Madam Chair, I have to tell you that it is extremely exciting just listening to some of the comments from some of the folks around the table. This is really encouraging stuff. We're going to do some really great things together and I'm looking forward to it.
In 2009, I was elected to Halifax Regional Council. Almost immediately, I requested a seat on the environment and sustainability standing committee. For six years, a small group of intrepid councillors and I dealt with dozens of presentations on topics such as solar power and extended producer responsibility. We have an aging landfill so we talked about multiple energy-from-waste technologies, and we talked about how to be more sustainable with the landfill.
Much of our energy spent within the last six years was on the award-winning solar city program. Before solar city, Nova Scotia had the lowest number of domestic hot water panels in the country, even though, ironically, one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels in North America is in my riding in Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.
In order to get the program off the ground, we needed to change provincial legislation and we needed to change our municipal charter. Essentially what solar city did was allow the municipality to install domestic hot water panels on residential homes, put it on the tax bill, and spread the payments over several years so that it could be paid off in four, six, or eight years.
This wasn't considered within our traditional mandate so staff were not really in favour of our council and our committee moving in this direction, but we did convince the general council that this was a good idea. It took us a couple of years. The province agreed; council agreed, and we moved forward and won some major awards with solar city.
Solar city is going to continue. Phase two is happening now and they're considering photovoltaic technology. They're considering just about anything that will allow constituents to produce energy in their own homes and have it put on the tax bill. It's quite a clever idea and it has spread. It's taken us from worst to first in solar panels for domestic hot water.
If a small province like Nova Scotia can do this, and obviously we have the technology and the knowledge, all we really need is the political will. That particular case shows that we had to push the envelope a little bit to get it done.
Essentially what solar city taught me is that no one seems to want to go first. No one seems to want to break the ice. Everybody wants to wait to see what so-and-so does. I think we're past that point now and it's time to charge forward. I'd like to see cities, towns, and municipalities big and small make those bold moves and I'd like to see us help. Certainly we can benefit from that.
I've heard it said within this committee and with some of the individual members of the committee that the environment is our biggest issue. I think that's true, and as I've said to you, Deb, and to Mike, it's also our greatest opportunity. This is our time. We can diversify. It's time to step up. If we do this right and we take better care of our environment, we really do create a new economic reality. That's something I'd like to see this committee focus on.
Speaking of solid waste, most of the country buries its waste. We spend billions of dollars a year on liners and clay cover. We know there are many waste-to-energy technologies out there that are improving every day. Perhaps there is more investigation to do but it seems they're more cost effective and safer for the environment, and they are getting better every day.
It stands to reason that if we can generate energy from our garbage, it's something we should look at. We can convert trash to fuel. There is plasma gasification. There is anaerobic digestion. There is fermentation. All these technologies are improving every day. I think we need to have a national discussion on some of these so that we can look towards the future and stop burying our waste.
We dump millions of mercury-bearing light bulbs in the landfills all across the country. Unacceptable. In my riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour we have a facility that will take a light bulb and recycle every single piece of it, and there is a next use for every piece.
What do we do? We just throw them in the garbage. I think we need to have a national strategy on what to do with mercury bearing light bulbs. Mercury is very dangerous, extremely harmful. If mercury gets to the waterways and to the groundwater, it's devastating.
I think we need to partner with the provinces and territories to have that conversation.
Finally, I don't want this to be seen as a dig against the former government, but we specifically didn't fund recreation facilities for the last 10 years—unless you used the gas tax, of course, and I think most municipalities used their gas tax for transit. I'd like to see the federal government become a funding partner again in building new recreation facilities, if only to ensure that every avenue of energy efficiency is looked at and considered fully.
We now have municipalities building multi-pad ice rinks. They're building them in isolation. When they combine with a pool, or connect to another development close by, such as a condo project or an apartment project, they can use every ounce of wasted heat from that four-pad, two-pad or three-pad facility. There are municipalities out there that are doing that. They're heating the dressing rooms, or heating the meeting rooms, and things like that. But they're just scratching the surface. We as a federal government are able to help those municipalities: maybe they get that grant or that rebate towards making sure they're absolutely energy efficient and every bit of waste energy is utilized. I think that's a part we can play as a federal government in ensuring that those extra steps are taken.
That's all I have, Madam Chair. I appreciate the time.
Again, I look forward to working with all of you and getting to know you a little bit better. When I listen to some of the comments around the table, it's very encouraging. I think this could be a very groundbreaking committee.
Thank you.