January 21, 2007

Good morning, everyone. It's great to be here at the Toronto Metro Home Show. I can think of no better place to talk about energy efficiency than a home show. Home technologies are changing at a rapid rate. Some of them will improve our comfort, some will make our lives more convenient, but many of these technologies will help us save energy. Even more important, they will help us reduce the impact on the environment.

In addition to being a minister, I am a carpenter and I built my own home. I have a passion for building and for the latest designs and technologies in housing. I believe that over the next few decades, we will be able to build homes that are net zero users of energy. But we don't have to wait for advanced new technologies to make our homes more efficient. We can use simple tools that we see here today—things like programmable thermostats, energy-efficient lighting, and best practices in construction. All these tools are available, and we can start using them today to become more energy efficient.

We need to take action and we must act together. I am pleased to be sharing the podium with some of the people we are taking action with —Toronto Mayor David Miller and Roland Herman, the Chief Operating Officer of Enersource, the local distributor of electricity in Mississauga.

Before I get to today's announcement, I would like to highlight the first two pillars of our government's ecoENERGY Initiatives, which we announced this week.

On Wednesday, John Baird, Minister of the Environment, and I unveiled the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative. This is a $230 million investment to help us use technology to clean up conventional energy. It focuses on things like clean coal technology. We have the technology today to remove up to 90 percent of the pollutant emissions going up in the stack. You combine that with carbon capture and storage, and we can take out nearly all of the greenhouse gases. Carbon capture and storage also has enormous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the oilsands.

On Friday the Prime Minister was with me in Victoria to announce the second of our ecoENERGY Initiatives—the ecoENERGY Renewable Initiative. This is a $1.5 billion investment to put 4,000 megawatts of clean energy on the grid—energy from tides, the sun, biomass, small hydro, and wind. How much is 4,000 megawatts? It's the equivalent of taking one million cars right off the road, while providing enough energy for one million homes.

Today I am announcing our third pillar, the ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative. As I have said many times before, the greatest untapped source of energy in this country—far greater than all the energy in the oilsands—is the energy we waste. The ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative is a $300-million investment over four years. Through retrofitting older buildings and encouraging higher standards in new construction, it will substantially increase the number of energy efficient homes and buildings in Canada.

The ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative has three components. The first is ecoENERGY Retrofit. We are allocating $220 million to help homeowners and small businesses retrofit their homes and buildings. Under this initiative, we expect that home owners will receive a grant. Not only will homeowners receive this one-time grant; they will continue to realize thousands of dollars of annual savings in energy costs, which can be spent on other family priorities.

Canadian taxpayers will be pleased to know that we have designed ecoENERGY Retrofit to ensure that over 90 cents of every single dollar will go back to the homeowner and directly into retrofits. This will directly affect the amount of greenhouse gases we can reduce. We will also provide incentives for homeowners to install qualifying renewable energy technologies together with technologies that reduce water consumption.

The second component of the ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative is ecoENERGY for Buildings and Houses. This $60-million investment will target the construction industry for new buildings. EcoENERGY for Buildings and Houses will work with industry, the provinces and territories, and all levels of government to support the latest development of energy-efficiency practices within the building community. This is an important component. New buildings will be with us for a very long time, and they should incorporate the most efficient technologies to meet the standards of the future.

The third component of the ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative is ecoENERGY for Industry. It will deliver $20 million to accelerate energy-saving investments by industry. This program will provide training and awareness to give industry access to the latest energy-efficient technologies. It will also help them share best practices and prepare for the new regulations.

Many Canadians are not aware that 85 percent of greenhouse gases come from energy production and use. We must do better, and we can. On Wednesday, I invited the private sector to work with us on our ecoENERGY Technology Initiative. On Friday, I challenged energy producers and users to work with us to get more clean energy onto the grid through our ecoENERGY Renewable Initiative.

Today I appeal to individuals and homeowners to embrace this challenge, take up the cause, do your part to become as energy efficient as you can. Together, we can make massive change. Everything we are trying to accomplish with the ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative hinges on the active involvement of YOU, in every corner of this country. The ecoENERGY Initiatives we announced this week total over $2 billion. These are investments in the reduction of greenhouse gases in Canada. Our initiatives are realistic, they are comprehensive, and they are going to achieve real results.

Remember, we all have a part to play. We often hear about all the greenhouse gases that the oil companies are putting up in the atmosphere in the production of natural gas and oil. That's true. But don't forget: you and I use every drop of oil they produce to drive our cars, heat our homes, or light our buildings. We must do our share as well.

This week will mark the first anniversary of our government, and I am proud to say we are getting things done. I look forward to working with all levels of government, people such as David Miller and industry representatives such as Roland Herman to achieve results from all of our ecoENERGY Initiatives.

I also want to thank my good friend and colleague Gary Goodyear, the Member of Parliament from Cambridge, who is here today. Months and months ago, Gary offered to work with me on this. He has helped us to bring our ideas forward to achieve the best results.

We look forward to working with all Canadians. We want to give you the tools and information you need to make smart energy choices. Together we can use less and live better.

Thank you.