Question Period Note: Clean Power in Northern and Indigenous Communities

Our government is committed to improving access to clean, reliable and affordable energy in northern communities by reducing reliance on diesel and moving toward renewable resources such as hydro, wind and solar energy.

Through existing and successful Budget investments into the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change and the REACHE program, our government is funding renewable energy, energy efficient, and capacity building projects in northern communities.

We will continue to work with our territorial and Indigenous partners to ensure a sustainable future for all Northerners.

Opportunities and constraints for renewable energy development

Besides the high risks and costs associated with supplying fuel to these communities, burning diesel fuel presents a number of environmental, social and economic challenges, including, but not limited to, emissions of greenhouse gases, possibilities of fuel leaks and spills from storage facilities, and energy security issues (i.e., reliance on uncertain availability of seasonal roads, barges, etc). These challenges drive the need for programming targeted at reducing energy consumption and developing clean energy projects within these communities.

Deployment, demonstration, and integration of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies present opportunities to improve the energy mix in remote communities. Energy efficiency and conservation measures reduce overall energy demand and can provide significant savings to communities ahead of adding new generation capacity. While renewable energy sources, some of which are intermittent, cannot completely replace diesel consumption, they can displace it in part to reduce the negative impacts of diesel generation while also creating opportunities for local skills development, job creation, and economic development.

Federal coordination to reduce diesel reliance in northern and remote communities

Under the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, Budget 2016 provided $10.7 million over two years starting in 2016-17 to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to implement the Northern Responsible Energy Approach for Community Heat and Electricity Program (Northern REACHE program). Program funding was renewed in Budget 2017 for $53.5 million over ten years starting in 2018-19, and $5.4 million per year ongoing starting in 2028-29.
CIRNA's REACHE program provides funding for planning and construction of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, and related capacity building and planning in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut. The objective of program is to reduce diesel fuel use for electricity and heating and to build capacity within northern communities, governments, and organizations to support development and long-term operation and maintenance of clean energy projects.

CIRNA also works in close collaboration with federal partners to ensure coordination of other investments that aim to support energy security and reduce reliance on diesel in the North, such as:

o Infrastructure Canada: $400 million over 10 years in an Arctic Energy Fund to support energy security in communities in the North, including Indigenous communities, by investing in upgrades to existing fossil fuel-based energy systems, as well as supplementing or replacing these systems with renewable energy options-improving energy reliability and efficiency as well as reducing pollution. Funding will be delivered through integrated bilateral agreements with territorial governments. This Fund will be distributed among the three territories-$175 million each to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, with $50 million allocated to Yukon.

o Natural Resources Canada: $220 million over 6 years to reduce the reliance of rural and remote communities on diesel fuel, and support the use of more sustainable, renewable power solutions.

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