Maximum temperature bylaw would benefit students and help the community adapt to climate change
With the dip in temperatures over the past few weeks, many students will be looking for ways to keep warm. Thankfully, there are laws in place in Kingston that require landlords to provide adequate heating to rental units during the winter. But what about cooling in the hotter months?
At present, there is only a requirement that properties with existing air conditioning systems be kept to reasonably cool temperatures. That leaves many students staying in Kingston over the summer in a tough position, as rentals with AC are scarce and generally more expensive than those without.
This issue becomes more consequential every year as temperatures continue to rise with climate change. Heat waves in Europe this past summer led to at least 35,000 deaths. The current super El Nino event is projected to cause a staggering 450,000 deaths by February. While most of that devastation will be inflicted on countries in the Global South, extreme heat is also a growing concern in Canada.
A 2022 report from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo identified Kingston as one of the cities in Canada that will be most exposed to extreme heat as the climate crisis worsens. Although the impacts of extreme heat are most severe for the elderly, it can harm individuals of any age, particularly those with pre-existing health conditions.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is a great way to cool homes and combat climate change at the same time. The poorly named ‘heat pump’ provides a highly efficient heating and cooling system that doesn’t burn fossil fuels. Widespread adoption of heat pumps would lead to substantial emissions reductions.
Heat pumps are also less costly than gas and air conditioning in most parts of Canada. And with the federal government’s recent announcement of a $2 billion heat pump rebate program, they will soon be even cheaper. Many Kingston homeowners will no doubt seize the opportunity to reduce their energy bills and increase the comfort of their homes through this new program. But landlords do not have the same incentives to install heat pumps in their rental properties. That is one reason why the upcoming municipal election is so important.
The Ontario Housing Minister has confirmed that municipalities have the power to implement maximum temperature bylaws, so there is nothing stopping City Council from expanding the coverage of the existing bylaw to all rental units, not just those that already have cooling options. This is something that student groups have advocated for in the past.
Voters in Kingston, including Queen’s students, can ask candidates in their district about their position on a maximum temperature bylaw. They can also check the responses of candidates to a survey conducted by the Kingston Climate Justice Coalition (KCJC), which included a question on this along with others covering a variety of local climate policy issues.
For example, another local climate priority identified by the KCJC is to expand safe active transit and public transportation. Both strands of this priority are relevant for students: (1) expanding physically separated bike lanes, and improving winter maintenance, which will encourage more people to cycle, and make cycling safer over the whole year; and (2) extending fare-free transit to post-secondary students, as well as seniors and those on low incomes. Transportation is the largest source of emissions in Ontario, so initiatives that reduce car dependency in our community are particularly important.
Students who are also planning to vote in their hometown can look at similar candidate surveys from Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver (as well as other BC municipalities).
Voting for candidates that are committed to climate action is critical at every level of government. But with so many climate policies being rolled back at the federal level, many students may rightfully be feeling cynical about the potential for change to come through the ballot box. What is important to remember is that cities can be crucial sites for progress even in otherwise dire times. One need look no further than across the border to see evidence for that.
Queen’s students make up nearly a quarter of the population of Kingston, which translates into significant voting power in the mayoral race and in the contested ridings of Sydenham and Portsmouth where many students reside. On October 26, we hope students vote for better living conditions for themselves and a healthier planet for everyone. Luckily, those that choose to do so won’t even have to line up out in the cold, as it is possible to vote online.
Kyla Tienhaara is an Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Studies and the Department of Global Development Studies.
Terry Bridges is a retired Physics and Astronomy Instructor and Queen’s Alumni (Ph.D Faculty of Education, 2015).
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