Ontario has taken legislative steps to ensure that municipal councils do not need to worry about decision timelines under the Planning Act during the COVID-19-related state of emergency.

Despite a steep drop in province-wide energy consumption due to COVID-19 triggered business shutdowns, many building owners/managers expect a more modest flow-through dip in operating costs.

From Vancouver to Bobcaygeon, Ottawa to Montreal, facilities catering to seniors have been battling surging infection rates since COVID-19’s devastating path began. Even robust protocols don't seen to be enough to stop the deadly spread.

The facility brings together a multi-purpose satellite fire station, a live-fire training building, and a municipal emergency operations centre.

Landlords and tenants are continuing to move lease transactions forward in anticipation of a return to business as usual in the near future.

The move was announced in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, but additionally opens a window to adjust the mechanics of the assessment process itself.

As the condo community deals with legal uncertainties during the pandemic, one important topic to address is owner and visitor disclosure.

A package of proposed changes to Canada's National Building Code aims to improve navigability and safety in large buildings for people with mobility, vision and/or hearing constraints.

A wider selection of high-performance windows and doors is expected to hit the market as Canada's National Energy Code continues to push the envelope toward net-zero-energy-ready development.

A looming crisis in property management is an urgent wake-up call to the condo industry.

Along with measures to discourage spurious lawsuits, the legislation has implications for commercial real estate operators and any organization with potential scofflaws among its employees or membership.

Noise complaints are a prevalent and challenging problem for facility managers. While the most common are related to a loud residential or commercial neighbour, the

Owners of smaller commercial and multi-residential buildings in Ontario will still be welcome to voluntarily share energy and water consumption data, but a looming deadline for mandatory disclosure has been withdrawn.

It's still unclear how the process of securing environmental approvals for combined heat and power systems will be streamlined, but the Ontario government's recent pledge has been greeted enthusiastically in the buildings sector.

Vancouver plans to expand its partnership with strata corporations to crackdown on operators who don’t comply with short-term rental regulations.

Guidance related to natural ventilation, particulate filtration and compartmentalization of multi-residential HVAC systems are prominent in the list of identified "significant changes" compared to the incumbent 2016 version of the standards.

The move concludes the process begun five months ago when the newly elected United Conservative Party government repealed the carbon tax and eliminated the funding source for the incentives.