On a suggestion from his boss, Pinaymootang First Nation’s Dillon Stagg figured he’d have nothing to lose taking MCSC’s new green building training when instructors landed in his community in early July. Little did he know he’d also have so much to gain.

“We’ve been learning about HVAC systems, air tightness, and why it matters in houses and vapor barriers and the flow of air in houses and everything like that and how to properly fix them,” shares Stagg. “

A partnership between the Manitoba Construction Sector Council (MCSC) and Assiniboine College developed and launched the Manitoba Green Building Program in the spring. The training will be delivered to 10 First Nations communities in northern Manitoba, including Pinaymootang. With a strong focus on addressing the unique challenges and opportunities faced by remote and Indigenous communities, the training provides foundational training in green building practices.

 

“It ties into everything I’m doing right now,” says Stagg as he develops his skills on home building job sites, adding the training has introduced him to some immediate solutions for Pinaymootang. “If we did start putting solar panels on everything, it could help a lot actually because in the past couple weeks there’s been three power outages just from rainstorms and whatnot, and everybody just scattering when the power goes out.”

For Stagg and other participants, the training has changed the way they look at the homes around them.

Those lessons gleaned from the green building training are especially relevant in northern communities where some poorly sealed homes, air leakage and mold have become ongoing concerns.

“I want to see improvement in my work after taking this (training) and realizing all the things that we could have been doing differently and simplified everything. So, hopefully it starts to show when we start working on the houses out here,” offers Stagg.

That’s exactly the kind of sentiment Ethel Anderson is hoping to hear from students in Pinaymootang who have invested their time to take MCSC’s green building training. “We’re always big with partnership,” says Anderson. As Pinaymootang First Nation’s Employment and Training Coordinator, she says it’s a “win-win” for students in her community and for MCSC delivering the training. “For us, because the training is brought right into the community, participants don’t have to leave or travel.”

Anderson believes the program’s combination of hands-on building knowledge and technology skills will have lasting benefits. Participants are learning how to interpret plans, understand measurements and identify issues such as hidden mold before they become serious problems.

“It’s the youth that we’re investing in,” hopes Anderson. “It’s their future that they’re working toward.”

That’s how Dillon Stagg sees it, too.

“Actually, there’s a follow-up course I’m hoping to be part of, too. So, I think it helps us get into our different levels of carpentry. Maybe instead of just air filters and HVAC systems and everything like that, the energy efficiency. Maybe we’ll start to learn how to build houses from the ground up.”

MCSC’s green building training program wraps up late this summer after completing its training tour in the north.

In support of higher energy efficiency tiers, the Manitoba Green Building Program is delivered in partnership with the Manitoba Government through funding from the Government of Canada’s Codes Acceleration Fund. For more information, please visit: www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/canadian-centre-climate-services.html