Feds select Ontario business as first recipient of new climate money

Ctvnews.ca
January 11, 2019
Rachael Gilmore

The Trudeau government has selected an Ontario company as the first “winner” of funds under a part of the federal climate change plan on Thursday.

“This is a big solution that’s going to make a difference in the lives of people in Ontario. It’s focused on how we cool buildings,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna said during an interview with CTV’s Your Morning.

The feds are giving $10 million to further the expansion of Enwave Energy Corporation’s deep lake water cooling system, which uses cold water from Lake Ontario to heat large buildings in the downtown core. The money comes from a section of the Low Carbon Economy Fund.

In November, McKenna announced that the Low Carbon Economy Fund, which would normally directly benefit the provincial government, would instead be opened to businesses and industries in Ontario to support their environmental efforts.

While a source from McKenna’s office confirmed that the funding for this specific “winner” comes from a pocket that was never intended to go to the provinces, the announcement comes at a time when relations are already tense between the federal government and the Ontario government when it comes to the environment file.

When McKenna first announced her plan to sidestep the province, Ontario Environment Minister Rod Phillips called out McKenna for going behind the province’s back.

“This morning, the federal minister of the environment announced her intention to circumvent our province and the people of Ontario,” Phillips said in a Nov. 8 statement provided to CTV News.

“While she says that she would have been happy to have worked together with us, her actions suggest differently.”

This is the first in what will likely be many similar announcements as we head into the 2019 election.