Proposed Changes for the Next Edition of Ontario’s Building Code (Winter Consultation)

Ontario’s Building Code is a regulation under the Building Code Act, 1992 which sets out minimum administrative and technical requirements for new construction, renovation, and change of use of buildings. New editions or major amendments to Ontario’s Building Code are generally released every five years to coincide with updates to the National Construction Codes.

In Fall 2021, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing engaged in consultation on proposed changes to Ontario’s Building Code that would reduce existing variations from National Construction Codes as well as a number of proposed changes that are unique to Ontario’s Building Code.

Now, the ministry is entering its second phase of consultation as part of the development process for the next edition of Ontario’s Building Code. This consultation focuses on changes related to the new 2020 National Construction Codes. Although the 2020 Codes are not yet released, the attached code changes for consideration for Ontario’s Building Code are based on the National Research Council’s proposals and drafts of the 2020 National Construction Codes and are not expected to change in content.

The next edition of Ontario’s Building Code is an important step in the process to support increased harmonization with National Construction Codes. Approximately 60% of Ontario’s Code is currently consistent with the National Construction Codes. In the Fall 2021 consultation, a significant number of changes were proposed to reduce technical variations with the 2015 National Construction Codes. The code change proposals in this second phase focus exclusively on aligning with the 2020 National Construction Codes to minimize new variations between the next edition of Ontario’s Building Code and the National Construction Codes.

The main code change areas included in this phase of consultation include:

• Farm buildings
• Encapsulated mass timber construction
• Earthquake and structural design
• Accessibility
• Energy efficiency
• Fire safety and fire protection systems
• Safety glazing
• Plumbing
• Home-type care occupancies
• Others: stairs/ ramps/ handrail/ guide design, use and egress, Insulated Concrete Forms, and corrosion resistant ties

An overview of these changes and additional information about the consultation and development of the next edition of Ontario’s Building Code is available in the attached Executive Summary.

In addition, the changes are listed in the attached “Proposed Building Code Changes to Align with 2020 National Construction Codes”. As these proposals are closely tied to requirements in the 2020 National Construction Codes, the associated national Proposed Change Forms (PCF) are available for further detail. Please click on the link in the last column of the tables to view the relevant PCFs and their supporting documents. Further information on how to use the PCFs is available in the attached Executive Summary.

The ministry will carefully review and analyze the feedback collected from the Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 postings and engagement sessions throughout 2022. This information will inform the drafting of the next edition of Ontario’s Building Code. The ministry is also planning a third phase of the consultation later in 2022 to address any outstanding Ontario-specific changes and other issues that may have been raised in the Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 consultations.

Please submit comments on any of the proposed changes by:

1. using the link provided within the attached list of proposals,
2. using the comment function below, or
3. submitting an email directly to buildingcode.consultation@ontario.ca with the Sentence(s) or Article(s) as the subject line.

This posting is open for 45 days for feedback. Stakeholders are invited to consider these proposals in full, and to submit comments directly to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to buildingcode.consultation@ontario.ca with the Sentence(s) or Article(s) as the subject line. Bulk comment forms are also available upon request to Emily.lemarchand2@ontario.caand josh.bautista@ontario.ca.

Analysis of Regulatory Impact:

Costs: There are no new administrative costs anticipated for regulated entities.

Benefits: The proposed changes would update requirements and increase harmonization between Ontario’s Building Code and National Construction Codes.