Help Communities Lead builds support for increased collaboration between the Province of Ontario and Ontario local governments to build stronger climate policy alignment in the below three policy priority areas to achieve climate commitments while advancing local economic development and job creation opportunities across Ontario communities.
Help Communities Lead is supported by the Ontario Climate Caucus, a non-partisan network of Ontario mayors and councillors working collaboratively alongside the national Climate Caucus, which consists of an additional 500 mayors and councillors from across Canada working together to build equitable, regenerative and resilient communities. The Ontario Climate Caucus is facilitated by the Clean Air Partnership and works on Ontario-specific action items as determined by Ontario Climate Caucus members. You can join the Ontario Climate Caucus here or by emailing Gaby at gkalapos@cleanairpartnership.org.
Climate Action Priorities
Advancing a climate accountability framework
An all-of-the-government approach is essential to break silos across provincial ministries and collectively advance climate action. It is critical to apply a climate lens across provincial decisions.
Municipalities in Ontario are advancing climate accountability in their decision-making process and seek a better alignment with the province to ensure a widespread climate accountability. Provincial policy decisions that do not incorporate climate change put municipal climate plans at risk. Without provincial climate action, climate impacts will disproportionately impact municipal infrastructure and budgets.
Using an energy decision matrix to include economic, environmental and social considerations of Ontario energy decisions
Investing in fossil fuel infrastructure to meet Ontario’s growing energy demand will increase the provinces emissions by over 250% and significantly undermine Ontario’s low carbon electricity system status.
Ontario must enact an Energy Decision Making Matrix to help understand and compare potential low carbon options to meet the growing energy demand while protecting taxpayers, ratepayers, communities and the climate.
Advancing a province-wide building improvement strategy to reduce building emissions
Ontario’s building stock is energy inefficient, GHG intensive and susceptible to climate change impacts. Buildings account for 25% of Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The province must develop a province-wide Building Improvement Strategy that can build on existing policies and programs to support greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, energy efficiency, and climate resilience in new and existing buildings in Ontario.
Help Communities Lead aims to empower municipal council discussions and resolutions to the province by providing draft policy briefs, staff report and sample council resolution to advance municipal and provincial discussions and identify where there is overlap between the various actions and policies identified in the Help Communities Lead policy briefs and the provincial willingness to work with municipalities to advance.
Help Communities Lead also seeks to create a consistent messaging that can help form a strong unified municipal voice on matters of provincial and municipal importance.