Brandon, Peguis, Morden/Winkler, Northern Communities To Participate in Unique Federal-Provincial Partnership BRANDON -- Four Manitoba communities will receive $1.2 million over the next two years for innovative community energy and resource conservation projects to reduce climate change emissions. "This funding helps support grassroots solutions to climate change," said Premier Gary Doer. "Each community will hire a local champion to co-ordinate climate change actions and work with the community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Together, we will make a difference." "To make a difference, we need to change the way we think about the environment and we need to change the way we act," said Anita Neville, MP for Winnipeg South Centre, on behalf of federal Environment Minister Stéphane Dion, and federal Natural Resources Minister R. John Efford. "Through the One-Tonne Challenge, a national program co-lead by Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada, the Government of Canada is pleased to be a partner in these efforts to engage Manitobans in making their communities more sustainable and helping to provide the tools they need to take action on climate change." Brandon, Peguis, Morden/Winkler and North Central Development will receive funding under the Manitoba Community Challenges program, developed jointly by the Government of Canada's One-Tonne Challenge (OTC) and Manitoba's Climate Change Community Challenge (C4). North Central Development represents 17 communities in Manitoba's North. "Being chosen as a C4 community will support Brandon's existing environmental change initiatives," said Brandon Mayor Dave Burgess. "It will allow us to enhance our projects as well as begin new ones with the support of the program." The governments of Canada and Manitoba will each provide up to $600,000 through the Climate Change Community Challenge program. In addition, the communities will receive other tools to support the implementation of local plans. Manitoba's C4 program is a provincewide pilot program to help communities find financial savings through local energy and resource conservation solutions. Local communities and individual Canadians are encouraged to initiate and carry out programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The partnership includes the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM). The One-Tonne Challenge is a Government of Canada initiative that calls on individual Canadians to take action on climate change and clean air by reducing their annual greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions by one tonne. On average, individual Canadians produce five tonnes of GHGs each year; one tonne is a reduction of about 20 per cent. "The AMM has strongly supported the Climate Change Community Challenge from the outset and we are pleased to see this funding reach across Manitoba ," said Ron Bell, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities. "Municipalities want and need to find energy and resource efficiencies and the C4 pilot project will go a long way to create sustainable communities in our province." Earlier this year, a Canada/Manitoba memorandum of understanding for Co-operation on Addressing Climate Change was signed. The governments agreed to explore co-operation on renewable energy development opportunities, promote energy efficiency practices, assess impacts of climate change, develop adaptation strategies, promote individual actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and maximize reductions and removals of greenhouse gases in the agricultural sector. A new database provides information about energy-efficiency incentives and rebates offered by governments, utilities and the private sector. The database, developed by the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development, is on both the Government of Canada's Climate Change and One-Tonne Challenge Web sites. For more information about climate change, go to: http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/onetonne/english. Media Backgrounders Manitoba Climate Change Community Challenges Projects
