Government of Canada supports cleaner, healthier classrooms by reinvesting carbon pollution pricing revenues
More than $830,000 for schools in Nickel Belt – Greater Sudbury

NICKEL BELT – GREATER SUDBURY - Canadians want to see action on climate change, and they know that pollution cannot be free. That’s why the Government of Canada is ensuring that there is a fair, minimum price on carbon pollution across the country and is returning the revenues back to households to make life more affordable and to communities to help them cut pollution and save on energy costs. 

Today, Marc G. Serré, MP for Nickel Belt and Parliamentary Secretary for the Natural Resources, and Paul Lefebvre, MP for Sudbury, announced an investment of more than $830,000 in schools in Greater Sudbury and Nickel Belt. 

This funding is part of a $40.8 million investment through the Climate Action Incentive Fund to upgrade 162 schools in Ontario to be more energy efficient. Energy-efficient schools will support better indoor air quality, leading to better health outcomes for Ontario students and educators, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Energy-efficient buildings also pollute less and help schools save on energy costs while fighting climate change. 

Upgrades to schools across Ontario are made possible by revenues from the federal carbon-pollution pricing system, which ensures that it is not free to pollute anywhere in Canada. In jurisdictions like Ontario, where the federal backstop currently applies, all revenues are returned to the province in which they were collected — approximately 90 percent of revenue goes back to families through the Climate Action Incentive rebate, leaving the majority of families better off. The other 10 percent is invested in pollution reduction projects — such as these proposed for schools. 

In December 2020, Canada announced its strengthened climate plan, which builds on and accelerates climate action already underway, so we can exceed our 2030 Paris Agreement emissions reduction target and establish the building blocks to get to net-zero by 2050. The plan will make life more affordable for Canadians and make communities more livable, while focusing on creating jobs, growing the middle class, and supporting workers in a stronger and cleaner economy. 

Quotes 

“This redistribution of carbon pricing revenues into cleaner schools is a positive investment into the future. Students and faculty will benefit from improved environments and retrofitting projects that will help prioritize a net-zero future. There is no doubt that Nickel Belt – Greater Sudbury will positively benefit from this funding.” – Marc G. Serré, MP for Nickel Belt and Parliamentary Secretary for the Natural Resources 

“Making schools more energy efficient provides our kids with better air quality in classrooms, saves on energy costs, and delivers on climate action that our kids deserve. We’re reinvesting revenues back into our buildings through retrofits to reduce emissions for a cleaner, net-zero future.” – Paul Lefebvre, MP for Sudbury

Quick facts 

• In Canada, the energy used in homes and buildings accounts for nearly a quarter of the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions.
• Studies indicate that health benefits of energy-efficient buildings could represent up to 75 percent of the overall benefits of energy-efficiency retrofits.
• Green buildings currently account for nearly 300,000 jobs in Canada.
• In Canada’s recently announced strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and A Healthy Economy, the Government committed to investing $1.5 billion over three years for green and inclusive community buildings and to requiring that at least 10 percent of this funding be allocated to projects serving First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.
• The Government also committed to providing $2.6 billion over seven years to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient. This funding will provide grants of up to $5,000; up to one million free EnerGuide assessments; and support to recruit and train EnerGuide auditors.

Related products

List of Ontario school divisions receiving funding

Associated links

Climate Action Incentive Fund

Climate Action Incentive Payment

Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change

Canada’s climate plan: A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy

Contacts

Kaylie Dudgeon
Special Assistant
MP Nickel Belt
Marc G. Serré
[email protected]
705-507-2416

Mike Whitehouse
MP Sudbury, Paul Lefebvre
[email protected]
705-673-7107