Ottawa – Canadians are calling for ambitious climate action that keeps the air clean while building a strong and clean economy for the future.
Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, on behalf of Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced an investment of up to $1 million from the Low Carbon Economy Fund to support the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s (CHEO) Deep Energy Retrofit Program.
Parliamentary Secretary van Koeverden was joined by Alex Munter, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario; the Honourable David McGuinty, Member of Parliament; and City Councillor Marty Carr to highlight the project, which includes the installation of a new energy recovery system and re-engineering of its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. In addition, two new heat pumps will be used to reduce energy consumption from natural gas-fired boilers. These changes will satisfy the hospital’s heating requirements and recover and reuse heat waste, improving efficiency of the hospital’s systems and reducing emissions.
In an average year, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario emits over 6,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. With these upgrades in place, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario will be able to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by over 2,500 tonnes per year, the equivalent of approximately 600 homes’ energy use for one year.
Projects like this, supported by the Low Carbon Economy Fund, will help sectors work toward innovative solutions that will allow them to reduce emissions and create jobs while building a strong, sustainable future for generations to come.
“By working with organizations across Canada such as the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, we are making operating costs more affordable and growing the economy all while fighting climate change. Through the Low Carbon Economy Fund, the Government of Canada is partnering with climate leaders nationwide to cut emissions, so that our children and grandchildren will have cleaner air to breathe. Helping hospitals make these changes just makes good public health sense.” – Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change