Manitoba Municipal Action Plan
Type of initiative
FCM Green Municipal Fund - Plans, Studies, Pilots
Sector
Energy
Project value$429,400
Project Type
Plan
Sub Sector
Energy Management – PCP Plan
Grant amount$112,000
Program type
GMF
Municipality
City of Thompson, MB
Status
Fully Disbursed
Population
13,035
Project timeline
2009 - 2011
Project number
10340
Description
Twelve municipal entities—the cities of Thompson, Brandon, and Winkler; the towns of Morden and Virden; the villages of St. Pierre-Jolys and Notre Dame de Lourdes; and the rural municipalities of Taché, De Salaberry, St. Laurent, Stanley, and Thompson —are partnering through the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM), with the City of Thompson as lead, to complete the five-milestone Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) process.
Manitoba municipalities—often a combination of small, rural, and remote—have limited human and financial resources to independently develop climate change action plans. Supported by Manitoba’s Community-Led Emissions Reduction (CLER) program, the AMM’s omnibus application will help the cooperating municipalities further their PCP work. Each municipality has already completed milestones 1 and 2, having prepared a 2003 baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory and committed to achieve reductions of 20% below 2003 levels by 2012.
The shared services of two consultants hired to provide expert advice, training, options, and support will lower costs to the participating municipalities. Through regular meetings, local advisory committees will ensure that PCP plans focus on environmental sustainability and link into relevant existing municipal plans. Projects and activities will range from large capital projects to bylaw changes and promotion of environmentally positive behaviour. Examples of projects or activities that might be explored include: development of renewable energy options such as geothermal; active transportation pathway expansions and carpooling options in rural areas; composting workshops and waste diversion strategies to reduce methane emitted from organic waste sent to landfills; rebates on low-flush toilets and other water-saving devices to reduce power used by municipal water and wastewater infrastructure; and brownfield rehabilitation to enable the use of land within existing boundaries and reduce sprawl.
Lessons learned will help the AMM and the province to assist other municipalities to integrate sustainability into their long-term planning. In addition, the unique collaborative approach will provide a model for small municipalities across Canada that lack the resources to independently develop focused, comprehensive action plans.
(Project description from original funding application)
Applicant
Association of Manitoba Municipalities, MB