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The Context: CHRA Taking Action

• Policy Advisory Committee – shift from a Research Committee in 2008

• Key role - development of Policy Statements• A 2008 membership survey identified issues

and topics of importance• First policy statement on Homelessness

released at Congress 2009

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The Context: CHRA Taking Action

• In 2005, CHRA convenes ‘Affordable & Efficient’ in Halifax, Canada’s first national symposium on low-income energy efficiency.

• Several CHRA resolutions endorsed work on green housing.

• Leads us to today’s policy statement on “Green Housing, Green Jobs”

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The Context: CHRA Taking Action

Resolutions endorsed by CHRA’s members:• 2004: Call for a National Affordable Housing

Energy Efficiency Program• 2009: National Low Income Energy Efficiency

Partnership• 2009: Affordable Housing and Jobs for All

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The Context: Federal Engagement

• 2005: Canada announces its first national low-income energy efficiency program, with $500 million to retrofit 130,000 homes.

• 2006: Canada’s new government cancels the fledgling program, despite the average potential energy savings of 40% per home.

• 2010: Federal stimulus measures enable the retrofitting of social housing, including for improving energy efficiency.

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The Policy Statement: Key Principles

• CHRA believes the greening of Canada’s affordable housing must be a central part of a national green economic and employment strategy designed to lift low-income Canadians out of poverty.

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The Policy Statement: Key Principles

• CHRA believes that Canada’s social housing stock provides a key market for the quick expansion of green employment across Canada and that low-income Canadians should be key beneficiaries of green economic growth.

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What is the Green Economy?

• The green economy is focused on emerging technologies and skills in the areas of alternative and renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green buildings.

• The world’s green economy is growing faster than the economy as a whole.

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What are Green Jobs?

• Green jobs contribute to positive environmental, social and economic outcomes.

• In a greener economy, jobs should offer benefits, decent working conditions, opportunities for growth and family-supporting wages

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How is Housing connected to the Green Economy?

• Almost 1.5 million Canadian households live in core housing need. Many require but cannot afford energy efficiency upgrades.

• The affordable housing sector is key to shaping a greener Canadian economy.

• Energy efficiency initiatives provide the most attainable and cost effective source of green job investment opportunities.

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Why should Social Housing be a focus of the Green Economy?

• Over 600,000 units serving families and individuals with low incomes or special needs comprise Canada’s social housing stock.

• Most of these homes are old and require condition and energy efficiency upgrades.

• The social housing stock is an extremely valuable asset resulting from public investment and it should be preserved .

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Why should Social Housing be a focus of the Green Economy?• As energy prices increase, the financial burden to

social housing providers, and to low-income households paying their own utilities, grows and makes the housing of low-income Canadians even more expensive.

• Some retrofit of the social housing stock has taken place through investments via the federal government’s economic stimulus plan.

• This short-term investment can be built upon by a longer-term and strategic approach.

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How could a Green Jobs Approach focused on Social Housing help lift Canadians out of poverty?

• There is a skilled labour shortage in Canada’s construction industry which will intensify with accelerating baby boomer retirement.

• Targeting low-income Canadians with labour barriers for construction trades training is smart policy that will lift people out of poverty while growing the economy.

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Moving Forward: The Big Picture

• CHRA urges the federal, provincial and territorial governments to build green partnerships that include allies in the business, labour, community, social justice and environmental, affordable housing and homelessness sectors to develop Canada’s green economic and jobs strategy.

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Moving Forward: The Details

• CHRA recommends:– That all governments currently offering

housing, income support, employment, job creation and training programs seek ways to make them support the development of a greener economy and green jobs.

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Moving Forward: The Details

• CHRA recommends:– That governments target low-income

Canadians with barriers to family supporting employment as a key labour pool for the construction and other high-demand sectors.

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Moving Forward: The Details

• As per its 2009 resolution, CHRA recommends:– That the Government of Canada make

permanent and expand the EcoEnergy Retrofit program with an additional $250M annually over five years to target low-income households with limited or no financial capacity to pay for home energy audits and retrofits themselves.

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What Can We Do Today?

• Help us be part of the growing movement!

• The roundtable sessions following this presentation will provide an excellent opportunity to contribute your views on how CHRA’s recommendations can be operationalized.

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Dollars Saved:

$1,000,000

Houses Insulated:500

Water Retrofits:2500

Choices for Youth-Train for Trades

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Choices for Youth-Train for Trades

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