🏗️ Green strategy

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Good morning! At 135 years old, the Eiffel Tower in Paris is starting to show its age and rust is taking its toll. After the pandemic delayed maintenance, experts are hoping a $64-million paint job for the Olympics won’t make the tower’s deterioration any worse.

⏰ Today’s read: 4 minutes

MARKETS

*Stock data as of last market close; currency, oil and crypto data as of 8:30 PM ET August 5th, 2024.

Economy: Ontario developers are seeking government assistance through tax breaks to lower prices for buyers and revive sales. A coalition group is urging officials to reduce various fees impacting new construction. Their requests include a cut in development fees, which have increased by 1,200% over 15 years, the elimination of HST charges on new condo projects (already waived for rental projects), and the removal of Ontario's high land transfer tax. Additionally, Toronto homeowners face an extra municipal land transfer tax, further burdening buyers. Developers promise to pass the savings from these tax breaks onto consumers.

THE BIG STORY

New strategy: Canada charts path for green future

Canada has finally released its Green Buildings Strategy which aims to improve energy efficiency in Canada's homes and buildings, focusing on affordability, addressing the housing crisis, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Why: Buildings are Canada’s third-largest emitter of GHG emissions. Nearly all building emissions—over 96%—come from space and water heating.

What you should know: Main components of the plan include the $800 million Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program (CGHAP) to help low-to-median-income Canadians upgrade their homes. It also continues existing programs like the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program and the Canada Greener Homes Loan.

Key goals: The aim is to accelerate retrofits of existing buildings, ensure new buildings are energy-efficient, climate-resilient, and affordable, and seize economic opportunities in efficient and low-carbon building materials and technologies.

Worth the wait: Rodrigue Gilbert, president the Canadian Construction Association, called the release of strategy is great news for the construction industry, and a long-awaited next step in building sustainably. He added that after over two years of development, following the end of consultations in September 2022, the industry was growing concerned about the future of the initiative.

EVENTS

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NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

🤝 Flatiron and Dragados are merging to form one of North America's largest civil engineering firms, with the merger finalizing in late 2024. The new company, Flatiron Dragados, will be owned 61.8% by ACS Group and 38.2% by HOCHTIEF, managed by Peter Davoren as chairman and Javier Sevilla as CEO. The firm has a USD $17.2 billion order backlog and USD 6.1 billion revenue in 2023, operating in 24 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces.

🚃 Calgary has approved a revised scope, funding, and delivery model for Phase 1 of the Green Line LRT project to address cost inflation. This phase, the largest infrastructure investment in Calgary's history, will initially connect Lynnwood/Millican to Eau Claire downtown, with a total cost of $6.25 billion. The project includes significant land acquisition and utility upgrades. 

⚡ Canada and Germany have committed $600 million to launch Atlantic Canada's hydrogen export industry, with each government contributing $300 million. This investment aims to support hydrogen exports to Germany, create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide energy security for Germany amidst the global energy disruption caused by the war in Ukraine. Projects in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland will convert wind energy into clean hydrogen.

⚡ TC Energy Corp. has agreed to sell a minority stake in its Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. and Foothills natural gas pipeline systems for $1 billion to a consortium of 72 Indigenous communities. The deal represents Canada’s largest equity interest purchase agreement with an Indigenous-owned investment partnership.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Getting tubular

Work is progressing on a new crossing to replace the George Massey Tunnel in B.C. A team that includes Pomerleau, Bouygues Construction and Arcadis, has been short-listed to build an eight-lane immersed tube tunnel with three general-purpose travel lanes and a dedicated transit lane in each direction. The new tunnel will also feature a separate multi-use path to support pedestrians, cyclists and other active transportation options.

PROJECT UPDATES

Senakw's first rental housing towers begin to take shape

Highway 1 widening in B.C. supports transit options 

Richmond Hospital redevelopment project advances

Imperial Oil remains confident in renewable diesel project

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

LIST: ☀️ July SiteVews is full of blue skies 

READ: 📖 Diamond Schmitt announces ‘Fragments’ book

PHOTOS: 🪖 Are you old enough to remember the Diefenbunker?

READ: 🚿 Toronto has the world’s largest raw wastewater energy transfer project

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

Disclaimer: SiteNews is an independently-operated news website. Views expressed are that of the editorial team and are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted through sponsored content.