News Release

Green Municipal Funds Invests $275,000 in Halifax Regional Municipality's Healthy Sustainable Community Study & Climate-SMART

March 30, 2004, Halifax, NS - Mayor Peter Kelly of the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), the Honourable Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Member of Parliament for Halifax West and Lloyd Hines, a member of the National Board of Directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and Warden of the District of Guysborough, announced today two Green Municipal Enabling Fund (GMF) projects. Together they will help HRM achieve its commitment to the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program.

The Healthy Sustainable Community project ($75,000) will update HRM's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory (PCP Milestone 1), establish reduction targets (PCP Milestone 2) and develop preliminary strategies for a local action plan and implementation plan (PCP Milestones 3 and 4). HRM is providing matching funds of $75,000, bringing the total for this project to $150,000.

In the $200,000 GMF Climate-SMART (Sustainable Mitigation and Adaptation Risk Toolkit) project, Halifax Regional Municipality will launch the first prototype of the leading edge Climate-SMART collaborative partnership, involving both public and private sectors. Based on ClimAdapt tools, its development will help municipalities integrate GHG emission reduction and climate change mitigation impact/adaptation practices into the decision making process of policy makers, practitioners and vulnerable communities. Lessons learned can be replicated in other Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada communities, as well as, in municipalities across Canada.

"A key to Halifax Regional Municipality's sustainable community planning is to work in cooperation with all levels of government and the private sector," said Mayor Peter Kelly. "Today we would like to acknowledge also our other Climate-SMART stakeholders; in particular, Natural Resources Canada's Climate Change Action Fund/Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations ($150,000), Environment Canada ($50,000), the Nova Scotia Department of Energy's Climate Change Division ($50,000) and the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour ($25,000). Total funding for this second project, including the GMF Climate-SMART contribution of $200,000, is $475,000."

The Government of Canada has endowed $250 million to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to establish and manage the Green Municipal Funds. The Funds support partnerships and leveraging of both public and private sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.

"I am pleased that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is supporting these projects through the Green Municipal Funds," said Minister Geoff Regan. "Together, these studies will set an important precedent and lay out a roadmap with lessons learned for other municipalities to draw upon in the future. I am looking forward to seeing many more projects, such as these, in the Atlantic region."

"These projects will enhance the economic, environmental and social well-being of Halifax Regional Municipality," said Lloyd Hines, Warden of the District of Guysborough, representing FCM's National Board of Directors. "To date, 297 GMF projects have been approved for funding of over $124 million, leveraging more than $769 million in total spending to act on cleaner air, water, soil and climate change."

FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901. It is dedicated to improving the quality of life in communities by promoting strong, effective and accountable municipal government.

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John O'Brien
Corporate Communications Officer
Halifax Regional Municipality
Tel: (902) 490-6531
Fax: (902) 490-4044
Email: obrienj@region.halifax.ns.ca

Stephen King
Manager -Senior Advisor
Strategic and Sustainable Resource Management
Environmental Management Services
Halifax Regional Municipality
Tel: (902) 490-6188
Tel: (902) 490-5862
Email: kings@region.halifax.ns.ca

More information about the Green Municipal Funds, including details of the approved projects and studies, is available on FCM's Knowledge Network, http://kn.fcm.ca