Ontario Green Party pitches retrofit money to create jobs

During a Sudbury campaign stop Wednesday morning, Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner announced his plan to help people save money on utilities, create jobs and address climate change.

As part of its election platform, the Ontario Green Party said it would put $16 billion toward its Green Retrofit Program, in a news release, with $2 billion earmarked for non-profit and co-op housing.

The party's fully-costed platform is expected to be released Thursday morning.

The Green's proposed retrofit program would give homeowners grants of up to $20,000 to make their houses more energy-efficient.

The province currently has the Energy Affordability Program that helps with energy-saving upgrades for residents with incomes under a certain threshold based on the number of people in the home.

Schreiner's said his expanded retrofit plan would create 52,000 jobs each year.

"We have real solutions to make life more affordable and crush climate pollution at the same time," he said.

"The green transition has to be accessible and affordable for everyone. And that means targeted efforts to support low and middle-income households."

Schreiner was joined at the Sudbury campaign rally by local candidate David Robinson.

At the first provincial election debate held in North Bay on Tuesday, Schreiner was the only party leader to highlight the need for climate change plans.