CHBA advised the group of feedback from the CHBA fall meetings, where the work of the group was presented and reported additional interest from organizations like the Alliance of Canadian Building Officials’ Associations (ACBOA) and Fenestration Canada.

The group continued drafting and refining the scope section, including the impact that rising construction costs have on housing size (i.e. getting smaller). Members agreed to clarify that codes should aim for cost-neutral requirements and address health and safety concerns linked to affordability. The need to justify code changes by comparing costs and societal benefits was debated, with consensus on keeping principles high-level but supported by relevant examples. The group discussed gaps in guidance for new objectives like greenhouse gas emissions and agreed to recommend that impact analysis be done for each objective addressed by code changes (not just those already in the code). The group discussed which recommendations it would tackle next.

For further information, please contact Frank Lohmann