The Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are continuing to make strategic investments through the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) to support more sustainable communities. A recent announcement of $1.45 million through GMF will support several pilot projects involving 15 Quebec communities.
“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,” said Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie–Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Communities.
The GMF is a $1-billion program. 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.
The Quebec pilot projects receiving funding include the following:
- 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 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.
“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,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
GMF supports local innovation that can be replicated and scaled up across the country to tackle Canada’s climate challenges.
