Ontario Liberals to invest $900M on social housing retrofits

TORONTO – Ontario’s Liberal government plans to pour nearly $1 billion from its expected cap-and-trade revenues into retrofitting social housing apartments.

The environment and housing ministers announced Wednesday that up to $900 million over four years will go to the retrofits as well as grants and rebates for residential multi-tenant buildings.

They say the investments are part of a climate change action plan that will be released in the next few weeks.

The Liberals have been pressed for details after a published report said they planned to phase out the use of natural gas for home heating as part of the plan, but Premier Kathleen Wynne won’t guarantee it will be released before the Ontario legislature rises for the summer on June 9.

The $500 million in retrofits will include energy-efficient windows and thermal insulation on piping and other mechanical systems.

The government says up to $400 million in rebates and grants will go toward the purchase and installation of energy-efficient technologies such as boiler replacements and lighting retrofits.