Saanich, BC, desperately needs a new fire hall. In 2019, city council approved a $26 million replacement for its aging Fire Station Two, set to open in 2023. But because the city requires that all public buildings reach a “LEED” Gold or Platinum standard of environmental efficiency, the station was to be built using trendy mass timber construction. (LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.”) Five years later, ground had yet to be broken, and the project was plagued by rapidly rising costs.
WILSON: The green building grift that costs taxpayers millions
