July 04, 2012
THORNBURY, ONTARIO - The Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, and Chris Emanuel, member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) Board of Directors, announced today an investment that has enabled the Town of the Blue Mountains to build a new energy-efficient town hall.
"Through the Green Municipal Fund, our Government is supporting energy-efficient projects in municipalities across Canada to help lower costs, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Minister Oliver. "Our investment, in partnership with the FCM, demonstrates our commitment to assist communities like the Town of the Blue Mountains in building a greener future."
"The Harper government is proud to support the Town of Blue Mountains as it improves energy efficiency in its town hall and serves as an example to other communities," said Kellie Leitch, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for Simcoe-Grey. "This new town hall will make municipal services more accessible to residents and visitors and provide a much-needed community gathering space."
The 2,200 square foot town hall was built on a remediated brownfield site and is designed to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold standard. This high level of energy efficiency was achieved thanks to a number of features, including:
triple-glazed windows with fibreglass frames;increased roof assembly and exterior wall insulation;efficient lighting and ballasts;a ground-source heat pump; andsmall domestic hot water heaters.
The building design minimizes life-cycle costs and has reduced energy consumption by 62 percent compared with the standards of the Model National Energy Code for Buildings.
The Town of Blue Mountains received $3.63 million toward the project through the Green Municipal Fund™ to improve community infrastructure.
The Government of Canada has endowed the FCM with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal Fund™. The Fund supports partnerships and the leveraging of both public- and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.
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