Access to the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund

Summary

Housing Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) launched the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF) to support the creation of new homes and increase densification by investing in new and upgraded drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure. This investment is part of the Government of Canada's commitment to address the impacts of the housing crisis on communities of all sizes across Canada.

Drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste infrastructure are essential services to which all Canadian communities should have reliable access. HICC advances policies, programs and investments to help build sustainable, inclusive and climate resilient communities while addressing challenges Canadians face every day, including access to safe and clean water.

Key findings from the strategic environmental analysis

CHIF will result in a net increase to Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the construction and operation of drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure projects, and indirectly, by enabling the construction and maintenance of new homes.

CHIF was designed to partially mitigate negative impacts by requiring a subset of larger projects with emissions reduction potential to implement measures to reduce operational GHG emissions. In addition, a subset of projects that meet certain thresholds will also be required to reduce and report on the carbon footprint of ready-mixed concrete used in construction.

CHIF is expected to result in net negative impacts on biodiversity and the environment associated with the construction of new infrastructure assets, including changes to land use, reductions in availability of flora and fauna habitat, increased habitat fragmentation, and GHG emissions increases associated with the lifecycles of new assets.

The implementation of natural infrastructure within CHIF projects may help to mitigate negative impacts or enhance positive impacts, such as the potential increase of climate resilience of assets. Directly funding and incentivizing natural infrastructure through CHIF is also expected to help deliver benefits including climate resilience, while ensuring that ecosystem services are protected or enhanced (e.g., water filtration, temperature regulation, flood mitigation, etc.).

CHIF will strengthen the climate resilience of infrastructure assets by requiring projects to identify climate risks, integrate best available climate data, and attest to the implementation of climate hazard risk mitigation strategies. Resilience measures would protect communities while preventing infrastructure failures due to hazards associated with climate change.

Investments will contribute positively to an improved quality of life and safety for Canadian communities by increasing community resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Key findings from the cross-cutting considerations 

Implications for Indigenous Peoples

Investments in water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste systems in rural, northern, and Indigenous communities are critical to address challenges in the face of a changing climate and can contribute to the advancement of Indigenous climate leadership. These types of developments can have both positive and negative impacts to the environment, lands and traditional territories of Indigenous people and Aboriginal or treaty rights.

To identify potential adverse impacts to Indigenous people and their exercise of Aboriginal or treaty rights, HICC will assess individual projects for their potential to trigger legal Duty to Consult (DTC) obligations and will ensure all capital projects directly funded will be reviewed to identify any obligations related to the Impact Assessment Act, Northern regimes, modern treaties, or any other relevant environmental legislation, where applicable. Contribution agreements will reflect any applicable environmental assessment and Indigenous consultation requirements.

Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS)

CHIF would contribute to several goals outlined in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, including:

• Goal 6: Ensure clean and safe water for all Canadians;
• Goal 9: Foster innovation and green infrastructure in Canada;
• Goal 12: Reduce waste and transition to zero-emission vehicles; and
• Goal 13: Take action on climate change and its impacts.

Through the delivery of co-benefits, the program may contribute to the following goals:

• Goal 11: Increase Canadians’ access to clean energy, and Improve access to affordable housing, clean air, transportation, parks and green spaces, as well as cultural heritage in Canada; and
• Goal 14: Conserve and protect Canada’s oceans.