Town hall meeting in Newmarket teaches you how to retrofit your home or building to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Yorkregion.com
June 20, 2023

Are you thinking of retrofitting your home or building to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Then, this town hall meeting is for you.

The event is at Trinity on Main United Church at 461 Park Ave. on June 21 from 7 to 9 p.m.

“Today, residential, commercial, and institutional buildings contribute 17 per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions,” organizer Gail Birkett said in an email.

“We would like to give Newmarket and Aurora homeowners the chance to learn more about how they can do their part in reducing greenhouse gases. Town hall participants will pick up information about new energy rebates for retrofitting their houses. They will also hear about energy audits by energy auditors who are certified by the Government of Canada.”

The event will feature speakers from the Windfall Ecology Centre, Canco ClimateCare, Faith and the Common Good and the Town of Newmarket.

Canco ClimateCare and Windfall Ecology Centre will do a joint presentation on issues such as the house as a system, home energy evaluations and how it is important to do retrofits in a certain order. Both organizations help homeowners find solutions to home energy problems such as air leaks and inefficient systems. Wasted energy can be costly, uncomfortable, and in some cases, unhealthy. There will also be information shared about home efficiency rebates.

The town's initiative, called Newmarket Energy Efficiency Retrofit, or NEER, focuses on the acceleration of residential retrofits using local contractors and public/private financing options. A business case will examine how a home energy retrofit program could help retrofit 80 per cent of the homes in Newmarket over the next 20 years. This would go a long way toward lowering the community's total greenhouse gas emissions.

Faith and the Common Good is a national, interfaith network composed of people of faith, hope and spirit who, despite differences in theology, dress and culture, share a calling to protect the ecosystem. Their religious and spiritual philosophies focus on caring for the Earth.

Magna International’s SARIT urban mobility vehicle will be on display in front of the church’s Park Street entrance. It is a state-of-the-art electric vehicle designed for driving in urban settings.