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Canadian Colleges
for a Resilient
Recovery
A multi-institutional pan-Canadian initiative
in support of the recommendations of the
Task Force for a Resilient Recovery| Office of the President |
July 3, 2020
Dr. Bruce Lourie
President
Ivey Foundation
11 Church Street, Suite 400
Toronto, ON M5E 1W1
By email to blourie@ivey.org
Dear Dr. Lourie:
I hope this note finds you and your family safe and well.
I am writing to applaud your initiative, with others, in forming the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery
and to offer Mohawk College as a strategic partner in support of the work of the Task Force.
Mohawk College has unrivalled ambition and commitments in the sustainability space in the college
sector in Canada. Much of this is described in our 2018/19 Sustainability Impact Report and in
Appendix I of the attached document. But I would particularly wish to draw to your attention to the
very practical and unique achievements we have made in terms of carbon positive building practice
on our campus and business and community engagement in climate innovation and practice through
our Centre for Climate Change Management.
Given our ambitions, we are very conscious of the importance for Canada of the global ‘build back
better’ discussion, which is being led in this country by the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery. We
are equally conscious, however, that in order to enact the recommendations of the Task Force there
will be a real need to think through how they may be supported by the college sector in Canada.
Mohawk College would be willing to convene a group of college leaders at a pan-Canadian level to
help formulate how best practices in college education can support a resilient recovery.
I am committed to take the initiative to convene a group of College, Institute, Polytechnic and Cégep
leaders across all provinces and territories. Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2) will
explore how colleges can lead a movement across the sector to identify existing best practices,
innovate and scale college education to bridge the ‘resilient recovery skills gap’ with the urgency
such a mandate deserves.
Along with my Mohawk colleagues, we have prepared a paper that describes our proposal, which you
may consider a submission to the Task Force. I welcome your reaction and any advice you and the
Task Force may have for us as we embark on this initiative. This paper is attached.
I look forward to how Mohawk College and our partners across Canada can accelerate and enable
this important work.
Regards,
Ron J. McKerlie
President & CEO
T. 905-575-2222 | F. 905-575-2313
135 Fennell Ave W
Hamilton, ON L9C 0E5
mohawkcollege.ca// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
Canadian Colleges for
a Resilient Recovery
A multi-institutional pan-Canadian initiative in support of the
recommendations of the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery
Rationale for initiative
“The Task Force for a Resilient A major public policy debate is underway in
Canada with respect to the future direction of
Recovery is an independent
the economy, post-pandemic. Along with parallel
and diverse group of Canadian initiatives such as the public call to action from
finance, policy and sustainability Clean50 leaders, webinars from the UN Global
leaders. The 14 members are Compact (Canada) and advocacy from Corporate
determined to make sure that Knights, the work of the Task Force for a
Canadian governments get Resilient Recovery is a very timely intervention
the best advice on building a which promises to offer a range of serious policy
insights and recommendations within a very
resilient economic recovery. The
short time frame.
Task Force will make actionable
recommendations on how With the publication of the Task Force’s final
governments can use a range report coming this summer, it is essential
that the ideas are immediately absorbed and
of tools – including direct public
operationalized within the postsecondary
investment, leveraging private education sector, without which a significant
capital, targeted tax cuts and skills gap will emerge that will seriously
incentives, regulatory sandboxes hinder delivery of the recommendations of
(to enable innovation), and the Task Force. This document proposes the
behavioural ‘nudges’ – to establishment of a pan-Canadian initiative:
spur jobs and generate lasting Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
(C2R2) comprising representative Colleges
economic activity while also
from all Provinces and Territories that will act
helping to build a clean and as leaders of hubs around the country to: i)
resilient economy.”1 rapidly implement and scale new curriculum
and research initiatives relevant to a resilient
recovery; ii) champion resilient recovery
projects in relevant sectors in line with the
1 From the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery website.
1// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
recommendations of the Task Force; and iii) role projects. As a result, Canadian colleges attract
model the resilient recovery through transition investments of over $296 million for applied
to a low carbon, resilient and circular economy research annually. In Quebec alone, each
via campus practices, student engagement and year the Centres undertake 10,000 projects in
community engagement; and iv) disseminate partnership with more than 5,000 companies,
and popularize the recommendations of the Task representing a yearly investment of over $130
Force with business, government and civil society million in applied research. This activity produces
through a series of branded high level webinars close to $210 million in economic spinoffs for
commencing September 2020. partner companies and generates tax revenues
of nearly $233 million for the provincial and
C2R2 will be convened by the President and CEO federal governments.”3
of Mohawk College Ron McKerlie with at least
one representative per Province and Territory of Increasingly, we may observe that the college
founding members in the first instance.2 Mohawk sector is becoming active in questions of
college will also provide the secretariat function innovation in sustainability generally and
and appoint a senior advisor to the initiative with especially with respect to transition to a
expertise in sustainability education and research low carbon economy. In a 2019 pre-budget
in the Canadian postsecondary sector. submission to the Standing Committee on
Finance, Polytechnics Canada, which represents
Canada’s colleges, a number of research intensive colleges and
institutes noted:
institutes, cégeps
and polytechnics “Alongside their partners, polytechnics are
building zero-emission vehicles [Red River
There are more than 130 public colleges, College] and the infrastructure needed to support
polytechnics, institutes and cégeps in Canada them, like micro-grids and better batteries
– with more than 20 in each of Alberta, [British Columbia Institute of Technology]. They
British Columbia and Ontario and nearly are creating new energy-efficient construction
50 public cégeps in Quebec. Public colleges materials [George Brown College] and green-
are represented by Colleges and Institutes building technologies [Southern Alberta Institute
Canada (CICan). Colleges pride themselves on of Technology] to ensure our buildings – new
their focus on delivering programs that service and old – emit as little as possible. They are
provincial labour markets and enhance graduate finding more sustainable ways to produce food
employability, but their mandates also extend [Kwantlen Polytechnic University] and they are
to promoting innovation, entrepreneurship expanding the horizon of what’s possible for our
and applied research, typically in concert with renewable energy sources [Fanshawe College].
local employers. They are also working to make our traditional,
non-renewable sources of energy cleaner
According to a recent report from CICan [Northern Alberta Institute of Technology]
and others (2020), applied research centres and more efficient (we did just buy a pipeline,
based in Canada’s college system “develop after all). They are innovating in supply-chain
more than 4,400 new processes, products, management [Conestoga College] and advanced
prototypes and services every year, engaging manufacturing [Humber College] to reduce
nearly 30,000 students in their research emissions in the transportation and production of
2 Over time we envisage membership will be open to all colleges, institutes, polytechnics and cégeps in Canada.
3 Colleges and Institutes Canada, Synchronex, Polytechnics Canada and Tech-Access Canada (2020). Investing Today in the Power of Applied
Research at Canadian Colleges and Institutes: A Key Strategy to Support Our Country’s Socio-Economic Development. (Accessed 26th June 2020).
2// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
goods.”4 At the provincial level, Colleges Ontario the institution has a strategic commitment to
has showcased what 24 colleges in that province develop the field of ‘intelligent agriculture’.
are contributing to the pursuit of a low carbon
economy.5 In Ontario, Seneca College provides a unique
array of digitally-inspired programming in
Mohawk College’s many contributions to research Creative Arts, Animation and Design in support of
and innovation in sustainability and transition are the vibrant and growing ‘createch’ sub-sector of
highlighted in Appendix I. the creative industries, one of the low(er) carbon
economic activities with significant promise
However, it is in their role as trainers for for future employment growth in Canada. And
Canada’s current and future workforce that the a growing number of colleges are providing
college sector surely has the most to offer with specialist programs directly relevant to the
respect to a resilient recovery.6 resilient recovery, for example Humber College’s
new advanced diploma in Sustainable Energy
In Alberta, the Southern Alberta Institute of
and Building Technology and Algonquin College’s
Technology (SAIT) already provides a very
qualifications for forestry technicians (“the most
comprehensive range of technical training
hands-on and field-oriented program of its kind in
to support their province, and the country,
Ontario”), sustainable forestry and reforestation
in maintaining international leadership in
being one of the most important economic
environmentally responsible energy management
sectors to develop for a low carbon world.
in both conventional and alternative energy
production, distribution and use. In Québec, the cégeps of Sherbrooke,
Shawinigen, Sainte-Hyacinth, Lévis-Lauzon and
The British Columbia Institute of Technology
l’Outaouais all provide programs that reflect that
(BCIT) supports provincial and national talent
province’s significant emphasis on biotechnology
development to the clean technology sector with
and the life sciences, another low(er) carbon
programming in chemical and environmental
sector with significant promise for future
technology as well as offering a Sustainable
employment growth in Canada according to the
Energy Management Advanced Certificate
Federal Government. Among many offerings
(SEMAC) in partnership with BC Hydro and
of a specific nature that support the resilient
FortisBC, following an initial investment by the
recovery are the Cégep de Sainte-Félicien
federal government.
program in Natural Environment Technology and
In support of its leading role in zero carbon the Cégeps of Chicoutimi, Baie-Comeau, l’Abitibi-
public transit research, Red River College Témiscamingue, la Gaspésie et des Îles, Rimouski
in Manitoba has a range of technology-rich and Sainte-Foy programs in Forest Technology.
programs for the transportation sector as well
In Atlantic Canada, the College of the North
as targeted pathway programs for Indigenous
Atlantic in Newfoundland and Labrador offers a
learners in engineering and business and the
range of programs in service of the agriculture,
creative industries.
fisheries and forestry sectors. New Brunswick
Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s School of Natural Community College offers sustainability-
Resources and Built Environment offers a oriented programs in Environmental Technology
range of programs with relevance to water and and Energy Systems Technology. The Nova
wastewater engineering and management and Scotia Community College offers programs in
4 Komesch, D. (2019). Supporting Canada’s green economy through small business innovation: recommendations to the Standing Committee on
Finance. (Accessed 26th June 2020).
5 Colleges Ontario (2016). Moving to Net Zero. (accessed 26th June 2020).
6 Henderson M and Komesch, D (2019). Creating a sustainable future through polytechnic education. In press.
3// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
Aquaculture Operations, Oceans Resources and respect to addressing Canada’s potential labour
Oceans Technology. And Holland College on market gaps when it comes to delivering a
Prince Edward Island has specialist programs resilient recovery. The absence of a strategic
in Wind Turbine Technology and Environmental national approach to labour market shortages
Applied Science Technology. was signaled by the federal government when
it noted its desire to reform the Labour Market
In the North, the former Yukon College (now Transfer Agreements with provinces in the
Yukon University) offers a program in Renewable 2017 budget.7 However, whilst the federal
Resource Management as well as several government’s Innovation and Skills Plan
programs of relevance to Indigenous leadership announced in that budget mentioned the role of
and governance. Nunavut Arctic College offers the college sector in several places, it did very
a program in Environmental Technology. And little to link the annual budgetary resources
Aurora College in the North West Territories of the federal government to influencing the
offers a diploma in Environment and Natural scope and scale of the role of the college sector
Resources Technology. in a strategic or targeted way, including in the
sustainability space.
And naturally, given Mohawk College’s long
standing leadership in sustainability education One example of the lack of a nationally joined
and practice, programs at Mohawk reflect this up approach to enhancing the training impacts
with 100% of academic departments offering of the college sector which is directly relevant
sustainability courses. The campus supports to a resilient recovery was provided by the
innovation and experiential learning, priding Final Report of the Working Group on Clean
itself on being a ‘living lab’ for sustainability Technology, Innovation and Jobs - one of four
with the largest Zero Carbon building in Canada inter-ministerial working groups tasked with
and over 167,000 square feet of LEED or following through on the Vancouver Declaration
Zero Carbon buildings. The college offers over on Clean Growth and Climate Change.8 In this
30 programs and services dedicated to creating 116 page report there were 69 very generic
a sustainable campus culture, and provides references to the need for “skills” but just
specializations such as Environmental Technology three brief paragraphs on “Skills and Jobs”,
and Sustainable Local Foods. Mohawk also has and just one mention of the word “college” in
experience in innovative program delivery to the entire document (a reference to Red River
foster regional resiliency. Mohawk’s City School College’s Sustainable Building Infrastructure and
connects low-income learners with employer- Transportation Research activity which appeared
informed courses to address skills gaps in the on page 95).
greater Hamilton region.
Clearly part of the challenge here is that
This brief sampling of programs in Canada’s constitutionally skills training is a provincial
college sector should provide a rich sense of what mandate, not a federal one. And thus even in an
depth of knowledge and expertise and training inter-ministerial report apparently involving the
capacity already exists across the country. provinces, the lack of granularity with respect to
how the clean tech skills gap might be addressed
Unfortunately, there is (as yet) very little
is a cause for concern. A lack of understanding
national recognition, still less coordination with
7 According to the 2017 Federal Budget Chapter 1 Skills, Innovation and Middle Class Jobs: “Each year, the Government invests nearly $3 billion so
that provinces and territories can offer a range of programs, from skills training to career counselling to job search assistance, to help unemployed
and underemployed Canadians improve their skills and get their next job. This is done through four Labour Market Transfer Agreements with the
provinces and territories.”
8 Working Group on Clean Technology, Innovation and Jobs (2016). Final Report. Ottawa: Government of Canada
4// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
of what may be needed nationally in order to 4. At what point does the federal government
bridge the resilient recovery skills gap and how intervene to accelerate provincial capacity to
the college sector might support the effort now close the resilient recovery skills gap and (for
presents a major challenge for our country. example) link this directly to extensions to
the Labour Market Transfer Agreements?
Consequently some of the questions which
we believe need to be addressed with some
urgency are:
Creating the conditions for a
resilient recovery in Canada
1. Who is expected to train the millions of
Canadians who may reasonably expect to In a recent article in Corporate Knights, Building
participate in a resilient recovery if not the Back Better: A roadmap to the Canada we
college sector? want, Ralph Torrie, Céline Bak and Toby Heaps
outlined the powerful juxtaposition of the climate
2. What can be done now to enhance, share case for investments in a green economy and
and leverage knowledge regarding what the the jobs that might be associated with those
college sector already does in the resilient investments.9 They asserted: “By 2030, Canada
recovery space? could create more than five million quality job-
years of employment by greening the power grid,
3. How do we fast track and scale new college
electrifying transport and upgrading our homes
level programming in the required skills of the
and workplaces to be more comfortable and flood
future? And;
resilient.” See Figure 1.
Building Back Better: Private and other sector investment
Investements, Jobs, and GHG Reductions Federal investment
(2021-2030) Cumulative jobs (right axis)
Millions of $ Person-years of employment
250,000 2,500,000
36 Mt GHG
reductions in 2030
200,000 2,000,000
75 66
?
150,000 1,500,000
22
100,000 1,000,000
8
50,000 500,000
14 22
1
0 0
e s l l
om es Gri
d
tak
e ty ta ta on ry
H lac p bili api api ati ust
e t ter o rkp g the E VU e Mo
n a lC r a lC n nov r Ind
B W n e i v tio u I e
ter eni rat Act Na eN
at EV Bet
t
Bet Gre ele
Mo
re est tur sa
nd ack
Acc Fo r c u l c e B
ng ri ur ng
ildi Ag eso ildi
Bu d ing al R Bu
i l u r
Bu Na
t
Figure 1: Projected jobs and GHG emissions reductions (Torrie et al., 2020).
9 Torrie, R., Bak, C. and Heaps T (2020). Building Back Better: A roadmap to the Canada we want. Corporate Knights 3rd June 2020.
5// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
But of course the importance of securing GHG range of United Nations Sustainable Development
emissions reductions and delivering a low carbon Goals, job growth and economic opportunity, with
economy in the post-pandemic period is not the $12 trillion in economic growth and 380 million
only major driver of change in the future world of jobs available across more than twelve sectors by
work in Canada and the rest of the world. 2030. See Figure 2.
The International Labour Organisation (2018a And finally, whatever happens with the post-
& 2018b) and the OECD have both explored the pandemic economic strategy in Canada with
significant potential for green job growth through respect to decarbonization and the pursuit of UN
climate and related investments.10 And analysis goals, the forces of change and job disruption
by the Business and Sustainable Development associated with automation and associated digital
Commission11 also provides powerful supporting technologies will only accelerate.
arguments for the Torrie et al. analysis with
respect to jobs and GHG reductions in Canada According to a comprehensive study by the
when it comes to power, transportation and McKinsey Global Institute (2017): “about
buildings. In addition, the BSDC analysis included 60 percent of all occupations have at least
positive correlations between active pursuit of a 30 percent of activities that are technically
Largest opportunities Size of incremental opportunity in 2030* $ billions
Mobility Systems 2,020
New Healthcare Solutions 1,650
Energy Efficiency 1,345
Clean Energy 1,200
*Reflects the value
Affordable Housing 1,080 opportunity in new
business models
Circular Economy Manufacturing 1,015
and technologies
Healthy Lifestyles 835 that can shift each
sector to deliver
Food Loss & Waste 685 the Global Goals.
Agricultural Solutions 665
Forest Ecosystem Services 365 Cities
Urban Infrastructure 355 Health & Wellbeing
Energy & Materials
Buildings Solutions 345 Food
Other 735
Figure 2: Employment opportunities in pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
(Business and Sustainable Development Commission, 2017)
10 International Labour Organisation (2018a). Greening with Jobs. Geneva: ILO; International Labour Organisation (2018b). The Employment Impact
of Climate Change. Geneva: ILO; OECD (2017). International Employment Implications of Green Growth. Report for the G7 Environment Ministers.
Paris: OECD
11 Business and Sustainable Development Commission (2017). Better Business, Better World. Executive Summary. London: BSDC
6// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
automatable, based on currently demonstrated opportunities already identified in Canada’s
technologies. This means that most occupations Economic Strategy Table reports, especially
will change, and more people will have to work less carbon-intensive sectors such as health/
with technology…..On a global scale, we calculate biosciences and digital/creative industries where
that the adaptation of currently demonstrated Canada already has significant opportunities for
automation technologies could affect 50 percent growth. And the resilient recovery must also be
of the world economy, or 1.2 billion employees fully cognizant of the impacts of automation and
and $14.6 trillion in wages.” See Figure 3. associated technologies that will disrupt so many
sectors (and jobs) in coming decades.
Proposed process Given these broad assumptions, and the
Taking the broadest possible view of prospects essential role that Canada’s colleges play
for the global economy and Canada’s post- in building the skills required for Canada’s
pandemic competitive positioning in that regard, economic, social and environmental success, we
it seems a truism to assert that Canada should are proposing the following:
‘build back better’ in a resilient recovery rather
President Ron McKerlie of Mohawk College will
than regressing to an uncompetitive ‘business as
send a copy of this document to identified college
usual’. However, the resilient recovery must take
leaders in the provinces and territories that agree
into account not just climate-related imperatives
to champion the cause of a resilient recovery
for change, vitally important though these are.
and become a founding member12 of Canadian
The resilient recovery must also foreground
Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2).
While few occupations are fully automable, 60 percent of all occupations
have at least 30 percent technically automatable activities
Technical automation potential
Figure 3: Impact %
Activities with highest
of Automation 100 < 5% of occupations consist
of activities that are automation potential:
on Global 90 100% automable Predictable physical activities 81%
Occupations 80 Processing data 69%
Collecting data 64%
(McKinsey Global 70
Institute, 2017). 60
McKinsey’s analysis
50
found that 47% of About 60% of occupations have at
40 least 30% of their activities that
Canada’s current are automable
30
work activities
were technically 20
automatable using 10
2017 technologies. 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Share of roles
100% = 820 roles
12 Once established, we envisage large numbers of colleges, institutes, polytechnics and cégeps will wish to join the organization over time.
7// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
The proposed criteria for becoming a founding v) Lead their provincial/territorial college level
member of C2R2 will be a willingness to response to the resilient recovery; and
i) Rapidly implement and scale new curriculum vi) Ensure maximum Indigenous inclusion in all of
and research initiatives relevant to a resilient the above activities.
recovery (taking into account all climate
and environment related, health and society In committing Mohawk College to convene and
related and technology related drivers); coordinate this initiative, President McKerlie
will publish Mohawk’s commitments in line
ii) Champion ‘resilient recovery projects’ in line with these criteria (see Appendix I). He will
with the recommendations of the Task Force also commit Mohawk College to providing a
for a Resilient Recovery; secretariat for the initiative and appointing a
senior advisor with experience in sustainability
iii) Role model transition to a low carbon, policy and practices in business, government
resilient and circular economy through and postsecondary education.
campus practices, student engagement and
community engagement; The Founding members will be invited to
produce a similar statement of commitment and
iv) Disseminate and popularize the will commit to leading a webinar in the period
recommendations of the Task Force with September 2020 to May 2021 highlighting
business, government and civil society employment growth opportunities identified
through a series of branded high level in the report of the Task Force for a Resilient
webinars commencing September 2020; Recovery according to the matrix below.
Province/Territory Proposed lead institution Proposed topic lead for webinar
National Convenor Mohawk Buildings Solutions
Alberta TBA TBA
British Columbia TBA TBA
Manitoba TBA TBA
New Brunswick TBA TBA
Newfoundland and Labrador TBA TBA
North West Territories TBA TBA
Nova Scotia TBA TBA
Nunavut TBA TBA
Ontario TBA TBA
Prince Edward Island TBA TBA
Quebec TBA TBA
Saskatchewan TBA TBA
Yukon TBA TBA
8// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
Dissemination event from within a geographic or institutional
catchment in order to maximize engagement
In addition to a web site and active social media with the debates and the ideas. The databases
presence for this initiative it is intended that up emerging from the outreach can (with individual
to fifteen mass town halls13 be convened across permission) also be used for civic mobilization
Canada starting in September, each hosted beyond this initiative thereby creating a deep
by a college who will provide co-chairing and well of engaged businesses, civil society
outreach support in a topic identified as key to organizations and citizens (including youth)
the resilient recovery. Technologies such as ‘tele who wish to see a green and socially inclusive,
town hall’, ‘bang the table’ or equivalent may be resilient recovery.
used to drive thousands of participants to each
13 We will aim for 10,000 participants per town hall for a total of 100,000 engaged.
9// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
Appendix I
Mohawk College leadership commitments
Developing resilient recovery curriculum and research
Mohawk’s current initiatives include:
Mohawk College has a history of innovative program delivery. Mohawk College’s City School Program
aims to reduce barriers to post-secondary education. City School’s mobile classrooms delivers training
in low-income communities. To date, over 500 students have been trained through these award-winning
programs.
Mohawk College Apprenticeship Hub supports apprenticeship students, and Mohawk is the first college in
Ontario to offer an Ontario College Certificate to apprentices in 19 skilled trades programs.
Mohawk College is home to the Future Ready Skills Translator, a first-of-its-kind intervention that helps
translate employer skills expectations to influence college curriculum.
Mohawk College was named the seventh-top research college in Canada, according to RE$EARCH
Infosource.
Mohawk was the first college in Ontario to implement an Environmental Management Plan that set
ambitious carbon reduction targets. To date, Mohawk College has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions
by 63% (measured against 2007 baseline).
Annually, Mohawk College’s Sustainability Office reaches over 6,500 students in educational programs
about sustainability and climate change.
Mohawk’s proposed initiatives include:
Establish a pan-Canadian partnership of leading colleges to act as ‘resilient recovery hubs’ for
training, engagement and outreach.
By 2023, each institution pilots an innovative training model that rapidly trains a total of 10,000 workers
for the clean economy. Each training solution will be focused on addressing local skills gaps. Each
will be scalable and transferable across Canada. Pilot programs will focus on training and re-training
underrepresented groups.
Championing resilient recovery projects
Mohawk’s current initiatives include:
Mohawk College will continue to work with municipal, industry and community partners to create
resiliency solutions, for Ontario and Canada.
The Centre for Climate Change Management supports the Bay Area Climate Change Office, a joint
partnership between the Cities of Hamilton and Burlington to take a regional approach to climate action.
By providing the municipalities with direct support, the Centre helps accelerate municipal programs to
address the climate crisis.
10// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
The Centre for Climate Change Management also hosts the Industry Partnership Initiative to help
businesses access capital, commitment and expertise to implement climate change mitigation strategies.
For example, the Centre is partnering with ArcelorMittal Dofasco to pilot replacing a percentage of PCI
coal with waste wood its blast furnaces. Early results suggest that this initiative has the potential to
reduce carbon emissions from the Canadian steel industry by as much as 240,000 tCO2e per annum.
Mohawk College also leads Challenge 2025 – a commitment to intensify college resources to address
the ongoing issues of poverty, under-education and labour shortages in the Greater Hamilton Area.
Challenge 2025 seeks to provide direct education services in low-income neighbourhoods, and is part of
a larger effort for Mohawk College to impact the sustainability of the region – not just its own campuses.
Mohawk’s proposed resilient recovery projects include:
Promote colleges as public exemplars of net-zero retrofits for commercial buildings
Net zero institutional buildings become “living labs” that push industry standards and foster continual
learning. Mohawk College’s Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation is an excellent example of a net
zero building that has moved the industry forward and welcomed thousands of students, researchers,
and industry professionals to learn in, and from, the building.
Support the development of regional partnerships between school boards to set carbon reductions
targets and give young people an active role in reducing carbon emissions.
Mohawk College has launched the “Climate Change Leaders” program, in which 10 Ontario school
boards representing 290,000 students in 690 schools have set 2020 carbon reductions goals. To engage
students in reducing carbon, Mohawk will introduce micro-credits in climate change and related topics,
focused on preparing students for post-secondary education in STEAM jobs. This model can be scaled
across Canada.
Invest in schools that set climate targets with capital investments and incentives that address
deferred maintenance with climate-ready solutions.
With 15,500 sites across Canada, schools can become demonstration sites for retrofitted buildings that
improve the comfort and utility of existing buildings. Energy efficiency projects, paired with energy
dashboards in classrooms, have been shown to engage children and staff in understanding energy
consumption and their own environmental impact.
Role modelling transition to a low carbon, resilient and circular
economy through campus practices, student engagement and
community engagement
Mohawk’s current initiatives include:
Mohawk College was the first college in Ontario to introduce a comprehensive environmental
management plan that set bold carbon emissions reduction targets. Mohawk College has reduced its
greenhouse gas emissions by 63% since 2007.
Mohawk College was the first college in Ontario to achieve a STARS GOLD rating from the Association
for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Mohawk was also named a “Top 3
Performer” among associate colleges in North America in the 2018 AASHE Campus Sustainability Index.
11// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
Mohawk College’s Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation is Canada’s largest, and the region’s first,
Zero Carbon building. It was the first building in Canada to achieve dual
certification in Zero Carbon design and operations. In its first year of operations, the building generated
115% of the energy it needed to operate, using solar PV on site.
Mohawk College has won over 25 awards for its sustainability leadership, including the Canadian Green
Building Council’s Inspired Educator Award in 2019. The college has been named one of Canada’s
Greenest Employers for seven consecutive years.
The Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College is a regional hub for collaboration on
climate change. The Centre partners with the Cities of Hamilton and Burlington to accelerate regional
climate action. As partners, the Centre is helping to lead the development of a regional home energy
retrofit program for low-rise buildings.
The Centre for Climate Change Management also works to actively engage community members and
youth. In 2019 alone, events and outreach activities directly engaged 8,000+ citizens.
The Centre for Climate Change Management hosts the Campus Carbon Management Initiative, which
provides tools and training to support colleges across Ontario to implement sustainability solutions
on campus.
Dissemination: Proposed webinar topic –
Building retrofits for public buildings
Host and Moderator: Mohawk College
Panelists and stakeholder invitees:
• School boards
• Municipal/provincial/federal government
• Utility corporations
• Technology corporations
• Energy service companies and contractors
Focal Proposition: Re-building back better: resilient community and school buildings
• Building rehabilitation and deep building system retrofits
• Building system smart technologies
• Onsite renewable energy/microgrids
• Enhanced environmental infectious disease control
• Creating 10-15 new jobs for every $1 million in project value
• Estimated $5-6 billion dollars can be generated for school building deep retrofits (50,000-90,000 jobs)
12// Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
Outcomes and next steps
New skills development
• Drive new STEAM education programming
• Develop new opportunities for student co-ops
Design capital funding structure
• Leverage energy saved (from retrofitting) and energy made (renewable energy/micro grids) to
generate investment capital
• Sourcing additional funding via federal, provincial governments to integrate with primary investment
driver accelerates all value realization
Develop implementation guides
• Tool kit with process, systems
• Common tools to evaluate energy & carbon, greenhouse gas road mapping, measure and validate
key results
• Best practices technology
Engage stakeholders
• Design an interactive platform to generate a network of conversations, stakeholder alignment of
purpose, learning, experiences and results
Indigenous inclusion
Amplifying Indigenous knowledge and expertise in climate change management. Recognizing
that Indigenous leaders have an important role to play leading the response to climate change,
Mohawk College will ensure that Indigenous leaders and experts are provided with a platform in all
webinar and outreach activities.
Expansion of student and alumni employment gatherings for Indigenous students and job seekers
to focus on meeting the low carbon skills gap. A continuation of a Mohawk College program in which
Indigenous students get inside perspectives and tips from employers for students looking for temporary
or permanent employment. The sessions will be open to current Indigenous students, and for the first
time, Indigenous Alumni.
Mohawk College is currently working on supporting training and management of water treatment centers
on Indigenous territories. Climate change poses increasing threats to safe water resources. Mohawk
College will continue to partner with Indigenous communities to understand, measure and support water
safety initiatives that protect communities from the threats of climate change.
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