Manitoba on track to water down building codes: critics

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This article was published 26/06/2023 (834 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is considering new building code regulations that critics contend would lower the bar for energy efficiency requirements.

In October 2022, the province vowed to adopt the 2020 National Building Code that sets the standards for building, plumbing, energy and fire codes, to be better aligned with other provinces. Manitoba is in the process of deciding which energy efficiency tier to implement when the codes take effect in early 2024.

The government’s proposed plan, which is outlined in its regulatory accountability impact analysis, is to adopt the lowest of five tiers for energy efficiency, which it says is the “preference” of home builders, although houses are already being built at Tier 2 and Tier 3 in Manitoba.

Advocates for energy efficiency and the Manitoba Building Trades are calling on the government to adopt a higher standard.

“There’s no place that needs energy efficient homes more than a super cold climate,” says Laura Tyler, head of Sustainable Building Manitoba.

After consulting with stakeholders, the province is proposing to allow new residential builds at a Tier 1 level of energy efficiency — a step backwards because houses are being built at the equivalent of Tier 2 or 3, said Tyler, whose non-profit organization promotes sustainable buildings and advocates for net zero energy performance.

She hopes the provincial government, whose 21-day consultation period for the new regulations ends today, will change its mind and raise the bar for building codes.

So does Manitoba Building Trades, which advocates on behalf of 13 unions that represent more than 10,000 construction and trades professionals, and trains them for Tier 3 or 4 building codes.

“This decision will impact the sector for years to come,” it said in a message to members, calling on them to send a letter to their MLA.

“If Manitoba adopts the new building codes at Tier 1, workers will have to be retrained the next time a higher tier is adopted,” the building trades group said. “This will be time-consuming, costly and disruptive.”

The head of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association said starting at Tier 1 wouldn’t change what builders here do now, and it would put the prairie provinces in alignment.

“We’ve suggested they harmonize with western provinces — Alberta, Saskatchewan — who’ve already indicated they’re introducing the 2020 codes at Tier 1,” president and CEO Lanny McInnes said. “We’ve also recommended that Manitoba also outline a time frame to ‘up’ the energy tiers,” he said.

At Tier 5, a building realizes at least a 60 per cent reduction in energy consumption over the baseline Tier 1, the government’s impact analysis report says.

In a statement, the province said: “Tier 1 of the 2020 National Building Code is not a step backwards as builders building to higher standards can always continue to do so.”

It said the province is working with Ottawa to get funding for a “proper assessment of a reasonable road map to advance through the energy efficiency tiers through the Codes Acceleration Fund.”

It said builders of homes and commercial properties had pressed for a “cautious approach” because Manitoba is “skipping the 2015 edition of the national construction codes, and the housing industry will have to adjust to updated requirements.”

Labour Minister Jon Reyes said in a news release in early June that building codes “affect the province’s trade relations, industry costs and economic competitiveness,” and that the government is working hard to consult with Manitobans “to ensure we are reflecting the best interests of industry.”

Consumers’ best interests should also be reflected, says Tyler at Sustainable Building Manitoba.

“Winnipeg has the most extreme weather of any major city in Canada. We get the hottest and we get the coldest,” she said.

“Most of us are using electricity to cool, most of us are using natural gas to heat. So how do we make it so we can use less? Because that is what’s going to help make life more affordable for Manitobans now and into the future.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca