Federation of Canadian Municipalities Sustainable Affordable Housing Program

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Affordable Housing in Nova Scotia and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Federation of Canadian Municipalities Sustainable Affordable Housing Program Summary of a Webinar, September 21, 2022

Jen Arntfield and Chad Meda, Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) presented on the Green Municipal Fund. Jen shared statistics to explain the environmental connection to housing vulnerability. “Energy poverty” describes the situation where people are unable to pay costs for utilities such as electricity and home heating, which further challenges those who are already facing housing poverty. This highlights the need to reduce these costs for residents by increasing the energy efficiency of affordable homes, both for heating, and access to cooling in response to the warming climate. Chad provided an overview of federal funding opportunities managed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. In 2020, a $300 million program was launched for sustainable affordable housing. Eligible projects must be led by municipalities, municipal corporations or non-profits. The funding structure supports organizations who are at different stages of development to create a plan and design that meets the criteria for energy efficiency. Study grants support project planning, energy modelling and feasibility that will then set the organization up to apply for capital financing. Pilot grants support the testing of innovative concepts that could be scaled up. Capital retrofits are supported through grants and loans. Grants are tied to the anticipated energy savings for retrofits and support additional costs for “net zero” new construction projects. To provide inspiration, Jen described examples of projects that have received funding. A housing co-op in Edmonton was able to conduct upgrades to their wood frame houses using prefabricated panels that allowed residents to remain in their homes during the renovations. A communication plan with the residents, through workshops and newsletters, was integrated to keep them informed of the process. They received funding to pilot retrofits on two units, then completed the rest of the units, and replaced fuel powered systems with renewables so the houses are now almost net-zero. A project in Rossland, BC, is a partnership between the municipality and a non-profit, to respond to the need for more workers’ housing. The new complex, designed to be net-zero will include space for the city hall on the ground floor, with affordable housing units above. In addition to funding construction and retrofits, FCM has a capacity building initiative to promote energy efficiency including case studies, fact sheets, webinar presentations, and they support a peer learning community of practice. A pilot has launched offering the services


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