The OASIS program

OASIS aims to provide financial support to municipal organizations and indigenous communities to help them plan and carry out greening projects that will enable them to better adapt their environment to the impacts of climate change.

Presentation and objectives

The OASIS program supports greening projects that will reduce the impact of heat waves and torrential rains, two weather phenomena that are becoming increasingly frequent as a result of climate change.

These extreme weather events pose a risk to public health. Their impact can be amplified by the way living environments are designed. For example, heavily mineralized surfaces (such as asphalt parking lots) create urban heat islands during heat waves, leading to public health problems. These same surfaces prevent water from seeping into the ground during heavy rain, creating overflow, flooding and water backup, and damaging infrastructure.

The aim of OASIS is to support the installation or improvement of green infrastructure to create cold islands and allow rainwater infiltration.

The program has three components:

• Component 1 supports municipal organizations and indigenous communities in greening project planning. This includes analyzing the risks associated with heat and heavy rainfall, identifying adaptation solutions through greening, analyzing the cost-benefit and resilience of targeted green infrastructure, and coordination activities. Financial assistance is available to a maximum of $2M per project.
• Component 2 supports the development of green infrastructure to prevent and reduce the impact of heat waves and intense precipitation throughout the entire territory. To be selected, projects must be based on a risk analysis and prioritize locations based on public and infrastructure vulnerability. Financial assistance is available for a minimum of $1M and a maximum of $25M per project.
• Component 3 supports the maintenance of green infrastructure funded under Component 2. This includes the development and adoption of a green infrastructure sustainability strategy. Financial assistance is available to a maximum of $2M$ per project.

The program will last until March 31, 2026, or until funds run out. OASIS is part of the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy. It is financed by the Electrification and Climate Change Fund (ECCF).

Eligibility

The following municipal organizations are eligible to apply:

• Agglomerations;
• Indigenous communities;
• Metropolitan communities;
• Local municipalities;
• Regional county municipalities.

Any municipal organization or indigenous community can apply on behalf of a group of eligible organizations. However, financial assistance is granted to a single organization, designated as being responsible for the project and for reporting to the Ministère.

Procedure

Interested municipal organizations should first consult the Normative Framework ( PDF, 1.8 MB) for full details of how OASIS works.

To submit a project to one of the program components, follow these steps:

Component 1

1. The Project Submission Guide (Component 1) (PDF, 1.8 MB) for full details on how to submit a project.
2. Fill out the Project presentation form (Component 1) ( Word, 88 KB).
3. At the same time, complete the Component 1 budget ( Excel, 152 KB) to provide details on your project’s expenses, as well as the Project Work Schedule ( Excel, 67 KB).
4. Review the list of other required documents Normative Framework, page 9 ( PDF, 1,8 MB).
5. Submit your documents to the program’s e-mail address.

Risk analyses carried out under Component 1 must follow the approach detailed in Guidelines for Territory-Wide Greening Planning and for the Production of Risk Analyses Related to Heat and Heavy Rainfall ( PDF, 1,2 MB) . Projects submitted under Component 2 must be based on a similar analysis to be eligible for funding.

Analyses of the resilience of green infrastructure carried out under components 1 or 2 should follow the approach detailed in Guidelines for Fostering the Resilience of Green Infrastructure ( PDF, 1,4 Mo, french).

See also the VRAC-PARC project, in which Québec public health head offices are carrying out regional assessments of vulnerability to climate change, with a view to devising individual regional adaptation plans. We invite you to contact your public health office for more information.

Component 2

1. Consult the Project Presentation Guide – Component 2 ( PDF, 1.4 MB) for full details on how to submit a project.
2. Fill out the Project Intention Form (Component 2) ( Word, 116 KB).
3. Submit the form to the program’s e-mail address. The program team will contact you and send you the documents you need to file to complete* your application.

Your project must have been developed using knowledge gained from a heat wave and intense precipitation risk analysis, as described in Component 1.

*A municipal organization or indigenous community is considered an applicant as of when the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP) receives the project intent form. MELCCFP advisors will support the applicant at every stage of the application process.

Component 3

1. Consult the Project Presentation Guide (Component 3) (French, PDF, 810 KB) for full details on how to submit a project.
2. Fill out the Project Presentation Form (Component 3) (French, Word, French, 85 KB).
3. At the same time, complete your project’s Component 3 budget (Excel, 167 KB), to provide details of your project’s expenses, as well as the Project Work Schedule (Excel, 67 KB).
4. Review the list of other required documents (Normative Framework, page 19) (PDF, 1.8 MB) .
5. Submit your documents to the program’s e-mail address.

Projects selected and funding awarded so far

Component 1

Beneficiary	Funding awarded
Ville de Candiac	171 500 $
Ville de Thurso	326 348 $
Ville de Baie-Comeau	80 625 $
Municipalité régionale de comté de Marguerite-D'Youville	166 000 $
Ville de Gatineau	189 320 $
Ville de Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac	1 009 699 $
Municipalité régionale de comté de Maskinongé	139 444 $
Municipalité de Saint-Paul-d’Abbotsford	61 293 $
Ville de Laval	383 000 $
Ville de Dorval	1 289 484 $
Municipalité régionale de comté de Drummond	105 883 $
Municipalité régionale de comté de Coaticook	379 760 $
Municipalité de Saint-Pacôme	86 096 $
Municipalité d’Ayer’s Cliff	62 887 $
Municipalité de Venise-en-Québec	51 051 $
Ville de Farnham	53 974 $
Municipalité de Campbell’s Bay	70 000 $
Ville de Nicolet	100 099 $
Municipalité régionale de comté de L’'Assomption	67 550 $
Ville de Sainte-Thérèse	239 740 $

Contact

For information, to check whether a project is eligible for the OASIS program, or to apply for funding, write to oasis@environnement.gouv.qc.ca.