Item - 2018.PE27.4

The Parks and Environment Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council authorize the extension of the Home Energy Loan Program and the High-rise Retrofit Improvement Support Program to December 31, 2019 and direct the Director, Environment and Energy, and the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, to report back to the Parks and Environment Committee in the second quarter of 2019, as part of the TransformTO Status Report, with an evaluation of outcomes and options, including a business case for an enhanced permanent Program.

2.  City Council authorize the Director, Environment and Energy, and the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, to allocate a portion of the unused funding attributed to the Home Energy Loan Program (included in the Environment and Energy's Facilities, Real Estate and Environment and Energy Capital Program) with funding from the Local Improvement Charge Energy Works Reserve Fund (XR1724) to the High-rise Retrofit Improvement Support Program as part of the extension of the Programs, and include the staffing and funding resources needed for the extension in the 2019 Operating Budget Submission for Social Development, Finance and Administration.

3.  City Council request the Government of Canada to address the legal and policy barriers that appear to contribute to lower participation in Local Improvement Charge programs, particularly for property owners with default-insured mortgages.

4.  City Council request the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario to initiate, as part of their climate change strategies, incentives for owners of buildings and homes to undertake energy efficiency audits and retrofits that can work in conjunction with existing municipal and utility incentive programs.

5.  City Council express its support for the Province of Ontario's home energy labelling plan as part of the Climate Change Action Plan.

Since its launch in 2014, the Residential Energy Retrofit Program has provided financing to support property owners in undertaking energy efficiency and water conservation improvements. The Program operates as two streams: the Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) for eligible homes and the High-rise Retrofit Improvement Support Program (Hi-RIS) for multi-unit residential buildings.

This report provides an update on the status of HELP and Hi-RIS, including the impacts of refinements adopted by City Council in 2017 to enhance the Programs and drive greater Program uptake. It also seeks City Council authorization to extend HELP and Hi-RIS until December 2019 to further explore program enhancements aligned with the implementation of TransformTO.

The opportunities presented by growth in Program uptake to date, and the size of the residential housing market (single family and multi-unit residential buildings) provide a solid foundation on which to scale these initiatives to meet the socio-economic and environmental objectives of TransformTO and other key City of Toronto policies and priorities, such as poverty reduction, housing affordability, and quality of existing building stock.