Opportunities Envelope – FAQs
What is the objective of the Opportunities Envelope (OE)?
Is the OE only for provinces and territories or can others apply directly?
Can proposals come from any provincial or territorial government department?
Will there be minimum or maximum allocations of available funding for each province and territory?
What are the cost-sharing arrangements under the OE?
Are provinces and territories allowed to ask for multi-year funding?
Who will decide who receives funding under the OE? How will they make their decision?
What role will the External Review Roster (ERR) play?
What is the process for provinces and territories to bring forward proposals?
What is the objective of the Opportunities Envelope (OE)?
The provinces and territories are seen as key partners in addressing climate change. The federal government wants to support provincial/territorial governments' climate change priorities. The OE is intended to allow the federal government to contribute funds to cost-effective emissions reduction initiatives brought forward by the provinces and territories.
Is the OE only for provinces and territories or can others apply directly?
Lead proponents for the proposals will necessarily be provincial and territorial governments or their agencies. However, a province or territory may choose to involve a private sector partner, a provincial Crown corporation or another third party.
Can proposals come from any provincial or territorial government department?
All provincial and territorial governments will be asked to internally co-ordinate and prioritize proposals seeking OE funding through their respective ministries responsible for climate change (e.g., Ministries of Energy and/or Environment, or equivalent).
Will there be minimum or maximum allocations of available funding for each province and territory?
There will be no funding allocations dedicated to specific provinces or territories before proposals are assessed, i.e., there will be no funding envelopes. However, regional distribution will be a consideration when allocating funds.
What additional information should be included in proposals, and what format should they be submitted in?
The information that we would need to have on the proposal and its cost-effectiveness is described in the "Opportunities Envelope – Guidelines for Proposals". The OE Secretariat in collaboration with federal subject area/program experts will work with the proponent to ensure that all the necessary information is included in the proposal.
Would any type of proposal be eligible for funding under the OE as long as it reflects a climate change priority or need of a province or territory?
Either discrete projects or broader emission reduction programs are eligible for OE funding. In order to be considered, the project/program proposals must demonstrate that they will be able to deliver measurable GHG emission reductions incremental to those from other federal and provincial initiatives. All emission reductions from funded initiatives must occur in Canada.
Is there a limit to the number of proposals that a province or territory can submit (in each round or for OE funding more generally)?
No limits will be placed on the number of proposals that a province or territory can submit. However, we expect provinces and territories to prioritize their initiatives. We are also aiming at programs/projects involving OE funding in the $1 million to $5 million range.
By requesting that funding for projects and programs be between $1M and $5M per year, are you discriminating against certain type of initiatives or the size of jurisdictions?
No, this is just a recommended range to indicate the general size and scope of projects that would be appropriate for the OE. However, exceptional cases that have merit but that fall outside of this range will be considered.
What are the cost-sharing arrangements under the OE?
We are aiming at a maximum federal contribution of 50% of the cost of the project or program.
Are provinces and territories allowed to ask for multi-year funding?
Funding may be requested for the duration of the OE's fiscal framework.
Who will decide who receives funding under the OE? How will they make their decision?
Proposals will be put through an assessment process involving federal officials and third-party experts (External Review Roster). Based upon this assessment, funding recommendations will be made to the Ministers of Environment and Natural Resources Canada, who will decide which proposals are to be put forward for Treasury Board (TB) approval. Ultimately, TB Ministers will decide which proposals are funded.
Cost-effectiveness of proposals will be the main factor when allocating funding but other criteria will be considered. What does this mean?
Proposals will be ranked on their cost-effectiveness. Consideration will then be given to other factors such as the degree of leveraging, potential co-benefits, choice of policy instruments and regional balance.
Will you give preference to jurisdictions that can assume a larger share of the total cost of the initiative?
Consideration will be given to the degree of leveraging from all sources, including provinces and territories and third-party contributions. However, it is only one element of the funding recommendation.
What role will the External Review Roster (ERR) play?
The ERR's only role is to provide an independent assessment of the validity of the cost-effectiveness of the proposals. No funding recommendations will come from these reviewers.
What is the process for provinces and territories to bring forward proposals?
The provinces and territories have the main responsibility for bringing forward proposals. Initially, they will be encouraged to submit a two-page "expression of interest" containing a basic description of the initiative with key information such as its total incremental cost, how this cost will be shared between the federal and provincial governments (and third parties if applicable), and an estimate of the total reduction in GHG emissions as a result of the initiative.
This information will be used to screen out initiatives that do not satisfy the basic eligibility criteria or are more appropriate for a different federal funding mechanism. Projects/programs better suited to an alternative federal funding mechanism may be redirected to the appropriate authority by the federal government prior to proposal assessment under the OE.
For proposals that meet the basic criteria, the provinces and territories will have to submit a complete proposal satisfying the OE information requirements as described in the OE Guidelines before a final decision can be made on whether to recommend OE funding for the initiative.