Whereas studies suggest that energy poverty affects up to 1 in 5 Canadian residents which is a risk to health, and energy retrofits would help with both health and affordability, as well as meeting BCs climate goals; And whereas there is not enough of a workforce to connect to and meet the needs of BC residents, especially those most vulnerable, and opportunities are needed to train and scale up works to meet there: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Province of BC expand the Youth Climate Corps program, scale-up retrofits to address energy poverty, while meeting the need to train and expand the required workforce and supplying well-paying jobs for youth.
Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions The Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions supports initiatives that expand youth employment and workforce development in the clean energy sector. As part of Budget 2024, the Province provided 3 million of funding over three years to support Youth Climate Corps BC YCCBC with expansion of its programming across BC, including scaling-up trades programs that support retrofits. The federal government has also announced 40 million over two years to launch a national youth climate corps. The support of YCCBC complements other provincial initiatives to address energy poverty, such as the CleanBC Better Homes Energy Savings Program, which provides high-value incentives for lower- and moderate-income households to make energy-saving home upgrades more affordable. The program is available provincewide, supporting healthy, comfortable and energy efficient homes.