QUESTION PERIOD — National Research Council
National Building Code
October 28, 2020
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Canada’s national building codes have been delayed until December 21, on the eve of their planned release this fall. These codes will include crucial changes, an entire code system that will facilitate the development and implementation of policies and incentives that will help reduce the carbon footprint of our building sector. This is a low-hanging fruit that is overripe for the picking, which I described and recommended in my white paper on the subject last year.
Many jurisdictions around the world, including our own British Columbia with the BC Energy Step Code, are well ahead of the federal government in this regard. Strong and up-to-date building codes should therefore be seen as crucial tools for providing incentives to homeowners as we seek to recover in a clean and just way from the COVID-19 pandemic, and as we seek to build forward better.
The Corporate Knights’ system estimates that $20 billion in investments in building retrofits will produce 170,000 jobs and reduce our emissions by nearly 10% of their current levels.
Senator Gold, this disappointing news comes on the heels a $2‑billion investment from the Canada Infrastructure Bank for large building retrofits. How can the government insist on retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency under an outdated and now delayed building code regime?
Thank you, senator, for your question. Let me begin with question two and it will lead me back to question one or at least to your opening remarks.
The government made it clear in its Throne Speech that it remains committed to investing in all types of infrastructure, including energy efficient retrofits, especially with regard to northern and Indigenous communities.
The 2020 building codes are now being revised, and when they’re finalized, they will — we hope — provide a coherent path for both provinces and territories to meet the net-zero, energy-ready performance target. Indeed, I’ve been advised that a number of building code changes are underway to enable carbon reductions.
With regards to your comments about the delays in the building codes, I think it’s important for senators to appreciate the context in which this initiative takes place.
The national model building codes actually have no legal status themselves because the provinces and the territories have the constitutional authority to regulate and enforce building codes. The National Research Council leads a building code development system through the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes and its standing committees. Provincial and territorial interests are represented by an advisory committee, the Provincial/Territorial Advisory Committee on Codes, which advises on policy directions. Another example of federalism complicating, in some sense, an answer to this question, in a national forum.
I’ve been advised that the delayed implementation of the National Building Code can be attributed exclusively to COVID-19 because the social or physical distancing measures, which were put in place to protect us all, simply slowed down the research work and also hindered significantly the National Research Council secretariat’s ability to bring the provinces and territories together for the meetings and consultations that were necessary in order to provide revisions to the model code.
As you mentioned, the government committed in 2016 to develop Net-Zero Energy Ready model building codes by 2030. All three years — 2017, 2018 and 2019 — since that commitment have registered in the top five warmest years on record globally.
Shouldn’t the government consider advancing the 2030 deadline in order to give Canadians and policy-makers the tools they need to help reduce our national emissions and to meet our national and international commitments?
Thank you for the question and for the advance notice of the question. I’ve made inquiries to that effect but unfortunately have not yet received a response. When I hear back, I will report to the chamber in a timely fashion.
