Treasury Board president Stockwell Day is providing government grant money to businesses in B.C. this week with the aim of helping companies reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Day is in Prince George this morning to announce $15.6 million in funding to help Canfor’s pulp and paper mill there improve its environmental performance.
Day was at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby Tuesday announcing $3 million to help Power Measurement Ltd. demonstrate its smart grid electricity system.
Why these grants to private businesses?
It all stems from the Stephen Harper government’s so-called “ecoAction plan,” which commits the government to reducing the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020 – a target aligned with U.S. pledges.
Day told Business in Vancouver: “We slapped the requirement on industry so we have to take some of the responsibility."
The investment in Power Measurement will generate an immediate stimulus effect by creating jobs, he said. If the company’s technology works, the number of jobs will grow.
Power Measurement’s smart grid system helps manage energy requirements in buildings. Each 15 minutes, the technology assesses activity in various rooms or hallways. The result could be an adjusted temperature or the shutdown of an unnecessary elevator.
The Canfor investment comes partly because of community angst about odours emanating from the mill.
Day said: “The bottom line is emission reductions at [the Canfor] plant, which frankly for years has been somewhat of a challenge to the community in terms of the odour and the emissions, have to be dealt with.”