Motion - Councillor Liggett re: Ontario Must Build it Right the First Time
WHEREAS the Province of Ontario adopted greenhouse gas reduction targets of 30% by 2030, and emissions from buildings represented 22% of the province’s 2017 emissions,
WHEREAS all Waterloo Region municipalities, including the City of Cambridge, adopted greenhouse gas reduction targets of 80% below 2012 levels by 2050 and endorsed in principle a 50% reduction by 2030 interim target with the support of bold and immediate provincial and federal actions,
WHEREAS greenhouse gas emissions from buildings represent 45% of all emissions in Waterloo Region, and an important strategy in the TransformWR community climate action strategy, adopted by all Councils in Waterloo Region, targets new buildings to be net-zero carbon or able to transition to net-zero carbon using region-wide building standards and building capacity and expertise of building operators, property managers, and in the design and construction sector,
WHEREAS the draft National Model Building Code proposes energy performance tiers for new buildings and a pathway to requiring net zero ready construction in new buildings, allowing the building industry, skilled trades, and suppliers to adapt on a predictable and reasonable timeline while encouraging innovation;
WHEREAS the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing consulted on changes for the next edition of the Ontario Building Code (ERO #: 019-4974) that generally aligns with the draft National Model Building Code except it does not propose adopting energy performance tiers, it does not propose timelines for increasing minimum energy performance standards step-by-step to the highest energy performance tier, and, according to Efficiency Canada and The Atmospheric Fund, it proposes adopting minimum energy performance standards that do not materially improve on the requirements in the current Ontario Building code;
WHEREAS energy efficient buildings provide owners and occupants with lower energy bills, improved building comfort, and resilience from power disruptions that are expected to be more common in a changing climate, tackling both inequality and energy poverty;
WHEREAS the City of Cambridge in partnership with area municipalities and utility companies in the Region of Waterloo are actively exploring developing Green Building Standards;
WHEREAS while expensive retrofits of the current building stock to achieve future net zero requirements could be aligned with end-of-life replacement cycles to be more cost-efficient, new buildings that are not constructed to be net zero ready will require substantial retrofits before end-of-life replacement cycles at significantly more cost, making it more cost-efficient to build it right the first time.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council request the Province of Ontario to include in the next edition of the Ontario Building Code tiered energy efficiency standards and a timeframe for when higher tiers would become the minimum energy efficiency requirements in the Code, consistent with the draft Tiered National Model Building Code;
THAT Council request the Province of Ontario to adopt a more ambitious tier of the draft Tiered National Model Building Code as a minimum energy efficiency requirement than the tiers currently proposed for the next edition of the Ontario Building Code;
THAT Council request the Province of Ontario provide authority to municipalities to require increased performance in energy efficiency through the implementation of tiered Green Development Standards;
THAT Council request the Province of Ontario to facilitate capacity, education and training in the implementation of the Tiered National Model Building Code for municipal planning and building inspection staff, developers, and homebuilders to help build capacity; and
AND FUTHER THAT this resolution be provided to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to area MPPs, and to all Ontario Municipalities.