Canadians across the country want to reduce their home energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint by improving energy efficiency in their homes. The Government of Canada is helping them do that.
Today, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, launched a call for proposals to create good middle-class jobs through the federal government’s $2.6 billion green retrofit program.
This call for proposals is a $10 million commitment to recruit, train, and mentor up to 2,000 new energy advisors across the country to support the Canada Greener Homes Grant, which will provide as many as 700,000 grants of up to $5,000 each to help homeowners make energy-efficient improvements to their homes, supported by an EnerGuide evaluation. An EnerGuide home evaluation gives homeowners a better understanding of how their home uses energy now – and identifies retrofits to help improve energy efficiency.
This initiative also provides the opportunity to build an energy efficiency workforce that more closely reflects Canada’s population. Today’s call for proposals underscores the need for diversity and inclusion by specifically targeting under-represented groups such as women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2 communities, and racialized Canadians.
New energy advisors will help meet demand for and provide access to timely EnerGuide evaluations for all Canadians, regardless of location. They will help Canadians make changes to their homes that deliver the greatest return for their investment with advice tailored to their specific situations.
Proposals must be received by July 8, 2021 and Natural Resources Canada will schedule webinars with potential applicants to answer any questions and provide additional support. Canadians with limited internet access can contact the dedicated call centre line at 1-833-674-8282.
According to the International Energy Agency, energy efficiency measures could get the world one-third of the way toward its Paris 2030 targets and help us reach net-zero emissions by 2050. With buildings, including our homes, accounting for 18 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, retrofitting existing homes — with the help of highly trained energy advisors — is one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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