pleased to see at the very least an acknowledgement of just how important industry and the skilled trades are going to be to achieving some of the commitments that are laid out in the strategy,” said Ken Lancastle, COO of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC), adding it and other associations took part in the consultation process.
“From an industry perspective, we’re happy that there was a good level of acknowledgement in the strategy document that this is going to take all levels of government as well as industry if they’re going to meet some of the commitments that they’ve outlined in that strategy.”
In terms of accelerating retrofits, as part of the CGBS the federal government introduced the $800-million Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program to help low-to-median-income Canadians upgrade homes to save money on energy bills. The new program will replace the Canada Greener Homes Grant with more comprehensive support for the installation of retrofits, at no charge to participating households, the strategy indicates.
The Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program and the Canada Greener Homes Loan will continue to help Canadians reduce their home energy costs and make the switch to electric heat pumps.
Also included in the strategy, the government will work with stakeholders to determine the regional impacts of requiring the installation of heat pumps instead of one-way central air conditioners in all new homes and in certain retrofit scenarios.
A regulatory framework will be introduced to phase out the installation of oil heating systems in new construction as early as 2028.
“I think when the strategy was released it certainly added more to the housing side of things than we had initially anticipated, but I think given what’s going on with respect to housing across the country, it’s certainly not something that surprised us when we saw that as a key part of the strategy document,” said Lancastle.
Also included is modernizing the Energy Efficiency Act to update the suite of legislative tools needed to account for the current online retail environment for energy-using products and equipment.
While the CGBS provides an overview of what needs to be done, Lancastle said what it lacks is an implementation piece or a roadmap for going forward.
“We’re looking forward to having conversations with the government about how do we move forward on this? How do we help you achieve your objectives and work together so that the industry has the capacity to deliver on this?” said Lancastle.
CCA agreed.
“While the CGBS does not announce new funding measures or provide a roadmap for an emissions reduction trajectory in the built environment, we are happy that the federal government has listened to CCA’s feedback from our September 2022 submission,” said Gilbert.
The release of the strategy helps clear the way for policy implementation, said Efficiency Canada on its website.
“Some quick wins and immediate gains could be grasped by modernizing the Energy Efficiency Act, preventing the sale of low-performance one-way air conditioners that could be heat pumps, phasing out heating oil and requiring federally funded housing to meet the highest performance tiers of building codes,” the website states.
“The strategy’s content should create some reflection within the green building and energy efficiency community. Significant progress has been made in the past couple of years. Yet, more political space has to be created for governments to move forward with the public investments or mandatory performance requirements needed.
“We should reflect on how to build a stronger voice for efficient, affordable, climate-friendly buildings.”
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