GET RECOGNIZED FOR USING LESS ENERGY

On the path to sustainable living, every resource counts. And as building and facility owners and managers move towards greater energy efficiency, many are drawing guidance and ongoing support from Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) ENERGY STAR® Certification program.

It’s also about substantial savings. Certified buildings perform in the top 25 per cent of similar buildings nationwide.

TAKING THE FIRST STEP

ENERGY STAR Certification is available to a broad range of commercial and institutional buildings ranging from medical offices to schools, warehouses to hotels and motels, and beyond. And while becoming a steward for energy efficiency can seem daunting at first, NRCan has fine-tuned the certification process to ensure it is anything but.

The process begins with NRCan’s ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, a free, secure online energy benchmarking tool designed to help users monitor, rate, and optimize their energy consumption across their entire portfolio. Through this interactive platform, applicants are required to benchmark their property’s energy usage against buildings of similar size and function and receive a score from 1 to 100. Applicants who score 75 or higher can then begin the online application process, which includes the requirement of an on-site assessment by a Licensed Professional (LP) to verify the information in the application prior to submission.

The rest is simple. Successful applicants will receive complimentary access to ENERGY STAR’s promotional toolkit, resources to begin displaying their certification, and an entry in NRCan’s online list of certified buildings.

Learn more about the ENERGY STAR® Certification application process: http://energystar.gc.ca/buildings

TIPS FOR APPLYING

NRCan’s Portfolio Manager guides users through the application process from start to finish, but there are still several things to keep in mind when applying – either for the first time or for a renewal.

Application is free, LPs are not: NRCan levies no cost for certification. However, applicants are responsible for any costs associated with the on-site assessment and verification. The verifying LP can be an employee of the organization applying for certification.

Know what to count: Typically, an ENERGY STAR benchmark will cover a property’s entire Gross Floor Area (GFA). Still, certain energy assets can be excluded from the assessment provided they are sub-metered. These include cell towers, parking garages, electric vehicle charging stations, outdoor and heated pools, or any billboards or projection screens on the property that are not directly related to the use of the building.

Take advantage of NRCan’s resources: NRCan provides a wealth of online and in-person support to obtain and maintain ENERGY STAR Certification. This includes regular webinars offering training and information on Portfolio Manager, online FAQs, or its monthly newsletter, Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency Newsletter.

DID YOU KNOW?

The benefits of benchmarking extend beyond ENERGY STAR Certification. Measuring energy usage on an ongoing basis can help spot trends, potential issues, and deviations in one’s portfolio that can lead to larger opportunities. Consistent benchmarking can also help owners/managers prioritize capital upgrades and build strong arguments for retrofits and recommissioning projects. It also never hurts to be in the spotlight. While making their building a great place to work, those who routinely benchmark their energy usage and use that data to improve their operations can become certified and appear on NRCan’s registry of certified buildings.

In addition, ENERGY STAR has a great brand recognition and ENERGY STAR Certification is a very cost-effective way to demonstrate commitment to energy management and protection of the environment.

The achievement of ENERGY STAR Certification also involves adherence to certain levels of indoor air quality, lighting, heating and cooling regulations, which shows a commitment to the pursuit of energy efficiency while at the same time maintaining high standards of comfort and safety for building occupants.

AN ONGOING JOURNEY

Sustainability is a journey. Similarly, ENERGY STAR Certification is awarded on an annual basis, encouraging program participants to maintain their energy-saving programs and initiatives on a year-to-year basis.

It’s easy to get started, and everyone wins. Now is the time to take the first step to your building’s ENERGY STAR certification and begin using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Tool.

If you have specific questions regarding ENERGY STAR certification for commercial and institutional buildings in Canada, please visit http://energystar.gc.ca/buildings

ENERGY STAR ELIGIBLE PROPERTIES

ENERGY STAR Certification is currently available to the following property types in Canada:

K-12 schools
hotels / motels
warehouses
medical offices
hospital
ice/curling rinks
commercial offices
senior care communities and residential care facilities
supermarket and food stores
retail stores

TAKING THE JOURNEY

Applying for ENERGY STAR Certification is easy. Take the first step and register for ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

SOYEZ RECONNUS POUR LA RÉDUCTION DE VOTRE CONSOMMATION D’ÉNERGIE

Chaque ressource est importante lorsqu’on vise un mode de vie durable. Ainsi, de nombreux gestionnaires et propriétaires de bâtiments et d’installations qui souhaitent améliorer leur efficacité énergétique obtiennent du soutien de la part du programme de certification ENERGY STAR de Ressources naturelles Canada (RNCan) et suivent ses conseils.

De plus, il est possible de réaliser des économies importantes. Les bâtiments certifiés se situent dans le quartile supérieur des bâtiments semblables à l’échelle nationale.

LES PREMIERS PAS

Un grand éventail de bâtiments commerciaux et institutionnels sont admissibles à la certification ENERGY STAR, tels les centres médicaux, les écoles, les entrepôts, les hôtels et les motels, et plus encore. Bien qu’il puisse sembler intimidant au début, le processus de certification a été parfait par RNCan afin de le rendre accessible.

Le processus commence avec ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, un outil en ligne gratuit et sécuritaire d’analyse comparative en matière d’efficacité énergétique qui a été conçu pour aider ses utilisateurs à surveiller, à évaluer et à optimiser la consommation énergétique de l’ensemble de leur portefeuille. Par l’entremise de cette plateforme interactive, les demandeurs doivent effectuer une analyse comparative de la consommation d’énergie de leur bien immobilier par rapport à celle de bâtiments de taille et de fonction semblables, puis ils reçoivent une cote de 1 à 100. Les demandeurs qui obtiennent un cote de 75 ou plus peuvent ensuite commencer le processus de demande en ligne, qui exige une évaluation sur place effectuée par un professionnel agréé afin de vérifier les informations contenues dans la demande avant de la soumettre.

Ce qui reste est simple. Les demandeurs retenus pourront accéder gratuitement à la trousse à outils promotionnelle ENERGY STAR et à des ressources pour afficher leur certification, en plus d’être inscrits au répertoire en ligne des bâtiments certifiés ENERGY STAR de RNCan.

Apprenez-en plus sur le processus de demande de certification ENERGY STAR® à l’adresse http://energystar.gc.ca/batiments

CONSEILS POUR PRÉSENTER UNE DEMANDE

Du début à la fin, l’outil Portfolio Manager de RNCan guide les utilisateurs pendant le processus de demande. Néanmoins, plusieurs éléments doivent être pris en compte lors d’une demande initiale ou d’un renouvellement.

Les demandes sont gratuites, mais les services des professionnels agréés ne le sont pas : RNCan n’impose pas de frais pour la certification. Par contre, les demandeurs assument les frais liés aux vérifications et aux évaluations sur place. Le professionnel agréé qui effectue la vérification peut être un membre du personnel de l’organisation qui fait la demande de certification.

Sachez comment faire les calculs : Généralement, les analyses comparatives effectuées dans le cadre d’ENERGY STAR tiennent compte de la superficie brute totale d’un bâtiment. Par contre, certains actifs énergétiques peuvent être exclus du calcul à condition qu’ils soient mesurés par un compteur divisionnaire. Il s’agit notamment d’éléments situés sur la propriété qui ne sont pas immédiatement liés à l’utilisation du bâtiment, tels les tours de téléphonie cellulaire, les parcs de stationnement, les stations de recharge des véhicules électriques, les piscines extérieures et les piscines chauffées, ou tout panneau d’affichage ou écran de projection.

Tirez profit des ressources de RNCan : RNCan propose une multitude de possibilités de soutien en personne ou en ligne afin d’obtenir la certification ENERGY STAR et de la conserver. Cela comprend des webinaires périodiques offrant de la formation et des renseignements sur Portfolio Manager, des FAQ en ligne, ou l’infolettre mensuelle L’Enjeu : Bâtir l’efficacité énergétique.

LE SAVIEZ-VOUS?

Les avantages de l’analyse comparative vont au-delà de la certification ENERGY STAR. Calculer la consommation d’énergie de façon continue peut aider à cerner les tendances, les problèmes potentiels et les déviations d’un portefeuille, ce qui peut mener à des occasions de plus grande envergure. L’analyse comparative continue peut aussi aider les propriétaires et les gestionnaires à établir des priorités en matière de modernisation de leurs installations et les munir de bons arguments en appui à leurs rénovations et à leurs projets de recommissioning. De plus, les honneurs ne nuisent jamais. En plus de contribuer à faire d’un bâtiment un endroit idéal où travailler, la réalisation d’analyses comparatives régulières de la consommation d’énergie et l’utilisation des données qui en découlent dans l’optique d’améliorer ses activités permettent d’obtenir la certification et de figurer au registre des bâtiments certifiés de RNCan.

En outre, ENERGY STAR est une marque reconnue de tous et la certification ENERGY STAR est une façon rentable de montrer son dévouement envers la gestion de l’énergie et la protection de l’environnement.

L’obtention de la certification ENERGY STAR demande également le respect de certains niveaux de qualité de l’air intérieur, d’éclairage, de chauffage et de refroidissement; cela démontre un engagement envers l’application des mesures d’efficacité énergétique tout en maintenant des normes élevées en matière de confort et de sécurité pour les occupants du bâtiment.

UN PARCOURS CONTINU

La durabilité est un cheminement. De même, afin d’encourager le maintien des initiatives et des programmes d’économie d’énergie par les participants au programme d’une année à l’autre, la certification ENERGY STAR est remise sur une base annuelle.

Les premiers pas sont faciles et tout le monde y gagne. C’est le moment de vous lancer dans le processus de certification ENERGY STAR de votre bâtiment et de commencer à utiliser l’outil ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

Si vous avez des questions précises concernant la certification ENERGY STAR pour les bâtiments commerciaux et institutionnels au Canada, veuillez consulter http://energystar.gc.ca/batiments.

PROPRIÉTÉS ADMISSIBLES À LA CERTIFICATION ENERGY STAR

Au Canada, la certification ENERGY STAR est présentement offerte pour les types de bâtiments suivants :

écoles du préscolaire au niveau secondaire;
hôtels et motels;
entrepôts;
centres médicaux;
hôpitaux;
patinoires et pistes de curling;
bureaux commerciaux;
résidences pour personnes âgées et établissements de soins pour bénéficiaires internes;
supermarchés et commerces alimentaires;
commerces de détail;

ENTREPRENDRE LE PARCOURS

Il est facile de déposer une demande de certification ENERGY STAR. Faites les premiers pas en vous inscrivant à ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

Cracking through entrenched social inequities

Commercial real estate investors, owners and managers are acknowledging that entrenched social inequities undermine their workforces, their tenants and the value of their portfolios. With both the COVID-19 pandemic and watershed events arising from systemic racism galvanizing their attention in 2020, senior executives and ESG (environmental, social, governance) practitioners with prominent Canadian companies have been grappling with how to rebalance hierarchies, broaden input, expand opportunities and reap returns from the resulting dynamics.

Panellists participating in two recent online industry discussions outlined some of their efforts thus far, affirming that there is still much to learn and do. Institutional investors’ growing reliance on ESG benchmarking presents one obvious avenue to measure companies’ tangible commitment to diversity and inclusion, and to analyze and compare organizational performance. However, to date, reporting and assessment have been more tied to environmental imperatives.

“The S is really hard,” mused Dan Winters, head of the Americas for GRESB, during last fall’s Canadian release of 2020 ESG results for commercial real estate portfolios. “You hear this all the time: Let’s focus on the E, and we can metric it and we can figure that out. The S is tricky.”

Property and asset managers sharing insight during a Buildings Week panel discussion sponsored by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Greater Toronto similarly noted that they are on something of a learning curve. While the industry’s endorsement of diversity and inclusion is certainly not new, and has often been tied to goals for attracting, nurturing and retaining adept, fresh-thinking personnel, panellists concurred that the year’s melding of homicidal racism and universal outrage pushed the issue to the forefront of their consciousness.

“We’ve all started having some conversations that I think needed to be had,” observed Nada Sutic, director of operational excellence with QuadReal Property Group and current BOMA Toronto chair. “We’ve had more conversations about: How do we hire people and who do we hire? We’re thinking about our own biases, perhaps, and biases that are really built into our systems and how we’re operating.”

Internal leadership and external expectations drive conversations and actions

Panellists pointed to the guidance and directions they are getting from internal leadership and influential clients. Kevin Hardy, vice president and head of Oxford Properties Group’s Toronto office division, reports that Blake Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer of Oxford’s pension fund parent, OMERS, has set the tone for the organization — for example, augmenting already existing commitments and objectives by retaining outside expertise to provide awareness and training sessions.

“Our teams are still a little too white and a little too male, but I think there is progress being made on all of this,” Hardy said. “I am encouraged by just the sheer amount of discussion and openness. People now desire to have these talks and I think that will lead to more and more, better and better change.”

Marlene Farias, vice president, central region, with Triovest Realty Advisors, identifies the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) as an influential client that has been ahead of the recent impetus in viewing diversity and inclusion as an indicator of high performance and investment growth potential. Like Oxford/OMERS, Triovest is also bolstering internal resources and adjusting strategic planning.

“Our shareholder core group of companies launched an executive learning series where they bring education and awareness around D&I topics and educate their leaders in higher positions so we can have the tools to lead our teams and move the needle,” she said. “In 2021, we’ve committed to develop a roadmap, where we plan to have a facilitator with the executive team to look at what we need to do to strategically implement more D&I within our workforce.”

From an institutional investor’s perspective, Andrew Garrett, executive director, real estate, with the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), is both privy to evidence that diversity boosts performance and in a position to forcefully convey that message to those who seek business and/or capital. Notably, diversity and inclusion was in the scoring matrix for IMCO’s RFP for property management services for its Canadian retail assets last year.

“Of the 15 bidders that went through something like a six or seven-month process bidding on this opportunity, not surprisingly, the highest performing team had a very diverse executive team,” Garrett recounted. “It was quite apparent to us that the high-performance culture always kind of shows up when you have a team on which everyone doesn’t necessarily always look the same.”

In turn, that insight gets channelled to other decision-making processes where IMCO holds sway, such as its representation on board advisory committees for real estate private equity firms. “As they are coming across project opportunities, it is incumbent on me to ask questions about the teams and the opportunities, and how they are impacting their communities and interests,” Garrett said.

Property managers are likewise applying those questions to tenant engagement programs whether that’s through surveys to glean wider input, events — “That could be a little more inclusive, celebrating everyone’s cultures and holidays,” Farias suggested — or support to address shared social goals.

“There can be philanthropy or volunteering where these values allow you to partner on a personal basis with the potential occupants of a building. There is going to be lots of opportunity there to develop more engagements,” Hardy projected.

Quantifying and elevating the S in ESG

Meanwhile, ESG practitioners are pondering how they might address some of the stresses COVID-19 has highlighted, and how to develop and quantify the metrics to support that effort. Ridhima Nayyar, manager of sustainability with RioCan REIT, sees GRESB and the collegiality of Canadian GRESB participants as key catalysts.

“With COVID, I think we all have figured out that we are going through a social crisis. Up until now, we have been talking about E and G, but now a big focus is on the social aspect,” she reflected during the GRESB results panel discussion. “We want to work not only within our own organization, but also with our peers to move this ESG movement to another level. GRESB is one platform that has brought these social issues that our industry currently faces under one umbrella, and I think that can take our awareness to another level.”

“Many real estate executives had a bit of an reckoning this year. There’s a recognition that we’re behind on diversity and inclusion,” agreed Jamie Gray-Donald, vice president, sustainability and environmental health and safety, with QuadReal. “We don’t even have the data on diversity and inclusion that any Fortune 500 companies have so we’re catching up on that.”

That could align well with what Winters has typified as the GRESB journey, in which participating companies initially sign on to meet their own corporate responsibility requirements, get further engaged in the peer-to-peer benchmarking aspects of the program and then realize the risk management and value enhancement benefits. Accordingly, Garrett contends that expectations are already shifting from due diligence to cultivating opportunities.

“Historically, we were a little more focused on risk. Diversity/inclusion, especially in the U.S. portfolio, it’s risk (management) against discrimination lawsuits; it’s risk (management) against property damage and social unrest from a real estate perspective. Part of the movement and focus now has changed the lens so people feel diversity/inclusion is a growth area. It’s not as fear-based,” he submitted. “Looking forward, as a long-term holder of assets in thriving cities, we need there to be cohesion; we need there to be inclusion. We need cities to be magnets for global talent so, for the long-term, we have a vested interest in inclusion. The ways it’s starting to manifest are pretty significant.”

Barbara Carss is editor-in-chief of Canadian Property Management.

Prince Rupert port gets $25 million upgrade

The British Columbia government has announced an investment of $25 million that will improve and expand operations at the Port of Prince Rupert.

“Our investment in the Port of Prince Rupert will help create new good-paying jobs in our region, while improving western trade corridors and helping Canadian importers and exporters get goods to market,” said Jennifer Rice, MLA for North Coast, on behalf of Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

The project, led by the Prince Rupert Port Authority, will improve and expand infrastructure at the Ridley Island Export Logistics Platform. The project, spanning more than 28 hectares (70 acres), will create a platform to enhance the port’s capacity for transloading B.C. and western Canadian natural resource products for containerized export by sea to international markets. Transloading is the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another.

Once built, this new platform will increase the port’s export transloading capacity from 75,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to over 400,000 TEUs annually. The completed project will come with new and updated rail tracks and dedicated roadways to and from the Fairview Container Terminal. It will also feature new offloading and storage facilities plus related large-scale equipment.

“Metlakatla First Nation participates in many aspects of the growth of the container business at the Port of Prince Rupert through our agreements, port infrastructure construction projects and entrepreneurial ventures like Gat Leedm trucking, the largest container trucking operation in Prince Rupert,” said Harold Leighton, Chief Councillor, Metlakatla First Nation. “The development of the export logistics platform is another opportunity to continue our shared success through both business and employment opportunities.”

The project is expected to provide substantive economic benefits, including supporting regional businesses and creating 200 jobs in transloading, plus an additional 2,000 jobs in areas such as warehousing, longshore work and trucking.

National home price up 9.7 per cent in Q4

Markham, Vaughan, Burlington, Pickering, Oakville. The average home price in all these Ontario-based cities increased by at least $100,000 last quarter, compared to 2019.

These latest stats in the housing market puzzle come from the Royal LePage House Price Survey, released last week. According to Q4 data, the average price of a home in Canada rose 9.7 per cent year-over-year to $708,842 in 2020. Sixty-four per cent of all regions surveyed showed median price gains of more than 10 per cent for two-storey homes. On the condo side, the average price went up 3.9 per cent to $509,239.

“High levels of unresolved housing demand and low inventory levels will likely characterize the 2021 spring market, putting further upward pressure on housing values, particularly in the detached and larger townhome segments, as families with access to extremely low borrowing costs trade traditionally desirable urban locations for more personal space,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.

Large urban centres

Demand for properties in urban centres has remained high despite the trend to move outside of cities, to suburbs and country-side landscapes. Single-family and condo prices climbed in Winnipeg, Regina and Montreal. In Greater Vancouver, condo prices grew 3.3 per cent to $662,120 and 3.9 per cent to $784,351 in the city’s centre.

In the Maritimes, it seems local buyers are competing with out-of-province buyers in cities like Halifax, which posted the highest increase in average home price: 17.1 per cent year-over-year to $377,469. Condos ticked up 4.0 per cent to $301,615. Meanwhile, Charlottetown recorded the second highest increase in average home price, rising 12.7 per cent to $344,823.

Greater Toronto Area

The average price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) rose 10.4 per cent year-over-year to $936,510 in Q4, with condos increasing 3.6 per cent to $593, 811—still lower than the median price of a two-story home which rose 11.9 per cent to $1,102,155.

In Toronto, strong home price gains were also evident in Q4, with the exception of condos where the price grew 1.4 per cent year-over-year to $634,081. The price of a two-storey home rose 10.6 per cent to $1,446,184.

Debra Harris, vice president, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd, said buyers were prioritizing as much space as they could afford during the second half of 2020. “While many buyers shifted their target neighbourhood away from the city centre, so few properties for sale meant that most detached listings saw multiple-offer scenarios,” she said. “2020 did bring some balance to the region’s condominium market but larger units, often in the greater region, are still in high competition.”

Pent-up demand in the GTA remains high for detached homes. Inventory levels will be a leading indicator of price appreciation in the spring market. “The GTA real estate market could absorb a short-term influx of detached home listings and remain in a seller’s market,” she said. “If inventory remains low, prices can only go up.”

Ottawa

Home prices in Canada’s capital city went up 14.9 per cent year-over-year to $568,608, with condos increasing 13.8 per cent to $385,525 and two-storey homes rising by 14.8 per cent to $595,991.

Jason Ralph, managing partner, Royal LePage TEAM Realty, expects prices to continue a steady climb as buyers re-enter the spring market. “The strong seller’s market is expected to persist through 2021, as demand continues to outpace supply in Ottawa,” he said. “The city is more affordable than Vancouver or Toronto and that’s attractive to both first-time buyers and young professionals from across the country, especially those with families.”

Alberta

Calgary

Other regions are seeing prices dip. In Calgary, condo prices decreased 3.7 per cent in Q4 to $248,840 compared to 2019. Even the average price of a two-story home went down, but by 0.5 per cent.

Corinne Lyall, broker and owner, Royal LePage Benchmark, noted the increase in immigration will likely create new opportunities for investors and people looking to move to the region due to the increasing viability of remote work “Calgary remains an attractive place to purchase a home, partly due to its affordability relative to other major cities in Western Canada,” she said. “With inventory levels the lowest we’ve seen in nearly two decades, specifically in the single-family detached market, I expect a brisk spring market in 2021.”

Edmonton

In Edmonton, the average price of a two-storey home remained flat at $427,530, while the condos dipped 1.3 per cent to $217,141.

Tom Shearer, broker and owner, Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate, said young families will likely continue to drive demand for detached homes in the city where inventory remains low. “Edmonton’s housing market has been relatively flat throughout the pandemic, with sellers hesitant to list their homes due to safety concerns,” he said. “However, the resilience of Edmonton’s home prices during the pandemic is reassuring to both buyers and sellers. I anticipate a brisk spring market, as consumer confidence rises once a vaccination plan is well underway.”

Toronto vacancy rate reaches 50-year high

According to the latest Urbanation report looking at newer purpose-built rental apartments, the Toronto vacancy rate rose to a 50-year high of 5.7 per cent in Q4-2020, up from 1.1 per cent in Q4-2019.

“The GTA rental market faced its toughest challenges to date in 2020 due to COVID-19,” said Shaun Hildebrand, President of Urbanation. “While rents have a long way to go before returning to their peak and supply will continue to be a headwind in the near-term, some improvement can be expected in 2021 as vaccinations eventually lead to higher immigration and at least a partial return to the office for downtown workers and in-class learning for post-secondary students.”

In the 905 region, vacancy rates increased from 0.8 per cent in Q4-2019 to 2.0 per cent in Q4-2020. The still low vacancy rate in the 905 can be attributable to a relatively limited amount of rental stock and increased population outflows from the City of Toronto. The overall vacancy rate for the Greater Toronto Area was 4.6 per cent in Q4-2020, up from 1.0 per cent in Q4-2019.

Average rents for purpose-built units that became available for rent during Q4-2020 declined 10 per cent year-over-year in the City of Toronto to $2,337 in Q4-2020, with average per square foot rents down 6.2 per cent year-over-year to $3.49 psf. The annual decline in average rents in the 905 region was milder at 2.2 per cent, down to $2,139, with average per square rents increasing 1.0 per cent year-over-year to $2.46 psf.

For the GTA as a whole, average monthly rents were down 8.0 per cent year-over-year to $2,289, declining 3.9 per cent year-over-year on a per square foot basis to $3.19 psf. When excluding new buildings with typically higher rents that finished construction in 2020, average GTA purpose-built rents declined 8.9 per cent year-over-year (down 5.7 per cent on a per square foot basis). The reported decline in rents was additional to incentives. Urbanation found that the majority of rental buildings surveyed continued offering incentives in the fourth quarter to attract new tenants, which included up to two months’ free rent.

Apartment construction starts

There were seven new purpose-built rental apartment buildings that reached completion in the GTA during 2020 (six in Toronto and one in Mississauga), totaling 1,699 units. By the end of the year, the new buildings were 44 per cent occupied on average, with rents averaging $2,480 ($3.82 psf). By comparison, 11 new buildings (nine in Toronto and two in the 905) totaling 3,563 units reached completion in 2019, which were 70 per cent occupied by the end of last year with rents that averaged $2,654 ($3.77 psf). Looking ahead to 2021, 18 rental projects (15 in Toronto and three in the 905) totaling 4,977 units are scheduled for completion in the GTA, representing the highest total since 1993.

Purpose-built rental construction slowed in 2020 following the onset of COVID-19. After reaching a multi-decade high of 13,764 units under construction in the GTA in Q1-2020, the number of rentals under construction declined to 12,521 units as of Q4-2020, which was slightly below the level in Q4-2019 (12,551 units) but the second highest year-end level in more than 30 years.

Condominium rents and lease activity in 2020

Condominium rental lease transaction volume in the GTA increased 25 per cent in 2020 to a record high of 38,366 units. However, the number of units that became available for rent last year increased by 46 per cent, resulting in a 162 per cent annual increase in year-end active listings to a record high 8,066 units. Measured against the monthly average rate of absorption in Q4-2020, there was 2.0 months of inventory on the market for condo rentals at the end of the year, up from 1.4 months at the end of 2019 but down from the high of 3.3 months at the end of Q2-2020. Two-thirds of all lease activity in 2020 occurred during the second half of the year as renters took advantage of rent discounts.

The average transacted rent for condo apartments in the GTA declined 14.1 per cent year-over-year in Q4-2020 to $2,076, which was the lowest level since Q2-2017. On a per square foot basis, average condo rents declined 13.0% to $2.95 psf, marking the first time rents fell below $3.00 psf since Q1-2018. Rent declines were steepest in the former City of Toronto mainly representing the downtown markets, with average per square rents down 17.2% year-over-year in Q4-2020 to $3.14 psf ($2,104). In the outer 416 region (including North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough), average rents declined 12.7 per cent year-over-year in Q4-2020 to $2.78 psf ($2,036), while average rents were down the least in the 905 region with an annual decline of 4.9% to $2.69 psf ($2,050).

The complete report can be found here: www.urbanation.ca.

Mississauga YMCA site tagged for redevelopment

New owners of the 4.5-acre Mississauga YMCA site are promising future redevelopment that will make a statement in the city’s skyline. RGF (Mississauga) Developments Inc. closed the deal for the building and adjacent parking last month, but has leased it back to the YMCA for continued operations.

The company, an arm of HBNG Holborn Group, is an investor with the Muzzo Group in two proposed high-rise condominium projects in Toronto and has interests in other low-rise and mid-rise residential and mixed-use developments in the Greater Toronto Area. It’s now expounding plans for phased development of multiple mixed-use towers with ground-level retail on the YMCA site at the north east corner of Burnhamthorpe Road West and Confederation Parkway.

That’s expected to fit with the transit-oriented development vision for the Mississauga City Centre, including intensification along the Hurontario LRT route. The new transit line, covering an 18-kilometre, 19-station stretch from the Port Credit GO station to the Brampton Gateway Terminal, is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2024.

“Mississauga City Centre is primed for tremendous growth and connectivity in the coming years,” says John A. D’Angelo, president of RGF and chief executive officer of HBNG Holborn Group. “Peel Region is projected to reach 2 million residents by 2041, thus we see this as an excellent opportunity to add to the much-needed housing supply of the region.”

Ontario extends ban on commercial evictions

Commercial evictions are still on hold in Ontario for qualifying tenants experiencing pandemic-related financial stress. A new regulation, enabled through 2020 budget legislation, retroactively extends protections for businesses and not-for-profit organizations that qualified for now-expired Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) to cover the period from Oct. 30, 2020 to January 31, 2021. It also introduces temporary protections for tenants that qualify for the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) to forestall evictions up to April 22, 2021.

The new regulation prohibits the eviction of a tenant that would be eligible for CECRA, even though applications to that program are no longer being accepted, and prevents the seizure of tenants’ assets during the period from May 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021. However, landlords may still go to court to secure eviction orders that could be enforced beginning February 1.

If landlords have already seized and sold contents of CECRA-eligible tenants’ premises, the proceeds of the sale must be applied to the rent deficit. If a new tenant has been installed in the premises, landlords will owe damages to displaced CECRA-eligible tenants.

In addition, tenants that have been approved for CERS will be protected from eviction for a 12-week period, which can be extended if qualifying tenants reapply for CERS after the initial 12 weeks. Tenants must supply proof they have been approved for CERS to their landlords.

What’s ahead for virtual meetings in 2021?

The pandemic has forced all of us to make dramatic changes in our personal and professional lives and condominium corporations are no exception. Board members, managers and unit owners have been forced to fundamentally change how they go about conducting business in their communities—holding meetings in person is no longer feasible, nor is expecting owners to cast their votes in person. Both activities are simply too risky in our current pandemic state.

One of the major changes that occurred last year was the move from in-person owners’ meetings to on-line virtual meetings. The transition to virtual meetings has, for the most part, been successful, with increased attendance, participation and smoothly run meetings.

Lessons learned

New meeting and voting procedures

For board members, many have handed over the role of chair for their first virtual owners meeting to either legal counsel or management who may be more familiar with the process. Chairing a virtual meeting and using electronic voting takes a bit of familiarity with the meeting and voting platforms. Taking the time to develop the on-screen presentation or agenda and working with the service provider ahead of the meeting to determine how motions will be handled and the respective roles of the panel members vs. the service provider will go a long way in having a very successful meeting.

For managers, the tasks to be performed have slightly changed. Managers will often be the point person with the third-party voting provider and will need to put together various unit owner lists including owner occupant and arrears information well before the meeting date. Notice packages will also require modification to the standard in-person format so that owners will understand how registration, attendance and electronic voting will occur.

For owners, the process for registration and voting is simplified and electronic voting can occur without attending the meeting. This means that proxies are no longer required. A welcomed change.

Advance electronic voting

Advance electronic voting occurs when voting is open ahead of the meeting. This is different from real-time electronic voting, which occurs during the meeting. Both forms of voting can be used together at a virtual meeting. If an owner votes in advance of the meeting, his or her vote can be changed at any time, even during the meeting in real time.

Advance voting is an alternative to completing proxies. Since advance voting counts towards quorum and an owner does not have to attend the meeting for their advance vote to count towards quorum, there is no need to gather proxies ahead of time.

Quorum

Quorum is not just determined by those who attend/log-on to the virtual meeting or those who provide proxies. Advance electronic voting also counts towards quorum, even if the owner does not attend the meeting.

Proxies

The Condominium Act does not deal with the use of proxies for virtual meetings, leaving condominium corporations to develop their own rules about whether proxies should be used for virtual meetings and if they are, how proxies will be handled. Corporations can establish their own proxy rules by including proxy use and registration provisions in a virtual meeting and electronic voting bylaw.

Practically, there is no need for proxies to be used for virtual meetings. If an owner cannot access the internet, does not have an email address or just wants someone else to attend/vote on his or her behalf, the owner can provide management with another person’s email address and that person can vote electronically or attend the virtual meeting without the need for a proxy form to be completed.

Careful consideration should be given to the use of proxies with electronic voting, as this may result in double counting and inaccurate voting results if not handled correctly.

In addition, if paper proxies are used with electronic voting, managers are usually given the responsibility of collecting and assessing paper proxies ahead of the meeting so that they can determine what information to give to the electronic voting providers—something that the CMRAO would likely not intend that managers be involved with and would discourage this type of activity, given a manager’s role as a “neutral administrator”.

Nominations from the floor

With electronic voting, nominations can still be done from the virtual floor and the electronic ballot can be modified in real time by the voting provider to add additional candidates from the floor. Any owners voting in advance can change their vote right up to the close of vote at the meeting. Depending on which voting service provider you use, all unit owners, whether they are in attendance or not, can vote for a candidate nominated from the floor. Virtual meeting and electronic voting bylaws may set out the procedure for nominations and voting protocol.

Adjourned meetings

Advance votes can be used for adjourned meetings. Depending on when the reconvened meeting is to be held, electronic voting can remain open until the vote is closed at the reconvened meeting. This gives owners more time to vote and will often result in the successful approval of votes such as bylaws.

Virtual meeting and electronic voting bylaw

Up until May 31, 2021, condominium corporations can hold virtual meetings and use electronic voting, without a bylaw. However, after May 31, 2021, those corporations that do not have this bylaw will be permitted to hold only in-person meetings with paper ballots and proxies. Many corporations are adding this bylaw to the agenda for their AGMs or holding special meetings prior to May 31, 2021 so that at least there is the option of holding owners’ meetings virtually in whole or in part, or using electronic voting with an in-person meeting.
The bylaw itself should contain provisions dealing with the process of nominations, advance voting, adjournments and proxy use.

What’s In Store For 2021?

There is no doubt that those who have conducted their virtual meetings and/or used electronic voting are seeing the benefits with little downside. Of course, whether condominium corporations continue to hold meetings virtually and/or use electronic voting will be up to each corporation.

Telephone voting

Coming in January 2021 there will be more ways for owners to have access to voting without attending the meeting. For those owners who do not have email addresses in order to receive electronic ballots and do not have access to a smartphone, tablet or a computer, voting can now be done through telephone voting.

This means that those owners who had previously completed proxy forms in advance of the meeting because they did not have an email address can vote directly in advance of the meeting or in real time. Similar to advance voting, they will also be able to change their vote at any time, prior to the close of the vote, simply by voting on their phone. This gives all owners access to voting directly for themselves, whether they attend a meeting or not.

What we have seen during the pandemic is that electronic voting addresses voter apathy, by making the voting process more accessible and user friendly. By doing so, there is no longer difficulty in obtaining the quorum needed to conduct owners’ meetings. In addition, owners voting directly for themselves will address the issues that we have had in the past, such as those contentious proxy battles stemming from proxy irregularities, including fraud, as well as errors by owners in completing proxy forms and errors by the corporation in determining the validity of proxies.

Hybrid meetings

There is no clear description as to what exactly a hybrid meeting is. Presumably it is a combination of an in-person and virtual meeting where both electronic and in-person paper ballot voting is permitted. Combining these two forms of meeting will require a well-organized process ahead of the meeting and may be quite costly.

What is clear is that condominium corporations will continue to hold their meetings virtually and/or use electronic voting and the new telephone voting process in 2021. In the meantime, for those condominium corporations that do not have a virtual meeting and electronic voting bylaw now is the time to start thinking about adding this item to your agenda of your next meeting prior to May 31, 2021.

Denise Lash is a principal of the condo law firm of Lash Condo Law and founder of CondoVoter (www.condovoter.com), a virtual meeting and electronic voting provider. Denise writes a weekly blog on condo issues facing our condo communities. For info visit www.lashcondolaw.com

GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation continues to saturate Canada

As the second wave of COVID-19 rages on, providing a clean and safe environment remains a key focus in Canada. That has been reflected in the increasing number of facilities securing GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation.

Ensuring that hygiene and infection control and prevention practices are of the highest grade possible — and communicating this to patrons, visitors, and residents — has never been more important for facilities. That importance is magnified for those facilities that are high capacity and high volume, like hotels, arenas, and so many others.

In Canada in recent weeks, there has been good news on that front.

Numerous venues have received the coveted GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation from ISSA and the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, denoting that their cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention programs implement best practices to prepare for, respond to, and recover from outbreaks and pandemics like COVID-19.

As of January 14, at least 21 facilities in Canada have achieved the certification, ranging from hotels to stadia to convention centres. Back in September, YUL Montreal-Trudeau International Airport became the first Canadian airport to get accredited. Numerous others are in the process of securing the accreditation having already committed to the program.

Recent completions include several Hyatt hotels across the country and Saskatoon’s TCU Place in late December. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Convention Centre and Winnipeg’s RBC Convention Centre both achieved accreditation this week.

The program has certainly gathered pace as word of mouth has spread and as it becomes more apparent that safe reopenings will rely on both stringent health measures and high consumer confidence. In the last week, nearly 350 facilities worldwide achieved the certification.

In total, since the accreditation was introduced last spring, more than 1,100 facilities worldwide have achieved the certification as of Jan. 15, while another 2,700 have committed to it.

The full list of accredited facilities can be found using the GBAC STAR Facility Directory. Prominent recent announcements relating to GBAC STAR accreditation can be found here.

More electricity price adjustments for Ontario

Ontario’s COVID-19-triggered lockdown comes with yet more electricity price adjustments for residential and small business customers and disrupts the planned rollout of a new rate schedule on January 1. For now, customers enrolled for either time-of-use (TOU) rates or tiered pricing under the provincial regulated price plan (RPP) will be charged the off-peak TOU rate of 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for all electricity consumption.

This is third flat rate and fourth price scheme presented to RPP customers since the pandemic began. The Ontario government first levelled the price at the then off-peak rate of 10.1 cents/kWh on March 24, 2020 then raised it to 12.8 cents/kWh on June 1.

November 1 saw the reinstitution of time-of-use rates and the introduction of new a tiered pricing option, featuring two fixed prices for consumption below and above the threshold of 750 kWh for residential customers or 1,000 kWh for small businesses. Next came the mid-December announcement of revised RPP rates to commence on January 1.

“It was a challenge to keep on top of the changes that were rolling through, and it’s perhaps even more challenging to reassure our clients that we are on top of the situation given the pace of change,” observes Rob Detta Colli, manager of energy and sustainability with Crossbridge Condominium Services.

The most recent electricity price adjustments arise from new policy directions unveiled in the 2020 Ontario budget last fall. That shifted an estimated $433 million in annual costs for renewable energy contracts, which had previously been embedded in electricity rates, to the general provincial account. As a result, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) lowered electricity rates and made a corollary cut to the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER), which RPP customers receive on pre-tax commodity and regulated transmission/distribution charges.

After receiving an OER of 33.2 per cent in November and December 2020, RPP customers will get a 21.2 per cent rebate on their 2021 hydro bills. When balanced against the rate reduction, Detta Colli calculates the overall outcome should be a 3 per cent discount from the previous RPP pricing scheme.

Once the provincial government deems it’s appropriate to return to pre-lockdown rates, the TOU rates will be: 17.6 cents/kWh for on-peak hours from 7 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.; 11.9 cents/kWh for mid-peak hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and 8.5 cents/kWh for off-peak hours from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.. Tiered rates will be: 10.1 cents/kWh for the residential customers’ first 1,000 kWh of monthly and business customers’ first 750 kWh hours of usage; and 11.8 cents/kWh for consumption surpassing those thresholds.

This is slated to be in place until spring/summer rates go into effect on May 1, 2021. In the interim, Detta Colli predicts that condominium boards and other RPP customers may struggle to decipher flip-flops on their hydro bills.

“The December 15th announcement that reduced both the commodity rates and the OER was a complete reversal of what just came into effect on November 1st when they increased the rates and the OER so it’s confusing,” he notes. “We have advised our clients that they will see changes again in the next billing period.”

A recent Ontario government backgrounder outlining a number of new regulations that came into effect on January 1 states that the new cost allocation formula “will result in electricity cost savings for industrial and large commercial consumers and hold the average residential electricity bill flat in January 2021 relative to November 2020”. Meanwhile, another new regulation establishes the framework for commercial and industrial customers to begin repaying global adjustment (GA) costs that were deferred in April, May and June last year.

At that time, the Ontario government capped the rate for the envelop of fixed costs — which include expenditures for electricity supply, nuclear facility refurbishment and conservation and demand programs — at 11.5 cents/kWh to temper the price spike that otherwise would have occurred due to the dynamics of province-wide business shutdowns. A dramatic dip in system-wide electricity demand concentrated inescapable GA costs into a diminished pool of consumption, with particularly harsh consequences for small and mid-sized commercial buildings (categorized as Class B customers) that are billed for GA on a volumetric per-kWh basis.

“The total deferred GA amount was approximately $333 million — approximately $206 million for non-RPP Class B customers and $127 million for Class A customers,” reports OEB guidance released in late December.

Both classes of customers are now expected to repay those amounts in 12 installments over the course of 2021. As the OEB has outlined, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) will calculate the recovery rate to be charged in addition to the monthly GA charge, but it will be merged into one line item on hydro bills. “The OEB expects every distributor to communicate information related to the deferred GA recovery to all Class A and non-RPP Class B customers by means of a posting on its website, at a minimum,” it instructs.

Ontario issues temporary pause on residential evictions

The Ontario government has issued an emergency order to temporarily pause the enforcement of residential evictions while the stay-at-home-order is in force. This is the second time in less than a year that the province has paused residential evictions.

“By temporarily pausing residential evictions, we are ensuring that all Ontarians are able to stay home, stay safe, and save lives,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “Our government will ensure that residential evictions continue to be paused for the remainder of the state of emergency, as long as it lasts.”

The government says this emergency order will also protect homeowners who are facing evictions due to court orders for possession of their properties.

Since the onset of COVID-19, Ontario has introduced a number of measures to protect tenants and provide supports to those most affected by the pandemic, such as freezing rent so the vast majority of Ontario’s residential tenants will not see an increase this year. Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act also require the Landlord and Tenant Board to consider whether a landlord attempted to negotiate a repayment agreement, before resorting to an eviction for non-payment of rent during COVID-19.

“We’re encouraging landlords and tenants to work together – as they have been doing for the last several months – to ensure that we keep Ontarians safe,” said Minister Clark. “We want to remind tenants who can pay their rent that they must continue to do so, to the best of their abilities.”

The latest modelling trends in key public health indicators have continued to worsen, forecasting an overwhelming of the health system unless drastic action is taken. The pause on residential evictions is one part of the province’s plan to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The Landlord and Tenant Board will continue to hear eviction applications and issue orders, but the enforcement of eviction orders will be postponed for the duration of the emergency order, except in urgent situations – such as for illegal activity. This includes orders issued, but not carried out, before the emergency order came into effect.

Scientists find new way to predict global warming

The threshold for dangerous global warming will likely be crossed between 2027 and 2042 – a much narrower window than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s estimate of between now and 2052. In a study published in Climate Dynamics, researchers from McGill University introduce a new and more precise way to project the Earth’s temperature. Based on historical data, it considerably reduces uncertainties compared to previous approaches.

Scientists have been making projections of future global warming using climate models for decades. These models play an important role in understanding the Earth’s climate and how it will likely change. Climate models are mathematical simulations of different factors that interact to affect Earth’s climate, such as the atmosphere, ocean, ice, land surface and the sun. While they are based on the best understanding of the Earth’s systems available, when it comes to forecasting the future, uncertainties remain.

“Climate skeptics have argued that global warming projections are unreliable because they depend on faulty supercomputer models. While these criticisms are unwarranted, they underscore the need for independent and different approaches to predicting future warming,” said co-author Bruno Tremblay, a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at McGill University.

Until now, wide ranges in overall temperature projections have made it difficult to pinpoint outcomes in different mitigation scenarios. For instance, if atmospheric CO2 concentrations are doubled, the General Circulation Models (GCMs) used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), predict a very likely global average temperature increase between 1.9 and 4.5oC – a vast range covering moderate climate changes on the lower end, and catastrophic ones on the other.

“Our new approach to projecting the Earth’s temperature is based on historical climate data, rather than the theoretical relationships that are imperfectly captured by the GCMs. Our approach allows climate sensitivity and its uncertainty to be estimated from direct observations with few assumptions,” said co-author Raphaël Hébert, a former graduate researcher at McGill University, now working at the Alfred-Wegener-Institut in Potsdam, Germany.

The researchers introduced the new Scaling Climate Response Function (SCRF) model to project the Earth’s temperature to 2100. Grounded on historical data, it reduces prediction uncertainties by about half, compared to the approach currently used by the IPCC. In analyzing the results, the researchers found that the threshold for dangerous warming (+1.5oC) will likely be crossed between 2027 and 2042. This is a much narrower window than GCMs estimates of between now and 2052. On average, the researchers also found that expected warming was a little lower, by about 10 to 15 percent. They also found, however, that the “very likely warming ranges” of the SCRF were within those of the GCMs, giving the latter support.

“Now that governments have finally decided to act on climate change, we must avoid situations where leaders can claim that even the weakest policies can avert dangerous consequences,” said co-author Shaun Lovejoy, a professor in the Physics Department at McGill University. “With our new climate model and its next generation improvements, there’s less wiggle room.”

About the study: “An observation-based scaling model for climate sensitivity estimates and global projections to 2100” by Raphaël Hébert, Shaun Lovejoy, and Bruno Tremblay was published in Climate Dynamics.

One of B.C.’s largest capital school projects opens

The $106.5 million New Westminster Secondary school (NWSS), one of the largest school capital projects in B.C.’s history, has opened its doors to students.

The new 1,900-seat school accommodates grade 9 to 12 students and 200 staff. Designed to meet today’s standards for safety, accessibility and modern learning, the new school was built and designed by Graham Design-Builders LP with KMBR Architects Planners Inc.

The new school design takes its inspiration from the West Coast Style of architecture, but reimagined for the needs of today and beyond. The design optimizes the use of glazing, bathing the interior with natural light, providing an open and inviting environment, while the flexible learning spaces maximize collaboration and active learning. Technology is integrated to enrich the learning process, multi-purpose spaces and a contemporary visual. The project is seeking LEED Gold certification.

“Students deserve to learn in modern and inspiring learning environments, and I am so excited that will now be the case for secondary school students in New Westminster,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education. “This new school is so important for our community, and I know that families in New West are thrilled to have a new, state-of-the-art facility that will benefit students for generations to come.”

The original NWSS served the community since 1949. It will continue to be decommissioned and prepared for demolition, which will start by the end of the school year. The New Westminster School Board will lead the demolition project and has been working with the community and stakeholder groups to design a memorial passive park space that will take its place.

“Not only does this new school stand out because it’s the only secondary school in our district, but it will stand as a flagship school in this larger region and across this province for the innovative way collaboration has been designed into every hallway and every classroom. This school has been built to support cutting-edge teaching and learning, and that’s going to allow us to better prepare our students for the changing and modern world they’re walking into,” said Gurveen Dhaliwal, board chair at New Westminster Schools.

Budget 2020 ensures B.C.’s education system will have the highest school district operating and capital funding ever to support students.

CCA: stay vigilant amid rising COVID-19 cases

The construction industry must remain vigilant and follow worksite health and safety protocols as well as general public health measures with the rise of COVID-19 cases, new strains and a slower than hoped rollout of vaccines, says the Canadian Construction Association (CCA).

The Canadian construction industry already has in place and implements highly disciplined health and safety protocols on construction sites and at manufacturing facilities. Companies have significantly amplified these by adhering to CCA’s COVID-19 Standardized Protocols for All Canadian Construction Sites. CCA and our partner associations have a wealth of resources available to member firms to assist them during the pandemic.

“We are proud of our industry and the firms of all sizes who quickly adapted and consistently implemented health protocols across Canada,” says Mary Van Buren, CCA president. “This pandemic highlighted the value of past infrastructure investments, including maintenance, that ensured that the increased volume of goods, food and medical supplies moved efficiently across our roads and bridges, that we could work from home because of broadband connectivity, that we have clean water to drink and for hygiene and that we have hospitals where we receive excellent care.”

With cases steeply rising and ICU units reaching full capacity, there is also a growing urgency around following general health guidelines and other government measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as eliminating all non-essential travel, wearing a mask in public, getting a flu shot, limiting your contacts, and washing your hands frequently.

“It is vital to Canada’s health and economy that our strong track record of safety in the first wave continues into this second and potentially more challenging wave,” says Van Buren. “I know many of us are frustrated by this long road, are experiencing pandemic fatigue, and making personal sacrifices. Together, we can stay the course so that Canadians continue to benefit from the essential work and services provided by construction. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Virginia introduces America’s first permanent workplace virus rule

The fight to see permanent measures introduced to protect workers from COVID-19 infection has taken a big step forward as Virginia has become the first state in the U.S. to enact a permanent workplace virus rule.

Virginia was a trendsetter last year when it became the first U.S. state to enact a temporary COVID-19 emergency workplace rule. According to Bloomberg Law, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board voted 9-4 to approve a permanent measure on January 13, 2021, that will take effect when or before the temporary standard expires on January 26.

The permanent rule will largely mimic the temporary one. That had grouped workers such as medical personnel or cleaning and maintenance workers into categories of high, medium, and low risk of exposure to the virus while on the job. It will also continue to mandate that employers create a workplace infection protection program and train workers on how to comply, as well as setting requirements for social distancing, cleaning, and wearing of face masks.

According to Bloomberg, the board majority rejected an effort by employer representatives to terminate the standard when the governor ends the state’s COVID-19 state of emergency. The main rationale for the rejection was that a permanent rule is badly needed to prevent outbreaks among workers who choose not to be or cannot be vaccinated.

As with the temporary workplace virus rule, employers with workers in high-risk jobs, such as hospital nurses, will have to meet stricter requirements including mandates for ventilation systems. The permanent rule has also added prison guards to the list of high-hazard jobs.

The board also approved several changes to align the permanent measure with the Virginia Department of Health or the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention policies.

For example, the emergency rule required employers to contact the state health department whenever an employee contracted COVID-19. That has now been changed, at the health department’s request, so that employers must contact the state when it records at least two cases within 14 days. That is the health department’s definition of an outbreak.

Since Virginia’s temporary measure, California, Michigan, and Oregon have enacted similar comprehensive standards, while Nevada and Washington use a mix of executive orders and state occupational safety and health rules to set protection requirements.

Public invited to comment on digital, virtual processes under the Condo Act

The public is invited to join in written consultations regarding possible permanent changes to allow for digital and virtual processes under the Condominium Act, 1998.

As mentioned in a recent notice from the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, the legislature passed the COVID-19 Response and Reforms to Modernize Ontario Act, 2020, which made temporary legislative amendments to the Condominium Act, 1998 related to virtual meetings and the deferral of annual meetings in some circumstances in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These temporary legislative amendments were further extended by regulation to permit corporations to call and hold meetings as applicable through electronic and telephonic means, notwithstanding certain requirements until May 31, 2021.

The ministry is now seeking input on whether more temporary or permanent changes are required under the Condo Act in relation to virtual processes. The ministry has developed a Condominium Act, 1998 Feedback Form that consists of targeted questions intended to guide participants feedback regarding, virtual meetings, electronic delivery of notices and documents, and storage/examination of records through electronic means.

The Feedback Form is now posted on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry for public comment. Feedback is encouraged on these topics at the following link by 5 p.m. on February 8th, 2021.