Earlier this month, OCAF’s Manager of Programs and Operations was invited to present to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development as part of their study of home energy efficiency.
Retrofitting Canada’s existing housing stock is a significant nation-building opportunity. When done well, energy efficiency policy transcends climate policy. It encompasses housing, public health, affordability, and economic development all at once. We appreciate the Committee taking an in-depth look at how to make this a success.
OCAF offered three recommendations for the Committee’s consideration:
1. Align federal programs with provincial, municipal, and utility offerings.
Where possible, federal funding and financing should complement and stack with offers from other levels of government and local utilities. This reduces market confusion, distortion, and duplication.
2. Move away from the boom-and-bust cycle of incentives and grants.
For middle- and higher-income households and private sector operators, a financing-focused approach (rather than one centred on grants and incentives) would help build a more mature and sustainable energy retrofit ecosystem. As Efficiency Canada has highlighted, Australia and the United States have models we can draw upon for inspiration.
This approach reflects OCAF’s mandate, which is shared across the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) Network: making the most of public funding to attract private capital investment toward projects with positive environmental and social impact.
3. Connect energy efficiency policy to Canada’s housing goals.
This is a core focus for OCAF. Our work sits at the intersection of affordable housing and climate action, with a particular focus on how retrofits can help preserve existing affordable homes, where many of our most vulnerable residents live. In Ottawa, we are losing affordable homes at a startling rate – for every new affordable unit built, 31 are being lost.
To support the connection between energy efficiency policy and housing, OCAF recommended:
- Providing dedicated funding for the capital costs of non-market housing retrofits by renewing funding for programs previously offered through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), such as the Canada Greener Affordable Housing program and the Repair and Renewal Stream of the Co-Investment Fund. These programs should come with support for housing providers to plan and carry out what are often complex and time-consuming projects.
- Pairing this funding, when possible, with the recently announced Canadian Rental Protection Fund, so community housing providers can complete retrofits when it makes the most sense.
- Directing targeted incentives and low-interest loans toward private-market affordable housing (which is sometimes called ‘naturally occurring affordable housing’). Where appropriate, this funding should be tied to tenant protection measures.
Overall, OCAF is optimistic about the outcomes of this study, and grateful to the Committee for inviting us to speak on the subject.
If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive, you can watch the full recording of the Committee meeting on ParlVU.