'Cool roof' at racetrack helps environment, addresses youth unemployment

'Cool roof' at racetrack helps environment, addresses youth unemployment. The Raising of an Eco Roof on Woodbine Racetrack took place on Monday. The new roof is a white membrane that helps reflect the sun and in turn makes the inside building cooler. Here at the event are from the left, Bill Gray, vice president of Semple Gooder Roofing Corporation, Dennis Theriault, Semple Gooder, Coun. Suzan Hall, Mark Baxter, Semple Gooder and John Marhong, Director of Infrastructure and Energy at Woodbine Entertainment Group. Staff photo/IAN KELSO

A new 14,000 square-foot 'cool roof' at Woodbine Racetrack reflects not only the sun's rays, but also the entertainment group's commitment as Partners in Project Green to 'green' their bottom line.

Partners in Project Green, an initiative led by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), is a growing community of businesses around Pearson International Airport working together to create an internationally recognized eco-business zone. The Cool Rexdale Eco-Roof Program is their first local endeavor towards those ends.

Launched Monday afternoon, Nov. 29, at Woodbine - the first business to participate in the Partners in Project Green's Cool Rexdale pilot project - the program was touted to help to improve the economic, social and environmental vitality of Rexdale, one of Toronto's priority neighbourhoods, said project lead Dennis Braun of the TRCA.

"To make a 'cool roof' a really smart decision, it has all the benefits of your triple bottom line: it saves energy inside your facility over the long-term; it helps to reduce the impact that your building's operations have on the environment; and finally, as we help to develop cool roofs as the go-to option for replacing roofs in the area, what we're doing is generating new opportunities for youth in the local area to start on a good career," he said.

In addition to providing businesses with access to superior roofing systems, financial assistance through the City of Toronto's Eco-Roof Incentive Program, and discounted eco-building materials through the Clinton Climate Initiative Purchasing Alliance, Cool Rexdale also sees local youth hired by leading roofers with the hopes they'll launch a career in the green economy.

Toronto Employment and Social Services' Grace Varrecchia said her department's involvement with the project was a "no-brainer."

"North Etobicoke, and in particular the Rexdale community, is really an amazing community. Having worked here for the past several years, I've come to view it as a very vibrant, rich and diverse community with a tremendous amount of potential, but it's also an area characterized by a high rate of unemployment, underemployment and poverty," she said. "So, when an initiative like this one comes along - one that's going to address youth unemployment and help young people gain access to good-paying jobs - we in the employment services business become very excited."

Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) provided the funding for an apprenticeship program to connect Rexdale youth pre-apprentice training, Toronto Employment and Social Services recruited and trained new pre-apprentice roofers, the Sheet Metal Workers' and Roofers' Local Union 30 provided their safety training, and Semple Gooder Inc., the local roofing company hired for the Woodbine job, came aboard the program as the first youth employer, she added.

"This is a young person from Rexdale who is working for a great employer in a unionized job, getting over $21 an hour - that really is a success in our mind," Varrecchia said.

So, too, was it considered a success by WEG, said Jane Holmes, VP of Corporate Affairs.

"Investing in youth and children is one of the core things we do, so when (the TRCA) came to us with this great idea about educating youth into green jobs and training them for new areas of career growth, we thought 'what a fabulous idea,' she said.

For more information about Partners in Project Green's Cool Rexdale Program, go to www.partnersinprojectgreen.com/coolrexdale or call 416-661-6600 ext. 5594