By John Boling
On August 17, 2022, Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN), announced the launch of a public engagement process for the Canada Green Buildings Strategy (CBGS). IIBEC took the opportunity to provide comments on the new strategy.
According to the announcement, the CGBS seeks to mobilize national action to reduce emissions by 37% from 2005 by 2030 and to create a net-zero-emissions buildings sector by 2050. The CGBS will focus on increasing the rate of building retrofits, ensuring buildings are resilient and net-zero-ready from the start, and on transforming space and water heating. It will be backed by $150 million, as committed to in Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan. The release also notes that there are over 16 million dwellings and 482,000 commercial and public buildings in Canada. Buildings account for 13% of Canada’s direct greenhouse gas emissions.
IIBEC’s comments center on two main points. The first deals with financing. In short, the plan does not give enough attention to how building owners will finance the cost of converting their existing building to a high-performance building. The second is that IIBEC members are perfectly positioned to inform owners and managers about the costs and benefits of adopting a high-performance approach when it comes to designing or retrofitting a building.
Finally, the comments submitted by Brian Pallasch, executive vice president and chief executive officer of IIBEC, request that NRCAN “include a requirement that buildings and multifamily housing undergoing a deep retrofit use a professional trained in building enclosure design, installation, and commissioning and certified by an international organization specializing in these matters. By doing so, the CGBS will ensure that buildings undergoing a deep retrofit will meet the requirements, be resilient, and contribute to a healthier Canada.”
IIBEC will continue to monitor NRCAN’s implementation of the CGBS, and if there is an opportunity to comment further or involve local members in the process, we will alert members.
