Archived News at CodeNews.ca

"On Tuesday, September 23, 2014, Ontario Regulation 191/14 was filed to amend the 2012 Building Code, Ontario Regulation 332/12.
These amendments increase the permitted height of certain wood frame buildings from four to six storeys, and will take effect on January 1, 2015.
Under the new Building Code provisions, residential (“Group C”) and office buildings (“Group D”) can be constructed using wood-frame construction up to six storeys.
These buildings may include other “mixed use” occupancies below the third floor, specifically, “Group A-2” and “Group E” uses such as restaurants and grocery stores, as well as parking garages.
To ensure that they meet Ontario’s high safety standards, these buildings will feature several additional safety provisions not currently required in four storey wood buildings, including:

enhanced automatic sprinklering to the NFPA 13 standard;
sprinklering of all balconies over 610mm deep;
building height limits including height limits to the fire access route;
a requirement for exterior cladding and roof covering to be noncombustible or combustion-resistant;
additional compartmentalization for large sprinklered spaces such as attics;
requiring at least 10% of the building perimeter to be within 15 meters of a fire safety access route;
requiring that exit stairwells have a 1.5 hour fire-resistant rating and be of noncombustible construction;
a requirement to meet a higher seismic load than similar noncombustible buildings; and
more robust occupancy permit requirements.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is working with the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, responsible for the Office of the Fire Marshall, to develop guidelines for site fire safety during construction of five and six storey wood buildings.
For more information on the new requirements for mid-rise wood frame buildings, please visit the Building Code website at: www.ontario.ca/buildingcode."

DATE	PROVINCE OR JURISDICTION	ARCHIVED NEWS
29-DEC-2014	ONTARIO 2007 Fire Code	The Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management's Bulletin #010/14, published on December 29, 2014, announced that Amendment Package #2 for 2007 Fire Code Compendium is now available from ServiceOntario Publications. The amendment package contains revised pages for the following documents: Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 (complete reprint reflecting changes to date) Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07) (pages amended by O. Reg. 194/14) Fire Code Supplement, FCS-1 (complete reprint reflecting changes introduced by O. Reg. 150/13 and O. Reg. 194/14) The Amendment Package #2 file may be downloaded at no cost from the ServiceOntario Publications website by searching for document number “112006” in the Search bar..
22-DEC-2014	ONTARIO 2007 Fire Code	The Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management's Bulletin #009/14, published on December 22, 2014, announced that the 2007 Fire Code (Ontario Regulation 213/07) has been amended by Ontario Regulation 275/14. This regulation, which clarifies the requirements for licensed child care programs in schools, was made on December 16, 2014 and comes into force on January 1, 2015.
12-DEC-2014	ONTARIO 2007 Fire Code	The Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management's Bulletin #008/14, published on December 12, 2014, announced that approximately 120 technical changes have been made to amend the 2007 Fire Code (Ontario Regulation 213/07). These new amendments are contained in Ontario Regulation 256/14, which was filed on December 10, 2014, and comes into force on January 1, 2015. Highlights of Ontario Regulation 256/14 include: a new section in Part 5 that applies to hot surface applications new fire safety planning requirements for buildings with a contained use area or impeded egress zone new requirements for double-wall construction for flammable and combustible liquid storage tanks and piping systems a relocation of code requirements to more closely align the structure of the Fire Code with that of the NFC; and references to more current editions of standards and other documents.
10-DEC-2014	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing issued Ontario CodeNews e-bulletin #235, dated December 10, 2014, to remind building officials, certain classes of designers, on-site sewage system installers, and Registered Code Agencies that, effective January 1, 2015, all building practitioners regulated under the Building Code (O. Reg. 332/12) will have to register annually and pay an annual fee. Since the Ontario government has not immediately published Ontario CodeNews e-bulletins on its website, CodeNews.ca will continue to publish the complete list of the government's Ontario Codenews Bulletins, issued in 2014, for convenience only.
05-DEC-2014	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	Amendment Package #3 to the 2012 Building Code Compendium, dated October 24, 2014, (includes O. Reg 191/14) is now available on the ServiceOntario Publications website. This package consists of 478 pages. As of December 5, 2014, ServiceOntario Publications have indicated that Amendment Package #3 is currently available online only - The print format version will be available shortly. There is no cost to download the online package.
04-DEC-2014	ONTARIO Energy Efficiency Checklists and Software	The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's Ontario CodeNews e-bulletin #234, dated December 4, 2014, provides links to a number of energy efficiency resources: Download the MMAH Energy Efficiency Checklist for Part 3 buildings and Part 9 non-residential buildings that have finally been updated to reflect the 2012 Ontario Building Code. Download the Energy Efficiency Checklist for the 2011 NECB, referenced in the 2012 Ontario Building Code. Download the new version of the U.S. Department of Energy's COMcheck™ for Windows^® software (Build Version: 3.9.4.2) that includes Ontario climatic data and has the capacity to address mixed-use buildings. Unlike the Canadian and Ontario governments, the government of the U.S.A. makes all publications and software funded by its taxpayers available at no cost to the public. Since the Ontario government has not published Ontario CodeNews e-bulletin #234 on its website, CodeNews.ca will continue to publish the complete list of the government's Ontario Codenews Bulletins, issued in 2014, for convenience only.
28-NOV-2014	MANITOBA Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings	On December 1, 2014, the 2011 National Energy Code for Buildings will become effective in Manitoba via provincial Regulation 213/2013 and be known as the Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings (MECB). Manitoba's Office of the Fire Commissioner has posted an Information Bulletin regarding Adoption of the 2011 National Energy Code for Buildings on its web site.
04-NOV-2014	CSA C22.1-15 2015 Canadian Electrical Code, Part I	The CSA Group's November 2014 Electrical newsletter contains an announcement that the 23rd edition of the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I, (2015 edition) is now available for pre-order. This edition contains more than 200 updates and revisions, including major changes to sections on renewable energy, hazardous locations and electric heating.For further information visit ShopCSA.
31-OCT-2014	CSA A440 North American Fenestration Standard	Al Jaugelis, Fenestration Specialist, at RDH Building Engineering Ltd. has published an article titled: "What you Need to Know about NAFS in Canada", that will be of interest to designers and building officials, especially for products originating from the U.S.A. NAFS-08, the 2008 version of the North American Fenestration Standard, is a code requirement in Ontario, as well as many other Canadian provinces, for windows, doors and skylights.
23-OCT-2014	ONTARIO Qualification & Registration	The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's Ontario CodeNews e-bulletin #233, dated October 23, 2014, provides further details concerning Building Code examination delivery by Humber College. Since the Ontario government no longer publishes past issues of its Ontario Codenews Bulletins on its website, CodeNews.ca has prepared a list of the government's Ontario Codenews Bulletins, issued in 2014, for convenience only.
20-OCT-2014	ONTARIO Qualification & Registration	In a letter dated October 20, 2014, the Director of the Building and Development Branch detailed a number of adminstrative changes in QuARTS. Effective November 17, 2014, Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning will be scheduling and hosting all Ontario Building Code 2012 Examinations on behalf of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
15-OCT-2014	ONTARIO Elliot Lake Inquiry	The Honourable Paul R. Bélanger, Commissioner of the Elliot Lake Inquiry, released his report on October 15, 2014. The report consists of: Executive Summary Part One: The Events Leading to the Collapse of the Algo Centre Mall Part Two: The Emergency Response and Inquiry Process
15-OCT-2014	ONTARIO 2007 Fire Code	The Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management's Bulletin #007/14, published on October 15, 2014, announced that Ontario Regulation 194/14 was filed on October 14, 2014. This regulation was made under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, and amends the 2007 Fire Code (Ontario Regulation 213/07). O. Reg. 194/14 deals with the installation, maintenance, testing and replacement of CO alarms in existing residential occupancies. Further information about CO alarms will be available shortly on the OFMEM website. It is interesting to note that this regulation was made on September 11, 2014 but the government waited for over a month, until October 14, 2014, to file it and make it public. This regulation came into force on the following day, October 15, 2014. It doesn't give people much time to comply, does it?
09-OCT-2014	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	An 18 page annotated version of the mid-rise combustible construction amendments to the 2012 Ontario Building Code arising from O. Reg. 191/14 has been prepared by Alek Antoniuk. The document provides a detailed line-by-line description of all Ontario Building Code changes related to the mid-rise combustible construction requirements that will come into effect on January 1, 2015 in Ontario. This document is available at no cost to clients of CodeNews Consulting Corp.
01-OCT-2014	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code Municipal Affairs and Housing 2014 Mandate Letter	In her mandate letter of September 25, 2014, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne gave instructions to The Honourable Ted McMeekin, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on 8 specific priorities for the year 2014. One of these specific priorities was: "Amending the Building Code" "Reviewing the Building Code to continue to ensure buildings are safe, accessible and cost-effective. You will focus on moving Ontario forward as the North American leader in climate-resistant and environmentally efficient construction." "Amending the Building Code to allow six-storey, wood-frame buildings, which will encourage the construction of mid-rise, mixed-use buildings." "Considering and implementing, where appropriate, recommendations from the Elliot Lake Public Inquiry, including changes to legislation, regulation, bylaws, policies and procedures that may prevent a similar event in the future."
30-SEP-2014	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's Ontario CodeNews e-bulletin #232, dated September 30, 2014, advised that: "On Tuesday, September 23, 2014, Ontario Regulation 191/14 was filed to amend the 2012 Building Code, Ontario Regulation 332/12. These amendments increase the permitted height of certain wood frame buildings from four to six storeys, and will take effect on January 1, 2015. Under the new Building Code provisions, residential (“Group C”) and office buildings (“Group D”) can be constructed using wood-frame construction up to six storeys. These buildings may include other “mixed use” occupancies below the third floor, specifically, “Group A-2” and “Group E” uses such as restaurants and grocery stores, as well as parking garages. To ensure that they meet Ontario’s high safety standards, these buildings will feature several additional safety provisions not currently required in four storey wood buildings, including: enhanced automatic sprinklering to the NFPA 13 standard; sprinklering of all balconies over 610mm deep; building height limits including height limits to the fire access route; a requirement for exterior cladding and roof covering to be noncombustible or combustion-resistant; additional compartmentalization for large sprinklered spaces such as attics; requiring at least 10% of the building perimeter to be within 15 meters of a fire safety access route; requiring that exit stairwells have a 1.5 hour fire-resistant rating and be of noncombustible construction; a requirement to meet a higher seismic load than similar noncombustible buildings; and more robust occupancy permit requirements. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is working with the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, responsible for the Office of the Fire Marshall, to develop guidelines for site fire safety during construction of five and six storey wood buildings. For more information on the new requirements for mid-rise wood frame buildings, please visit the Building Code website at: www.ontario.ca/buildingcode." The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has not provided any additional information on its "Hot Topics" page concerning this amendment.
23-SEP-2014	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	Ontario Regulation 191/14 was filed on September 23, 2014 and comes into force on January 1, 2015. This regulation contains: requirements to permit 6 storey buildings of combustible construction substantial changes to the barrier-free amendments detailed in O. Reg. 368/13 "demand side" changes to the professional design requirements of Section 1.2. of Div. C of the Ontario Building Code administrative changes to qualification and registration requirements in Div. C of the Ontario Building Code This regulation amends the 2012 Building Code (O. Reg. 332/12, as amended). O. Reg. 191/14 is available for download, in MS Word format, from the Ontario government's e-laws web site.
08-SEP-2014	CCBFC 2015 Construction Codes of Canada	The Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) is holding its fall 2014 public review of proposed changes to the 2010 National Model Construction Codes. The public review will run from September 8 until October 31, 2014 on the Public Review page of the NRC Web site. To request the proposed changes, you will need to fill out and submit a form. The proposed changes package will be emailed to you as a file in PDF format that is approximately 7 MB in size. As this is a manual procedure, it may take up to one working day for Canadian Codes Centre staff to process.
01-AUG-2014	ONTARIO Building Code Regulatory Registry Notice	The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's Ontario CodeNews e-bulletin #231 advised that the ministry posted Ontario Regulatory Registry Notice 14-MAH008, on August 1, 2014, of its intent to amend the 2012 Ontario Building Code to change the fee for BMEC applications to: $5,000 per application, effective January 1, 2015. $7,000 per application, effective January 1, 2016. $9,000 per application, effective January 1, 2017. $11,000 per application, effective January 1, 2018. Comments are due by September 14, 2014.
01-AUG-2014	ONTARIO TSSA Gaseous Fuels Code Adoption Document	The Ontario Technical Standards & Safety Authority has announced the Gaseous Fuels Code Adoption Document Amendment FS-212-14. CAD Amendment FS-212-14, which will become effective on October 1, 2014, will supersede CAD Amendment FS-200-12 rev. 2. Until then, CAD FS-200-12 amendment rev. 2 will continue to apply. A summary of information related to revisions and significant changes made by this amendment is provided in the section titled "Background to Code Adoption Document Amendment FS-212-14", on page one.
01-AUG-2014	ONTARIO TSSA Propane Code Adoption Document Amendment	The Ontario Technical Standards & Safety Authority has announced Amendment FS-211-14 to the Propane Code Adoption Document (CAD), which revokes and replaces the previous amendment (FS-201-12 revision no. 1, dated December 1, 2012). A summary of information related to revisions and significant changes made by this amendment is provided in the Background section on page one. This CAD amendment adopts new requirements approved by the B149.2 and B149.5 Code Committees for the 2015 Code that are considered important to be implemented in Ontario now and addresses gaps in the current codes to enhance safety.
31-JUL-2014	ONTARIO Building Code Regulatory Registry Notice	The Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing posted an Ontario Regulatory Registry Notice, on July 31, 2014, of its intent to amend the 2012 Ontario Building Code by reintroducing requirements that certain types of smaller buildings (e.g., certain foundations, projecting signs, shelf and rack storage systems) be designed by an architect or a professional engineer or a combination of both. Comments are due by September 14, 2014.
31-JUL-2014	ONTARIO Building Code Act	The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's Ontario CodeNews e-bulletin #230 advised that the Ontario Legislature passed the Building Opportunity and Securing Our Future Act (Budget Measures), 2014 and the Act received Royal Assent on July 24, 2014 . Schedule 3 of the Act amended the Building Code Act, 1992 to establish the requirement for professional design of buildings.
30-JUL-2014	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	Amendment Package #2 to the 2012 Building Code Compendium, dated January 1, 2014, (includes O. Reg 360/13, O. Reg 361/13, O. Reg 368/13, and Minister's Ruling MR-13-S-24) is now available on the ServiceOntario Publications website. Look for : Item No: 510144 Title: Amendment Package #2; O.Reg 360/13; O.Reg 361/13; O.Reg 368/13; January 1, 2014 to the 2012 Building Code Compendium This amendment package also includes the new revised Appendix Notes for the accessibility requirements of O. Reg. 368/13. As of July 31, 2014, ServiceOntario Publications have indicated that Amendment Package #2 is currently available online only - The print format version will be available shortly. Note: There is no cost to download the online package.
09-APR-2014	ONTARIO 2007 Fire Code	An amendment package for the 2007 Fire Code Compendium, that includes O. Reg. 150/13 (vulnerable occupancies including retrofit requirements for care occupancies, care and treatment occupancies and retirement homes), is now available on the ServiceOntario Publications website. This amendment may be found at the above link by typing document number “111965” in the Search bar. Note: There is no cost to download the online package.
25-MAR-2014	ONTARIO Fire Code Regulatory Registry Notice	The Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services posted an Ontario Regulatory Notice, on March 25, 2014, of its intent to seek public input on proposed changes to the Ontario Fire Code related to new installation and maintenance requirements for carbon monoxide alarms in existing residential occupancies. The notice will be available online until May 9, 2014. The proposed changes are based on the Carbon Monoxide Alarms Technical Advisory Committee's "Report on Improving Carbon Monoxide Safety for Ontarians", dated February 28, 2014.
21-MAR-2014	ONTARIO Building Code Regulatory Registry Notice	The Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing posted an Ontario Regulatory Registry Notice, on March 20, 2014, of its intent to amend the 2012 Ontario Building Code to permit 6 storey buildings of combustible construction. A policy paper, in MS Word format, providing further details of the proposed changes has been posted and will be available online until May 4, 2014.
28-DEC-2013	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	Ontario Regulation 368/13 was filed on December 27, 2013 and comes into force on January 1, 2015. This regulation contains the long awaited ACCESSIBILITY amendments to the 2012 Ontario Building Code. You may download a free annotated version of the accessibility amendments (for non-commercial use), edited by Alek Antoniuk. O. Reg. 368/13 is available for download, in MS Word format, from the Ontario government's e-laws web site.
20-DEC-2013	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	Ontario Regulation 361/13 was filed on December 20, 2013 and comes into force on January 1, 2014. This regulation amends the 2012 Building Code (O. Reg. 332/12, as amended by O. Reg. 151/13) and is intended to be a "clean-up regulation". Historically, every time a new edition of Ontario's Building Code is published, it is necessary to follow up with another regulation shortly thereafter to correct the minor technical errors that appear in the new edition. An overview of significant changes will be published here shortly. O. Reg. 361/13 is available for download, in MS Word format, from the Ontario government's e-laws web site.
20-DEC-2013	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	Ontario Regulation 360/13 was filed on December 20, 2013 and comes into force on January 1, 2014, although a number of requirements come into force at a later date, on January 1, 2015. O. Reg. 360/13 deals with administrative matters such as: Increasing the application fee for a Building Code Commission hearing from $0 to $170 and automatic annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Indes for Ontario, thereafter Increasing the application fee for a Minister's Ruling to authorize the use of a material evaluated by the CCMC from $0 to $550 and automactic annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Indes for Ontario, thereafter Increasing a wide range of fees for holders of BCINs The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's Ontario CodeNews e-bulletin #222 contains a Table showing the new fees for holders of BCINs. O. Reg. 360/13 is available for download, in MS Word format, from the Ontario government's e-laws web site.
11-DEC-2013	ONTARIO 2012 Building Code	Amendment Package #1 to the 2012 Building Code Compendium, dated September 1, 2013, (includes O.Reg 151/13 and Minister's Ruling MR-13-S-24) is now available on the ServiceOntario Publications website. Look for : Item No: 510140 Title: Amendment Package #1 O.Reg 151/13; MR-13-S-24; September 1, 2013 to the 2012 Building Code Compendium As of December 11, 2013, ServiceOntario Publications have indicated that Amendment Package #1 is currently available online only - The print format version will be available shortly. Note: There is no cost to download the online package.
15-OCT-2013	CCBFC 2015 Construction Codes of Canada	The Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) is holding a public review on proposed changes to the National Model Construction Codes. This national public review takes place from October 15 to December 23, 2013.

Archived News at CodeNews

DATE

PROVINCE OR JURISDICTION

ARCHIVED NEWS