Home › Forums › CCEM Forum › CCEM 105 Question 1
- This topic has 4 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 2 months ago by Jen Grebeldinger.
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October 16, 2015 at 5:21 pm #1383Carly JohanssonModerator
Comment on the uneven adoption of the National Energy Code for Buildings in provinces and territories across Canada (page 16). Why might this be and what does it mean for local governments that want to take action to improve building energy efficiency?
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October 16, 2015 at 8:32 pm #1384Jen GrebeldingerKeymaster
When reviewing the list of provinces that have (and have not) adopted the codes listed, it’s interesting to note Nunavut, Quebec and New Brunswick have not adopted any of the codes. Also, the remaining provinces have at least adopted the 2010 National Building Code.
One hesitation I can imagine to adopting these codes is due to political concerns around the potential impact the code(s) will have to the cost of housing and the impact additional code requirements might have on housing affordability.
There may also be provincial or territorial codes that best suite the building conditions of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nunavut.
The local governments in provinces that have adopted the National Building and Energy Codes will have a higher clearer path set in order to meet expected code requirements. Local governments in provinces and territories that have not adopted the Nation Building and Energy Codes will likely find it more difficult to improve building energy efficiency without the legislative direction from the province.
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October 21, 2015 at 3:00 pm #1405Carly JohanssonModerator
I can’t speak for the provinces, but uptake of the 2011 building code in Yukon required significant buy-in from the municipality of Whitehorse and local developers building in and around the City, and considerable support from YG. Buy-in from Whitehorse was, for the most part, driven by their commitment to sustainable development.
I would imagine that the uneven uptake across the country likely reflects a similar dynamic (i.e. buy-in from politicians). It would be interesting to know why it hasn’t been adopted in those areas where the building code wasn’t. I’m speculating but rationales could involve different strategies of managing energy consumption, other strategies for improving the quality of building stock, the state of existing building stock (good or bad), energy management as priority, and the capacity of the public sector to implement changes.
Regardless, not adopting the building code likely makes the process of managing building quality less rigorous with implications for managing energy consumption.
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November 17, 2015 at 10:29 am #1426Carly JohanssonModerator
I have no evidence to base this theory on, but the conspiracy mind I have or lack of trust makes me wonder if the provinces that have not adopted new building codes or energy codes are being too politically swayed by energy or construction companies. Or the fear of the required changes impacting an already staggering economy is too much and is more likely the case.
it is unfortunate that LG would not have the provincial support by adopting these codes, but as Ryan says, if enough of the municipalities get on board, it will likely sway the Province to adopt the new codes. There are always going to be leaders and followers around any sort of change. -
November 17, 2015 at 3:19 pm #1431Jen GrebeldingerKeymaster
Code won’t be of benefit if there is significant push back from the trades. You’d want the buy in from the construction industry; the contractors, and not just the building product manufacturers who have so much to gain from selling legislated products. I can see this being easier to get in some places than others. Building is a traditional practice, so where their is no big economic incentive to update or change practices, tradition will predominate.
The same holds true for any form of gov. oversight, local and otherwise. You want to have positive stakeholder meetings, some education, and hope for the buy-in that’s needed.
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