Canada and the City of London invest in green upgrades to Kinsmen Recreation Centre

LONDON, ON, July 28, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, Peter Fragiskatos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament for London North Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, and Josh Morgan, Deputy Mayor of the City of London, announced over $2.1 million in federal funding for green infrastructure improvements to the Kinsmen Recreation Centre in London.

"Making our buildings greener is an essential step towards building stronger communities and protecting our environment. This investment from our government will allow the Kinsmen Recreation Centre to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and save money on heating costs, ensuring that this cherished facility can continue to serve Londoners for years to come,"  said Peter Fragiskatos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament for London North Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities.

"Kinsmen Recreation Centre is an important focal point of recreation activities for residents of the community, offering a diverse array of programs for all age groups. Not only will visitors and user groups benefit from new improvements to this building, but the project will allow the City to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, improve London's resilience to the impacts of climate change and accelerate our path towards net-zero emissions," said Josh Morgan, Deputy Mayor of the City of London.

For nearly 70 years, the Kinsmen Recreation Centre has been a central community place where Londoners can meet, learn, skate, and have fun. Federal funding will support deep retrofits to the facility to help make it more energy efficient. Improvements will include the expansion and renewal of the existing building automation system, construction of a new central heat pump plant for reusing residual heat, electric charging infrastructure to support electric mobility devices and an electric ice resurfacer, and LED lighting fixtures. Once complete, the retrofits will reduce the facility's energy consumption by an estimated 46.5% and greenhouse gas emissions by 168 tonnes annually. These upgrades will also make the renewed recreation centre more resilient to extreme heat and weather.

• The Government of Canada is investing over $2.1 million through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program.
• The City of London is contributing over $500,000 to the Kinsmen Recreation Centre project.
• The Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program is an integral part of Canada's Strengthened Climate Plan, providing $1.5 billion over five years towards green and accessible retrofits, repairs or upgrades of existing public community buildings and the construction of new publicly-accessible community buildings that serve high-needs, underserved communities across Canada.
• The project announced today is funded through GICB's continuous intake for small and medium retrofit projects ranging in total eligible cost from $100,000 to $3 million. At least 10 percent of funding is allocated to projects serving First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, including Indigenous populations in urban centres.
• Provincial/territorial governments, municipal or regional governments, public sector bodies, not-for-profit, and Indigenous organizations interested in the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program are invited to apply on the Infrastructure Canada website.
• Applicants with large retrofit projects to existing community buildings or new community building projects with total eligible costs ranging from $3 million to $25 million were accepted through a competitive intake process which closed on July 6, 2021. A second intake is anticipated later in 2022, however, the date has not yet been determined. Details about the second intake will be published to the Infrastructure Canada ? Green and Inclusive Community Buildings' website as soon as they become available.
• Applicants with small and medium retrofit projects to existing community buildings ranging in total eligible cost from $100,000 to $2,999,999 will be accepted and funded on a rolling intake basis.
• Announced in December 2020, Canada's Strengthened Climate Plan includes 64 new measures and $15 billion in investments towards a healthy environment and economy.

Green and Inclusive Community Buildings:
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gicb-bcvi/index-eng.html

Investing in Canada Plan Project Map: 
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gmap-gcarte/index-eng.html 

Strengthened Climate Plan:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/climate-plan-overview.html

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SOURCE Infrastructure Canada