The provincial government says it will allocate as much as $657 million for social housing repairs and retrofits over the next five years, contingent on carbon market proceeds.
Housing Minister Peter Milczyn made the late August announcement in Toronto, which will receive about half of the total investment as part of Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan.
Proceeds from Ontario’s carbon market must by law be invested into programs that help households and businesses reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money on energy costs. Programs include home energy retrofits, public transit, social housing retrofits, and electric vehicle incentives and infrastructure.
The government says allocations for the housing retrofits in the City of Toronto includes contributions of $43 million in 2016-17, almost $120 million in 2017-18, and as much as $180 million between 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Repairs and retrofits delivered through the first year of the five-year investment are already underway in Toronto Community Housing buildings, as part of its capital repair budget.