The Ontario government is doubling down on its message to municipalities to back away from setting new building performance standards or deconstruction ordinances. A proposed amendment to the Building Code Act, tabled earlier this week in the omnibus Bill 17, would clarify that the powers conveyed in the City of Toronto Act and Municipal Act “do not authorize a municipality to pass bylaws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings”.
The Building Code Act actually already states that it supersedes “all municipal bylaws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings”, but the proposed repetitive subsection is presented as being “for greater certainty”. It’s part of a package of amendments to eight provincial statutes that are aimed at speeding up the construction of housing and infrastructure.
“Builders are having to comply with different construction requirements depending on the project location and municipal preferences,” a technical briefing document from Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) states. “These changes would help standardize construction requirements, resulting in faster approvals and reduced costs to help build more homes faster. It also prevents developers from having to redesign their products and designs from one jurisdiction to another, saving money and time.”
This comes after the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) filed a legal challenge against the City of Toronto’s green standard late last year, arguing that it oversteps allowed planning authority and infringes on technical building matters that the Building Code governs. “Individual municipalities do not have the authority to develop their own building regulations,” RESCON’s president, Richard Lyall, asserted at the time.
He’s now among those commending Bill 17. “RESCON has been advocating for significant regulatory changes that will facilitate the construction of more homes in an expedited manner, and which will assist in reducing costs for homebuyers and homebuilders,” Lyall reiterates.
Advocates for the Toronto green standard and similar requirements in other Ontario municipalities characterize them differently. While the Building Code is a vast compendium of prescriptive measures, the municipal standards in question are termed “outcome-based design expectations” that do not dictate how builders are to achieve the end result.
The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), a regional agency sponsoring climate-related programs in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, argues that municipalities have legislated responsibility to protect public health and environmental well-being. For example, the Planning Act, states that they must prioritize energy and water conservation and the “promotion of development that is designed to be sustainable”. TAF also disputes the contention that standards impede the pace of housing production.
“Toronto’s housing starts have grown or stayed consistent nearly every year since its green standard was adopted, and the city is on track to exceed its provincially mandated housing targets,” observes Bryan Purcell, TAF’s vice president, policy and programs. “Accelerating affordable housing and supporting the economy is a welcome focus for this government. However, limiting cities’ abilities to plan for growth could have a devastating impact on affordability in the long term by exposing homeowners, tenants and building owners to spiralling energy costs and the increasing impacts of extreme weather and climate change.”
Another proposed amendment to the Building Code Act would eliminate a redundant step for manufacturers seeking to introduce innovative construction products or materials to the Ontario market. Currently, approval must be granted through a Minister’s ruling before a builder could adopt an innovation that is not referenced in the code, but it’s proposed that stipulation could be lifted in cases where the National Research Council’s Canadian Construction Materials Centre has already assessed and approved the product or material.
“Manufacturers would be able to save up to almost $800 in application fees and access the Ontario market approximately 90 days sooner in the process,” MMAH’s technical briefing document states.
This proposed amendment is posted on Ontario’s regulatory registry for public comment until June 11, 2025. There is no comment period for the proposed amendment to reiterate Building Code supremacy over municipal bylaws.
