Speeches for The Honourable Michael M Fortier

Minister Responsible for the Region of Montreal

Official Opening of the Normand Maurice Building
June 9, 2006
Montreal, Québec

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Thank you, Mr. Couture!
Madam Jacqueline Monpetit,
Madam Madeleine Senécal,
Madam Christiane Maurice and Mister Michel Maurice,
Distinguished guests,
Dear friends.

Some people make their mark on history through their ideas and their vision; others help write it through their actions. But few manage to do both.

And yet, we are gathered here today, in this building, to pay posthumous tribute to a man who belongs to that select group.

Normand Maurice is a name full of meaning for all those who are passionate about recycling in Quebec. And it is the name that will be inscribed on this building, at 740 Bel-Air Street in Montreal.

As Minister of Public Works and Government Services, I am very honoured to announce that this most environmentally friendly and energy efficient of structures will henceforth bear the name of this great builder.

This is a tribute that Mr. Maurice richly deserves.

Throughout his life, Mr. Maurice was a pioneer who dreamed big dreams and aimed high, pursuing noble ideals in order to make Quebec a society that would be greener, cleaner and more humane.

A man of courage, passion and action, he brought to life, in Victoriaville, one of his many ideas: the creation of a “recycling university”. His recycling training centre was to become the first in a series of seventeen.

Since the 1990s, these centres have recycled not only tons and tons of waste, but also, as Mr. Maurice himself used to say with the greatest respect, young people regarded as “the trash of the education system”.

Normand Maurice has bequeathed us a whole social and environmental heritage, which it is our duty to perpetuate.

That is what we are doing today in giving his name to 740 Bel-Air.

Not so long ago, the inhabitants of Montreal’s Saint Henri neighbourhood could gaze here upon a pile of stones, concrete and construction materials.

Today, what we see is a symbol of environmental ingenuity, excellence and know-how.

From the beginning to the end of the work, the best environmentally-friendly techniques were used.

As a result, 100% of the steel, 82% of the wood and 92% of the bricks from the old building have been salvaged, and sometimes even reused in the construction of the new building.

The Normand Maurice Building has geothermal and solar heating and air conditioning systems, high performance windows and a rainwater collection system for washrooms and landscape maintenance that enable it to meet the highest standards of energy efficiency and water management.

The new building will thus use 25% less water and 50% less energy than a conventional building of the same size, resulting in annual energy savings of 200,000 dollars.

We will also reduce our CO 2 emissions by about 800 tonnes per year.

And that’s not all. The operating costs of the building will be 35% lower, which will save us five million dollars over 25 years.

These impressive figures show that this innovative project will become a new benchmark for quality of working life and urban development.

I know that the City of Montreal, and particularly Mayor Gérald Tremblay, is passionate about the revitalization of the city’s neighbourhoods.

And today, I want to congratulate him on his efforts.

Whenever a project of this kind is completed, it increases the vitality of this city we love so much and it shows the way to a greener future for this country.

To help build this greener future, a year ago Public Works and Government Services created the Office of Greening Government Operations, with a mandate to accelerate the greening of government operations by working closely with other federal government departments.

This office will be called upon to play a growing role, because in addition to remediation of contaminated sites, regulatory compliance and reduction of energy consumption, its mandate includes two elements in which I am a firm believer: the greening of government buildings and green procurement policy.

Public Works and Government Services Canada has set itself a goal of leading the way in constructing environmentally friendly and energy efficient buildings, and in observing the principles of sustainable development. And I can assure you that it will continue to be in the forefront.

The watchwords that characterize the actions of this new government are the four Rs that served as the foundation for the endeavours of Normand Maurice: reduce, recover, reuse and recycle.

Henceforth, all new office buildings of the Government of Canada will be constructed according to the LEED gold standard; in other words, they will be 50% more energy efficient than conventional buildings.

Last Tuesday, I dedicated the green roof of one of our buildings in downtown Ottawa, and in Charlottetown, we are currently putting up a building similar to this one. When that building is completed in 2007, it will be the most environmentally friendly building ever constructed by Public Works and Government Services Canada.

By 2010, we are going to modernize another 20% of our commercial buildings, to make them more energy efficient.

Given the fact that the energy consumption of residential and commercial buildings accounts for 28% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, I believe that this will make an enormous difference.

When government preaches by example, it stimulates the market so that green technologies and products become more available, more affordable and more innovative. In short, we enable others to make their buildings and operations more environmentally friendly.

And this is not the only sector in which our actions are having a significant environmental impact.

Since our election, a new Policy on Green Procurement has come into force, making the Government of Canada the leader in incorporating environmental considerations into the procurement process.

This may not seem very exciting to you, but remember that every year, the Government of Canada buys no less than 20 billion dollars’ worth of goods and services, mostly through Public Works and Government Services. This purchasing power definitely has a great impact on all businesses that want to become our suppliers, and encourages the use of more environmentally friendly products in all government operations.

Under this new policy, all departments will have to incorporate environmental performance factors into the purchasing decisions they make. They will also have to report on their green purchasing plan every year.

This new policy is reflected in concrete measures whose concrete results help

• to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases and airborne contaminants,
• to reduce the consumption of energy and water,
• to reduce the amount of waste,
• to promote reuse and recycling, and
• to reduce the use of toxic and hazardous chemicals and other substances.

This is typical of the attitude of the new government of Canada. Innovative, targeted and above all concrete measures will enable us to relieve traffic congestion and limit our emissions of pollutants.

Encouraging the use of public transportation is a concrete, effective way to reduce congestion and improve air quality. That is why we are investing 1.3 billion dollars in Canadian public transportation infrastructures.

That is also why, in the most recent budget, we put forward a tax credit that will enable passengers to deduct the cost of their monthly subway or commuter train pass. This represents an investment of over a billion dollars in public transportation over the next five years.

I am thinking, among other things, of our decision to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline to 5% or to prohibit the sale and distribution, after September 1, of diesel fuel that does not have low sulphur content.

In four months, the new Conservative government has done more in practical terms to combat climate change than the Liberals did in thirteen years!

That is what I call making real changes.

I answered Stephen Harper’s call precisely because I share his desire to really change things, for the better.

I wanted to offer my five children a better society in which to live, and for me, a better society is unquestionably a greener society.

Today, I am therefore very proud to dedicate the Normand Maurice Building, which shows our unswerving commitment to environmental protection and is a fine tribute to the father of recycling in Quebec.

Thank you.