Minister's Speech

Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

Earth Matters- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
2075 Bayview Avenue
Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 9:10 a.m.

(Check against delivery)

Word Count:  780 ~ approx. five minutes

Thank you, Kathleen, for that warm welcome and introduction.

(Minister is introduced by Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Education)

I am glad to be here today at the very first Earth Matters Showcase at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

I bring greetings from our Premier.

I also want to thank Sunnybrook, and your President and CEO Barry McLellan, for having me here today and for the work your organization is doing.

Earth Matters.

This is a message we have taken to heart.  And for our government, it is one we are living — both in our internal and external efforts.

Climate change is a reality.

And, in response to the reality of climate change, we have introduced an aggressive Five-Point Action Plan called Go Green.

1. Green Targets: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• We have set tough Green Targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Our goal is to reduce emissions below 1990 levels — six per cent by 2014, 15 per cent by 2020 — and we are working aggressively to meet these targets.
• We are also working to adapt to the effects of climate change to ensure our communities and our people’s health are protected. 

2. Move Ontario 2020

• Our MoveOntario 2020 Strategy will be removing 300 million car trips off our roads with our improved rapid transit systems. 
• This means cleaner air for everyone.

3. Creating Jobs by Going Green

• We’ve created the Next Generation of Jobs Fund.  This $1.15 billion programwill secure the next generation of high-paying jobs for Ontarians through the use and sale of clean and green technologies and businesses right here in Ontario.

4. Green Power

• Our government is investing in green power to ensure we have an adequate supply for the future.
• We are also leading by example through our Greening Government initiative.  
• We are striving to be a leader in energy efficiency and environmental practices. 
• The Ministry of the Environment at 135 St. Clair West, our head office, is using Bullfrog Power from renewable energy sources and across government we have reduced our energy consumption by more than 10 per cent since taking office.

5. Grow Green

• Our Places to Grow Act is helping us plan for growth in a coordinated and strategic way across the province.
• Through our Greenbelt Act we are protecting 1.8 million acres of sensitive land from development — working to protect our air, land, and water.
• We are also planting 50 million trees in southern Ontario by 2020 and 100,000 trees over the next two years in urban spaces province wide.

All of our efforts through our Five - Point Action Plan are being tracked by our Climate Change Secretariat — coordinating our climate change efforts government-wide.

It’s encouraging and inspiring to hear that the earth matters to many Ontario business leaders as well, and that Sunnybrook Health Sciences is emerging as an environmental leader.

Your organization was the 2008 recipient of the City of Toronto’s Green Award for water conservation, the first time a hospital has won in this category. 

Your water conservation projects, which began in 2007, have been able to reduce water consumption by more than 176,000 litres per day, enough water to provide service to 250 homes.

This speaks to your innovation as an organization and your commitment to the planet.

However, it is your announcement today, with Honeywell, which truly sets you above the rest.

Your new Energy and Facility Renewal Program is the largest of its kind for any Canadian healthcare institution and it will deal with the issue of utility costs and demand for energy.

Not only are you demonstrating environmental leadership — your program will enable you to also save money — an estimated annual savings of $2.7 million. 

This initiative proves that environment and economy can go hand-in-hand in creating a better future for all of us in our new sustainable green economy.

It is my hope that you continue to develop innovative ways to help the environment and that you act as a role model for other healthcare institutions in the GTA and beyond.

We need your leadership.

As a government, we know that it will take leadership from all sectors of our economy to address the challenge of climate change and that it takes participation from all the individuals in an organization to get results.

I want to congratulate Sunnybrook on an eco -job well done and I want to thank each one of your more than 11,000 staff, physicians, volunteers and students who have been so important to this project.

Your announcement today demonstrates your ongoing commitment to the health of Ontarians and the health of our planet.

Thank you.

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