Welcome to National Update
This e-publication is exclusive CHBA Member content. If there is a colleague in your company or a fellow CHBA member who might find this content interesting, we'd like to help you share it. However, don't just forward this email – that allows other people to unsubscribe you. Instead, please email us with the person's name, company name, and email address and we'll create an account for them and then let them know.
|
CHBA National Meetings – Working to support your business
This week, CHBA Members from across Canada, along with local, provincial, and national HBA staff, met in Ottawa, ON, to address key issues facing our industry and your business as part of CHBA’s Fall Meetings. Here are the highlights from CHBA’s Committee, Council and Board of Directors meetings. For more info, see the committees and councils section on the CHBA national website.
|
Addressing Development and Supply Challenges, Over-Regulation/Red Tape, and Workforce Initiatives
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHBA’s Board of Directors’ meeting included an overview of the political and economic landscape leading into an imminent election, which influences CHBA’s strategic government relations approach. With recent wins on mortgage rules, CHBA’s current big recommendations include lowering the GST on new homes – which it has positioned as not a cost to government but a potential increase in revenue as more housing supply gets built– and a continued focus on the stress test and OSFI over-regulation. CMHC’s new CEO Coleen Volk was a featured speaker and engaged with the Board to discuss development delays, DCs and other challenges facing the industry. Board members provided feedback on CHBA’s new plan for coordination with provincial HBAs to influence the national building code from the top down (given the new NBC governance process). In addition to changes to the Canadian Renovators Council (see the CRC item below), the Board enthusiastically approved the creation of a new Women in Residential Construction Council to bring together the chairs of similar local councils to share best practices and learn from each other. The new Council will be part of CHBA’s several workforce development initiatives. The Board meeting also covered CHBA financials and key actions for CHBA committees and councils (see below).
|
Left to Right: CMHC CEO Coleen Volk, CHBA CEO Kevin Lee, and CHBA President Matt McCurrach listen to board members outlining development challenges.
|
Sneak Peek at Results of 2024 Municipal Benchmarking Study, Alternatives to Development Charges, Working with the Canada Lands Company
URBAN COUNCIL
Urban Council had an opportunity to see and discuss the embargoed, draft results of the 3rd edition of CHBA’s Municipal Benchmarking Study. The study is very useful for Executive Officers in their local advocacy efforts since it provides comprehensive rankings on where cities stand on their processes such as approvals timelines and charges and fees. There was also lively conversation around development charges as Professor Andrew Sanction outlined alternatives to them. Coming out of the exchange, CHBA will be producing recommendations, for HBA use, on what some other jurisdictions are doing about these out-of-control charges. The CEO of the Canada Lands Company provided more insight into the federal government’s Public Lands for Homes Plan and how they can work with market-rate developers hoping to make use of the opportunities presented in the Plan, giving meeting participants a chance to ask questions, which in turn provided the Canada Lands Committee with insight into what questions may get asked across the country.
|
Member Communications on National Code Developments to Ramp Up
TECHNICAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE (TRC)
Prompted by significant changes to how national codes will be developed in Canada starting in January, TRC members helped define goals, success indicators and relevant content for a communications plan to keep members informed. Meeting participants also explored whether new requirements for protection from radon in standards and codes may bear new risks for builders and discussed how the affordability of the national energy codes can be improved by reducing the most stringent performance targets. In a new focus for the coming year, TRC members are collaborating to determine technical solutions to an emerging human health problem: overheating of homes, which is a result of extreme heat events or of solar heat gain in high-performance homes.
|
Strengthening the Focus on Renovators Through an Expanded CRC and Updated RenoMark Program
CANADIAN RENOVATORS' COUNCIL (CRC)
In a continuing effort to strengthen the focus on Renovators, the CRC is broadening its mandate to include an emphasis on growth of renovator membership. The CRC Management Committee will also increase its membership to include representation from 7 local HBAs in an effort to encourage more participation from renovators across the country. A formal call for expressions of interest will be sent to HBAs in the coming months to fill these seats for the upcoming term. With the launch of the RenoMark verification system now complete, efforts are underway to bolster the RenoMark program. A new RenoMark Governance Committee was formed to promote the development and advancement of the RenoMark program with the goal of creating a market advantage for RenoMark members. Updates were also made to the RenoMark Code of Conduct to provide clarity on the warranty requirement.
|
Net Zero Council Celebrates 10 Years as Work on Operational GHG Emissions Ramps Up
NET ZERO COUNCIL (NZC)
Having celebrated the work accomplished over the last 10 years, the NZC is now focused on what’s to come. To help prepare the industry for future building codes, CHBA’s newest project launched in April, funded by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) under the Codes Acceleration Fund (CAF), members provided feedback on the development of an operational GHG emissions option for the Net Zero Home Labelling Program. For successful implementation, the project will holistically optimize for energy efficiency, operational and embodied GHG emissions, as well as resilience, buildability, scalability, and affordability, ensuring programming is not developed in silos. Learn more here.
|
Incentivizing Modular Construction by Derisking Investment
MODULAR CONSTRUCTION COUNCIL
CHBA’s Sector Transition Strategy, which is rooted in the need for increased productivity amid chronic labour shortage projections, continues to move forward. Members of the Council emphasized their current short-term priorities, which focus on derisking investment by unlocking the demand side with Government support. Derisking investments in further mechanization, tax credits and low interest loans were also covered. Proposed code changes specifically affecting modular construction were presented and discussed, and feedback was given on CHBA’s action plan going forward, which includes efforts to work with CSA and the National Research Council (NRC) to prevent duplicate inspections at the municipal level. CHBA is leading a 2024-2025 research project through a grant with NRC. Blower door testing on single-unit modules in factory will be conducted, with the aim of producing compelling data to support a code change allowing in-factory testing as an alternative to onsite testing. The intention is to expand the scope to multi-units and units integrated into larger projects in the future.
|
Ongoing Professional Development for Executive Officers for Stronger Associations
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS' COUNCIL (EOC)
The EOC comprises Executive Officers and HBA staff members from the Association's local, provincial, and national levels. It focuses on supporting the professional development of EOs, continuous improvement in the administration and management of the Associations at all levels, and enhanced collaboration and sharing of experience among Council members to strengthen all of our associations. Executive Officers engaged in a roundtable discussion about challenges and opportunities at their HBA, touching on various issues, including ongoing demands pertaining to municipal issues, such as zoning, by-laws, and the increasing effects of homelessness as well as RenoMark, and sponsorship strategy. The discussions will inform upcoming meeting topics and the EOC Professional Development Forum, which will take place in June in St. John’s, NL. Conservative MP Scott Aitchison, Shadow Minister for Housing, made a surprise appearance and engaged with EOs on a wide variety of topics impacting housing, including many affordability issues, plus immigration, trade, and infrastructure.
|
Scott Aitchison (left) engages with local and provincial Executive Officers and HBA staff during the CHBA EOC meeting on October 23, 2024 in Ottawa.
|
The Canadian Home Builders' Association
141 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 500
Ottawa, ON K1P 5J3
communications@chba.ca
|
|
