Province targets funding for low-carbon projects
The Saskatchewan government has followed through on its promise to apply for federal climate change funding despite being told it is not eligible for $62 million initially earmarked for the province.
Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund includes $1.4 billion for provinces and territories that have signed the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.
Last summer, federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna warned Saskatchewan it would not receive its share unless it signed on to the national climate change plan — and imposed a carbon tax — something the province is still adamant it will not do.
“We’re very hopeful that the federal government will reconsider the position that they’ve taken,” said Saskatchewan Environment Minister Dustin Duncan. “If this is really about reducing emissions, then there really isn’t a reason why the federal government should deny Saskatchewan these dollars.”
The province submitted 11 projects, which it says will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 188 million tonnes from energy and power production, water, forests and agriculture. The costs of the projects total more than $200 million and will be part of the province’s Prairie Resilience climate change plan.
Some of the projects include serving new communities with natural gas, solar panels at 12 SaskWater facilities, a residential home retrofit program, pasture seeding, a mountain pine beetle surveillance program and an emissionfree oilfield microgrid project.
“These are very good projects for communities, for families and most especially for the environment,” said Duncan.
“These projects would be great news for the people of Saskatchewan. We think they’re exciting,” said Saskatchewan NDP critic for the environment David Forbes, who applauded the innovation.
But where Duncan sees the proposed projects as a continuation of “the rollout of a very credible plan of reducing emissions in Saskatchewan without a carbon tax,” Forbes said the province’s approach to climate change is “half-baked.”
“The problem is that we still see a government that hasn’t done its homework,” said Forbes, referencing the incomplete “Model of Saskatchewan Resilience Measure” table in the Prairie Resilience document. The table, which lists the various measurements the government will use to determine the “resilience of Saskatchewan to the effects of climate change,” remains “to be determined.”
Forbes said two things need to happen to move forward with a climate change plan: Completing that table and setting clear goals, which he said will show the government has done its homework.
“We need to set an overarching goal of how much are we going to reduce greenhouse gases here in Saskatchewan,” said Forbes.
Duncan said the province will be approving resilience measurements this spring and will be able to make baseline and target numbers public by the fall.
If the federal government does not approve the projects, the $62 million will be transitioned into the federal Low Carbon Economy Challenge Fund, where Saskatchewan can apply for funding, but must compete with other provinces and third parties.