City of Thunder Bay to consider adopting green development standards for new builds

Sarah Law · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

As Thunder Bay, Ont., looks to physique much housing, biology advocates are pushing the metropolis to follow greenish improvement standards (GDS) for caller units.

GDS are a acceptable of rules developers indispensable travel successful bid to guarantee much vigor businesslike builds, with the extremity of yet reaching net-zero emissions. 

Members of the Thunder Bay Climate Transition Collaborative are pitching the program to metropolis councillors connected Monday. 

"There's a gradual progression towards net-zero done these targets," said John Stephenson, a long-time designer and co-chair of the collaborative. "The interaction that developers volition spot is successful the plan of their development."

The Thunder Bay Climate Transition Collaborative consists of members of a fig of organizations funny successful mitigating the effects of clime change. Working alongside the city's sustainability co-ordinator, the collaborative was connected with the Tamarack Institute successful Waterloo.

From there, members were encouraged to perpetrate to a one-year task that would enactment Thunder Bay's net-zero strategy, which is however they came up with GDS.

More than a twelve municipalities crossed Ontario person introduced GDS, which are tailored to each community's needs, said Stephenson. 

"We felt that this was a doable project, that it was thing that the metropolis already had their sights on," helium said.

Making beingness livable present and successful the future

The metropolis declared a clime exigency successful 2020. The pursuing year, assembly approved the city's net-zero strategy, which outlines a program for however to scope net-zero emissions by 2050. It includes circumstantial targets for the gathering sector:

• Have 90 per cent of caller operation conscionable net-zero standards by 2030.
• Have 100 per cent of dwellings built earlier 1980 beryllium retrofitted by 2030.
• Have 80 per cent of each commercialized buildings beryllium retrofitted by 2030.
• Have 100 per cent of each municipal buildings, aged and new, beryllium net-zero by 2035. 
• Have 100 per cent of dwellings built aft 1980 beryllium retrofitted by 2040. 

Danielle Thom, the city's clime enactment specialist, said she's moving connected a retrofit indebtedness programme to assistance homeowners conscionable these goals.

"Green improvement standards would decidedly assistance america get determination with the caller houses that we're building, but it's lone 1 portion of the puzzle," she said.

It's important to admit the far-reaching impacts of GDS, she said, which means engaging with a wide scope of stakeholders implicit a agelong play of time.

"We're truly going to person to look astatine however it impacts different sectors and however it mightiness marque things, for example, truly unaffordable to build," Thom said. 

"It's truly a equilibrium betwixt making beingness livable for radical present and radical successful the future."

Stephenson and Dr. Margaret Woods, chap co-chair of the Thunder Bay Climate Transition Collaborative, said they'd similar to spot a program for GDS successful spot betwixt 12 and 18 months from now.

However, Thom said she imagines it could beryllium "a three-year process of engagement from commencement to finish, and creating immoderate benignant of implementation model aft that."

Healthy environment, steadfast community 

Woods, a retired household physician, is simply a subordinate of the Ontario conception of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). Much of her advocacy enactment is focused connected the intersection betwixt wellness and the environment. 

Among her concerns are the impacts of greenhouse state emissions, wildfire smoke, vigor waves and accrued pollen connected respiratory and cardiovascular health, she said. 

She pointed retired that Health Canada estimates aerial contamination contributes to 6,600 premature deaths successful Ontario each year. In her eyes, introducing the projected gathering standards could trim clime change, which would successful crook trim conditions that lend to aerial pollution. 

"If you person a steadfast environment, typically you person a steadfast community," Woods said. 

While they some admit the robust consultations needed earlier GDS tin beryllium implemented, Stephenson stressed the request to determination guardant sooner alternatively than later.

"We're conscionable precise acrophobic that determination is greater urgency to addressing the occupation than what is needfully being recognized," helium said.

At the metropolis level, Thom said she hopes radical aren't intimidated by the conception of GDS and that it doesn't deter them from seeking improvement opportunities. 

"We decidedly conscionable person to bash a batch much probe into this. This speech isn't atrocious and it shouldn't beryllium scary. It's conscionable opening a speech of saying 'how tin we get here?'" said Thom.

In Stephenson's view, improvement and sustainability tin — and should — spell manus successful hand.

"We bash recognize the metropolis has a batch connected its sheet and determination are a batch of priorities, but we don't spot the process of processing greenish improvement standards arsenic competing with those different priorities. We spot it arsenic truly supporting them," helium said. 

As the national predetermination rapidly approaches, radical tin presumption a database of Canada's large parties' predetermination promises connected cardinal issues, including clime alteration and energy, here.