Industry shares insight on Canada’s Green Buildings Strategy
With buildings representing almost 40 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention the environmental impact of heavy industry, the Canadian construction sector is keen to engage with Natural Resources Canada on the Canada Green Buildings Strategy.
The Green Buildings Strategy is looking for ways Canada can deliver on its net-zero by 2050 targets by building net-zero and climate-resilient buildings from the start; accelerating deep, climate-resilient, building retrofits; and transforming space and water heating.
Detailed recommendations were sent by the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) to Natural Resources Canada focused on developing a buy clean policy, mandating change, enabling investment decisions, growing Canada’s advantage in building practices, technology and building materials, and training and incentivizing the future workforce.
As the industry’s national advocate, CCA has been working to help shape a long-term plan for sustainable infrastructure investment. Aligning Canada’s infrastructure needs with those of provinces, municipalities and Indigenous communities will ensure best value for Canadians, strengthen the economy, develop the necessary workforce, improve our global trade capacity, and raise our quality of life.
Our 2021 paper, Strength, resilience, sustainability: Canada’s construction sector recommendations on adapting to climate change, outlines how the sector can contribute to decarbonization and create resilient, lasting infrastructure in the face of climate change while also calling for national partnerships and vision on the issue.
We are also driving the conversation forward on updating procurement to incentivize investment in resilience, improving access to data and climate modeling, and increasing the construction workforce to address current shortages while building capacity for the future. The industry has partnered with the federal government on the Canadian Apprenticeship Service to provide financial incentives to employers hiring new first-year apprentices in Red Seal trades. Changes to Canada’s immigration system are also urgently needed to facilitate the entry of much-needed talent to our workforce.
CCA will continue to engage with our members on the development of these important public policies.