A re-elected Yukon Party government would spend $47 million on retrofitting 20 Yukon schools to make them more energy-efficient, Premier Darrell Pasloski vowed today.

The goals of this proposed investment are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning oil for heat, to bring down the cost of heating Yukon schools, and to create new jobs, said Pasloski.

“And the best part of this plan is no carbon tax.”

Pasloski made the announcement in front of a handful of Yukon Party candidates outside Jack Hulland Elementary School in Porter Creek.

“It’s only the Yukon Party that’s 100 per cent opposed to a carbon tax in the North,” said the premier.

“We’re looking for solutions that will reduce emissions, that will create work for Yukoners and will keep our taxes low. That has always been our goal.”

Some of the renovations the Yukon Party promises to fund include updating insulation in walls and roofs, and installing high-efficiency windows.

The plan also includes upgrading heating systems and ventilation recovery systems, and installing new, energy-efficient lighting. The party estimates these renovations can be done for $45 million.

In addition to structural upgrades, a Yukon Party government would spend an estimated $2.15 million on fitting solar panels onto Yukon schools that aren’t hooked up to the hydro grid.

Burwash Landing would not get solar panels because renewable energy in that community is already at “full capacity,” according to a Yukon Party statement issued this morning.

Work on these retrofits would begin next summer, said Currie Dixon, an outgoing cabinet minister and the Yukon Party’s campaign chair.

“The reality with working on schools is you have to do it in summers, because that’s when the kids aren’t there,” he said.

Audits, however, which would identify energy inefficient schools and determine the renovations they need, could begin “immediately,” he said.

These audits are estimated to cost about half a million dollars and have already been factored into the total funding commitment, he added.

The Yukon Party estimates that these investments would save the government about $2.36 million a year in energy spending, and bring down yearly electricity use by about 121,000 kilowatt hours.

When all is said and done, the party believes these retrofits will reduce Yukon schools’ annual emissions by about 3,900 tonnes.

“This is a nine per cent reduction in Yukon Government’s annual GHG emissions,” the Yukon Party said in a statement.

Pasloski continues to oppose a carbon tax in the Yukon and has refused to accept that one is coming.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said all provinces and territories will start paying a minimum, $10-per-tonne price for carbon in 2018.

Still, the premier remains confident that an exemption for the North is possible.

“Yukoners want to do their part to fight climate change; what we’re saying is a carbon tax doesn’t work in the North,” he told reporters this morning.

“We can actually reduce our emissions without making everything cost more money and actually create jobs at the same time and keep our taxes low.”

As for which schools would benefit from the Yukon Party’s proposed upgrades, Pasloski said that would be determined by the Climate Change Secretariat and the Departments of Highways and Public Works and Education.

Pointing to Jack Hulland Elementary behind him, Pasloski said it would cost about $2 million to do an energy audit and retrofit, but that it would save the school an estimated $94,000 annually in fuel and reduce emissions by 141 tonnes.

Would the Yukon Party’s proposed $47 million investment mean funding cuts in other areas?

The premier said, “No.

“We invest capital all the time, every year... we’re committed to this,” he said.

A Yukon Party government would petition Ottawa for funding assistance, but the $47-million promise to schools is not contingent upon help from the federal government.

“We committed this amount, we’ll do these projects either way, but we hope that Canada will be interested in partnering with the Yukon government because we have a shared goal in reducing emissions,” said Dixon.

The government has already requested federal funds to help with retrofitting Yukon schools, but it has yet to hear a response, he said.

If federal funding doesn’t come through, the renovations will “probably take a little bit longer,” said Dixon.

The Yukon Liberals also held a news conference this morning to map out their plans for a renewable energy future. See full coverage in Monday’s Star.