CORNWALL, Ontario – The trickle-down effect of the Provincial Ford Government axing Ontario’s Cap-And-Trade program is being felt in the City of Cornwall.
In August of 2017, the Ministry of Housing (MHO) announced the Social Housing Apartment Improvement Program (SHAIP) in support of implementing the province’s Climate Change Action Plan. The program, for eligible high-rise apartment buildings, was to be funded for four years based on carbon market proceeds.
“In a communication from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH), as a result of the end of the Cap-And-Trade program, funding received through the SHAIP was withdrawn for future years,” said Tracey Bailey, General Manager of Financial Services and Treasurer for the City.
The City was set to receive a total of over $4.6 million between 2017 to 2021. The City only received $1.8 million, resulting in a loss of $2.8 million.
“We received funding for year one only, 2017 to 2018,” said Stacey Ferguson, Administrator of Social and Housing Services for the City.
The SHAIP planned to continue activities that reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. The program expected to enhance living accommodations for Ontario’s low-income and vulnerable tenants, reduce operating costs for social housing providers, increase sustainable social housing stock and create local jobs.
Many of Ontario’s high-rise apartment buildings, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, require major building systems to be replaced. The SHAIP encouraged investing in energy efficient upgrades.
“Withdrawal of funds will impact the funding for Capital repairs, as they relate to reducing GHG emissions,” said Ferguson.
It has been reported that the cancellation of the Cap-And-Trade program will cost Ontario $3 billion in lost revenue over the next four fiscal years. Through a series of Cap-And-Trade auctions, the province made approximately $3 billion since the Provincial Liberal Government introduced the program last year.
