Canada's Cement Industry Applauds Passage of Private Members Motion M45

OTTAWA, Sept. 30, 2016 /CNW/ - The Cement Association of Canada congratulates Halifax Member of Parliament Andy Fillmore for the successful passage in the House of Commons of his Private Members Motion related to the environment and infrastructure investments. This brief yet powerful motion calls on government, before making decisions on infrastructure funding proposals, to complete an analysis of their impact on greenhouse gas emissions and establish an Implementation Plan.

The cement industry welcomed the support of the government for the passage of the motion illustrating its recognition that climate change matters for Canada's infrastructure. Now more than ever, both governments and the private sector have a role in ensuring that new infrastructure investments return better value for taxpayers by optimizing energy efficiency, GHG emissions and resilience in the face of our challenging and changing Canadian climate.

"With the passage of this motion, the government now commits to engaging in a process that will introduce necessary concepts like life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) in the procurement process. Robust application of these concepts will drive GHG reductions, resilience and save taxpayer dollars," said Michael McSweeney, President and CEO of the Cement Association of Canada. The CAC also recognizes that the challenge remains to ensure that the data and tools required to complete the proper analysis are transparent, asses the full cradle-to-cradle life cycle of projects and are robust and science based. Mr. McSweeney stated, "Our motto has always been, build it once, build it right and build it to last. Rigorous understanding of the appropriate LCA and LCCA tools and analyses applied equally to all building materials and technologies is the path to building better for the low carbon climate resilient economy."

The CAC welcomes the Government of Canada's collaborative approach to the climate change challenge and looks forward to discussions with officials on developing the most appropriate Implementation Plan. As key players in the built environment that underpins our modern economy, the cement and concrete industry knows it will play a leading role in addressing the climate challenge. It will play a proactive and solutions focused role in helping Canada reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and helping our communities from coast to coast adapt to the impacts of climate change.

About the Cement Association of Canada

The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) is the voice of Canada's cement manufacturers. The industry provides a reliable, domestic supply of cement required to build Canada's communities and critical infrastructure. The CAC and its members are committed to the environmentally responsible manufacturing of cement and concrete products. CAC's members are: Ciment Québec Inc., Colacem Canada, CRH Canada Group, Essroc Italcementi Group, Federal White Cement Ltd., Lafarge Canada Inc., Lehigh Hanson Canada and St Marys Cement – A Votorantim Cimentos Company. Within B.C., Lafarge and Lehigh operate cement production facilities in Richmond, Delta and Kamloops. The cement and concrete industry's contribution to the Canadian economy is estimated to be $82 billion in direct and indirect impact and 170,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs.

SOURCE Cement Association of Canada

Lyse Teasdale, Director of Communications, Cement Association of Canada, [email protected], 613-236-9471, ext 211