The National Model Code Committee on Indoor Environment (NMCC-IndE) met for the first time in Ottawa for a two-day orientation session and to begin work assigned to this new NMCC by the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes. The Chair is Andrew Spurrell, Stantec Consulting Ltd., and the staff contact is Taous Achour. 

This new committee is responsible for addressing and mitigating "risks affecting the indoor environment of new and existing buildings, such as legionella, radon ingress, and aerosol pathogens through the design and construction of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and plumbing systems in the National Model Codes".  CHBA is an association stakeholder member, which allows us to participate in the consensus building process but not the decision making process (now called "assessing consensus"). This is similar to our non-voting status in the last code system. CHBA will be able to participate on Task Groups, but association stakeholders are unable to participate on any working groups. 

During a discussion on performance versus prescriptive requirements, CHBA stressed the need for prescriptive Part 9 solutions that can be easily understood by those implementing and enforcing code requirements.  

The agenda package included links to new policy documents that are available on the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes (CBHCC) website, including new "operating procedures" that the NMCC will need to follow. 

Codes Canada staff provided orientation presentations on the harmonized code development system, including an important presentation outlining how the federal government's policy on "Smart Regulation" needs to be applied by NMCCs when considering proposed changes to the Codes.  NRC Research also provided an overview of related research projects carried out in the previous code cycle on radon for both new and existing houses and current projects related to radon and wildfire smoke in townhouses, social housing and long term care facilities.   

The committee reviewed new terms of reference (ToR) for the NMCC-IndE that had been approved by the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes, as well as the ToRs for the following new task groups:

1. Task Group on Radon Mitigation
2. Task Group on Alterations of Existing HVAC Systems
3. Task Group on Alteration of Existing Plumbing Systems
4. Task Group(s) on Indoor Air Quality
5. Task Group on Legionella in Building Water Systems

CHBA stressed the importance of addressing important tasks/issues left unresolved in the previous code cycle. CHBA specifically recommended that the [action item #16 regarding radon] be added to the Terms of Reference for the new Task Group on Radon."

Task: "to assess whether or not the current NBC radon ingress mitigation requirements are adequate in response to increasing ambitious air tightness requirements"  CHBA also noted the radon pipe stub diagrams updated in the 2020 NBC had not been transferred to the 2020 Part 9 Illustrated Guide; correcting the diagrams in the Illustrated Guide should be a high-priority.   

The committee also began reviewing public review comments on the proposed change form (PCF) 2007 - Automatic Shutoff of Lavatory Water Flow in Public Washrooms.  This item will be further addressed at future meetings. 

For any questions, please contact Jack.Mantyla@chba.ca 

The meeting agenda materials, along with the PowerPoint presentations delivered during the meeting, can be found below.