Canada and FCM support innovative, green pilot projects in Quebec communities

News release

Gaspé, Quebec, November 6, 2020—Canadians live in cleaner, healthier communities when municipalities develop innovative solutions to reduce pollution, improve energy efficiency, and find new uses for public infrastructure.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) continue to make strategic investments through the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) to support more sustainable communities. GMF is funded by the Government of Canada and delivered to municipalities by FCM.

Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie–Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and Garth Frizzell, President of FCM, announced more than $1.45 million through GMF for several pilot projects involving 15 Quebec communities.

The Régie intermunicipale de transport Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine (intermunicipal transportation board) will bring together the municipalities of Carleton-sur-Mer, Chandler, Gaspé, Grande-Rivière, Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Maria, to purchase and commission 10 electric vehicles and nine charging stations. The project will help create transportation hubs and modal terminals to encourage vehicle sharing, public transit and cleaner and more economical transportation solutions.

Plessisville, Nicolet, Prévost, Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Fulgence Val-des-Monts and Varennes, will acquire a total of seven fully electric trucks for municipal and citizen use. This project will enable communities to develop smart ecological services based on the use and sharing of electric transportation throughout the community.

In Malartic, Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard and Val-des-Monts, pilot projects will add an electric vehicle to the municipal fleet and promote vehicle sharing during off-peak hours. These small communities are underserved by public transit, and rely heavily on cars as the main means of transportation. The pilot projects also provide for the future implementation of additional services such as ride sharing and bike sharing programs.

As a second pilot project, Varennes will convert three municipal trucks into electric trucks and examine their performance and capacity to deliver municipal services. Some equipment will be tested on these trucks such as a lift, a crane and sewer cleaning. The project will be carried out by a local company, thereby supporting and promoting local expertise and employment.

Quotes

“In collaboration with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Government of Canada is helping communities reduce their carbon footprints and operate more efficiently. These pilot projects will help municipalities become more eco-efficient, improve the quality of the environment, and offer citizens access to greener services, equipment and tools. Canada’s infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates jobs across the country, and builds cleaner, more inclusive communities.”

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie–Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

“We’re making investments in a better, greener future for Quebec’s communities - saving families money and fighting climate change.”

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources

“Municipalities are important partners in climate action. These innovative local solutions to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions will help us achieve our targets and set us on the path to net-zero emissions by building upon the national work already underway to protect our environment, strengthen local economies, and create well-paying jobs in communities across the country.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“Local governments influence half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. That means local action is critical. With support from the Green Municipal Fund, this is what’s happening: municipalities of all sizes are implementing smart climate solutions—like reducing GHG emissions through the electrification of municipal vehicles. Empowering this local expertise is vital to meeting Canada’s national climate goals. Because, when orders of government work together and take action on climate, we’re building more resilient communities.”

Garth Frizzell, President of FCM

Quick facts

The Green Municipal Fund (GMF) is a $1-billion program funded by the Government of Canada and delivered by FCM.
- Since 2000, GMF has helped bring over 1,360 projects to life.
- GMF projects have cut 2.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions—the equivalent of taking 608,000 cars off the road.
- GMF supports local innovation that can be replicated and scaled up across the country to tackle Canada’s climate challenges.
- GMF has created over 11,650 jobs across the country.
Through the Investing in Canada Plan, the federal government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes and Canada’s rural and northern communities.
As part of the Investing in Canada Plan, the Government of Canada has invested over $6.5 billion in more than1,000 infrastructure projects in Quebec.
To support Canadians and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new stream has been added to the over $33-billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to help fund pandemic-resilient infrastructure. Existing program streams have also been adapted to include more eligible project categories.
The new Canada Healthy Communities Initiative will provide up to $31 million in existing federal funding to support communities as they deploy innovative new ways to adapt spaces and services to respond to immediate and ongoing needs arising from COVID-19 over the next two years.

Associated links

Contacts

Chantalle Aubertin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
613-941-0660
Chantalle.Aubertin@canada.ca

Media Relations
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
613-907-6395
media@fcm.ca

Media Relations
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll free: 1-877-250-7154
Email: infc.media.infc @canada.ca
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Website: Infrastructure Canada

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Date modified:: 2020-11-06

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