Media Room

Speeches

Speaking Notes Prepared for
The Honourable Scott Brison, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Works and Government Services

on the occasion of Earth Day

Ottawa, Ontario
April 22, 2005

Thank you and good morning everyone.

It's a real pleasure to meet with a dedicated group of environmentalists especially on such an important occasion as Earth Day. I stand here proudly because my department has an important story to tell about sustainable development — a story that's only going to get bigger and better in the years to come.

Public Works is the largest landlord in the country. And that means we own and operate a lot of buildings and consume a lot of energy. We also have a fleet of vehicles — another source of greenhouse gases. So you may think we're part of the problem.

But I'm here today to tell you that Public Works is a big part of the solution to climate change. We're taking on a key role to help "green" government operations, and that role will be expanding in the months to come.

I know that Kermit the Frog insists its not easy to be green. Maybe not. But this government is dedicated to the "green" cause all the same.

In fact, the Paul Martin government recognizes that good environmental policy can be good economic policy as well.

Look at Budget 2005 — it takes our commitment to build a green economy to a new level. Elizabeth May, of the Sierra Club, called it a "green" budget that showed a "seriousness of purpose" in trying to meet our Kyoto targets.

As you know, the budget included tax measures to encourage investment in efficient and renewable energy generation, money to combat climate change, and Green Municipal Funds.

But one initiative you may have missed is how the budget handed Public Works the leadership role to "green" government. And because of that enhanced role, I'm pleased to announce that an Office of Greening Government Operations has been established within my department effective today.

For the first time, this office will give the government a centre of expertise for the greening of government operations under one roof. It will bring together people with skills in policy, engineering, contracting and other areas to see the operations of government through a green lens. The office will help provide guidance on green procurement, green property management, recycling and waste management, and remediation of contaminated sites.

And I can assure you the new Office will be working from a strong base. Public Works has already chalked up a solid track record when it comes to taking action on sustainable development.

Remember how I said good environmental policy is good economic policy. Well, by expanding electronic direct deposits, Public Works will save the government $86 million this year, and reduce paper consumption equivalent to 45,000 trees. Not bad.

Between 1990 and 2003, Public Works also cut greenhouse gas emissions by 24-percent — and by doing so cut operating expenditures by $16 million per year.

Since 1993, my department has shrunk the size of its vehicle fleet by almost two-thirds. Almost 40 percent of our remaining vehicles now run on ethanol, propane, natural gas or are gasoline-electric hybrids. By the way, I have now personally switched to a Honda hybrid and I'd like to look at adopting more stringent practices such as anti-idling policies.

These are important achievements, but we want and need to do more — especially in providing leadership in helping to honour our commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

As you know, the Kyoto implementation plan — called Moving Forward on Climate Change — targets everyone from large emitters to homeowners with the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 270 megatonnes by 2012.

My department will play a large role in achieving those reductions.

For example we're implementing a new policy on Green Procurement to govern all purchases, including power, by 2006. Our buying will now favour suppliers who promote recycling and products with environmental certifications such as EcoLogo.

Earlier this year, Public Works held its first-ever Buyer/Supplier Forum on Green Procurement with the goal of stimulating the demand for and supply of environmentally responsible goods.

We'll soon be launching the Government of Canada Marketplace — an e-portal that will simplify the procurement process but also help us identify green products and track green purchasing.

Renewable energy will play a critical role in Canada's response to climate change and my department is trying to reach the government's target of purchasing 20 percent of federal electricity requirements from non-polluting renewable energy sources. For example, federal facilities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island are already buying wind-generated electricity.

Our goal is to modernize the government's central heating and cooling plants here in Ottawa — that measure in itself will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our office buildings by 8 to 10 percent.

My department also requires new federal buildings to be at least 25 percent more energy-efficient than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings. And we're now going even further. We want new government office buildings, whether owned or leased, to meet the LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Standard for energy efficiency.

That means new federal buildings will only use about half of the energy required by an equivalent office building in our current inventory.

We've also begun to develop a life-cycle assessment approach for major building projects. That will allow us to design innovative and environmentally friendly buildings even when it costs more up front.

Earlier this week I also talked about how we are now seeking independent advice on the most cost-effective and efficient way of managing our office buildings — buildings that are on average 43 years old. Bluntly, many are energy hogs. A key goal is to access to capital to improve the environmental efficiency of these buildings. The status quo is simply not acceptable.

I'm also extremely proud of another important area where my department is taking environmental leadership — the remediation of contaminated sites.

This includes the clean-up of the Sydney Tar Ponds in my home province of Nova Scotia. As you know, we're now considering whether the environmental review of the proposed clean up will be by a comprehensive study or a full panel review. I recently received a lengthy petition from the Sierra Club on the tar ponds, and your views will be taken into account as we move ahead.

You know, right now Canada is known for institution building in the developing world. Well, I'd like to add environmental expertise to our international tool box as well to help remediate contaminated sites around the world.

Still when it comes to the environment -to paraphrase Robert Frost — we have miles to go before we sleep, but we also have promises to keep…. to try to make the international operations of the Government of Canada among the "greenest" in the world.

And I want my department to be at the centre of that work. My officials are trying to buy smarter and find cost savings in our office building portfolio. It's all about showing respect for hard earned taxpayers dollars.

But we also want to show respect for the environment.

In closing, let me thank you again for the opportunity to be here today.

Organizations such as the Sierra Club of Canada play a vital role in lobbying government and stimulating grassroots action on climate change.

And I look forward to working with you as we move forward toward a cleaner greener Canada.

Thank you.