CaGBC commends Federal Standing Committee on Finance on recommendations for transformative change in the Canadian building sector
- Theme
- Advocacy
The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) is pleased to see the Federal Standing Committee on Finance pre-budget consultation report (Driving Inclusive Growth: Spurring productivity and competitiveness in Canada, released on December 7) includes recommendations for zero carbon buildings, targeted retrofits for federally-owned buildings and green skills development.
Among recommendations originally proposed by CaGBC, the Government is specifically recommending adopting zero carbon building standards and creating opportunities for targeted retrofit investments for federally-owned buildings. To this end, the government says it should buy zero carbon technology in bulk, and embed the Investor Confidence Project (ICP) as a requirement in the Low-Carbon Economy Fund, the Canada Infrastructure Bank, and the National Housing Strategy.
The Federal recommendations also include targeted investments in skills development to strengthen apprenticeship and training programs in order to ensure sufficient labour resources to meet the evolving needs of the economy, including support for green trades.
“We are encouraged to see our recommendations supported in the Standing Committee’s pre-budget consultation report,” says Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of the CaGBC. “In recognizing the importance of green jobs training, building investor confidence in retrofits, and pursuing zero carbon performance, the federal government is demonstrating leadership in the development of Canada’s low carbon economy. We look forward to continuing our work with the Government to deliver on these efforts.”
In May 2017, CaGBC released Canada’s first Zero Carbon Building Standard, a world-class program that positions Canada as a global leader, offering designers and operators the opportunity to make carbon reduction the key indicator for building performance.
Spearheaded in Canada by CaGBC, GBCI and MaRS Discovery District, ICP is a global underwriting standard for developing and measuring energy efficiency retrofits. Its Investor Ready Energy Efficiency certification (IREE) signals to investors that a project has adopted best practices that can help reduce transaction costs and increase savings. The protocols offer investors a consistent roadmap for assessing risk and expected outcomes from deep retrofits.
CaGBC’s Education Strategy is focused on increasing capacity in the Canadian green building industry through the development and delivery of specialized education, including zero carbon building education. CaGBC offers zero carbon building education for the trades through the delivery of its Green Professional Building Skills Training (GPRO). It also offers professional courses focused on CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Program.