Update from the Board 

Thomas Ferguson, Director General of the NRC Construction Research Centre and permanent Co‑Chair of the CBHCC, and Mansoor Mahmood, this year’s provincial Co‑Chair from Ontario, opened with an update on the release of the 2025 National Model Codes. They highlighted the strong national media response and stakeholder engagement, and noted that early planning for the 2030 cycle is underway, with policy work on embodied greenhouse gas emissions nearing completion. Both topics will be discussed at the public Board meeting on April 22, 2026. The Board also clarified that standards from organizations accredited by the Standards Council of Canada should be prioritized.

Members asked how provincial and territorial processes and transition periods support industry readiness. CHBA inquired about tracking municipal variations and differences in code interpretation and stressed the need to assess cumulative impacts of all changes. Fire and emergency services raised concerns about overlapping regulatory demands in the new codes and proposed enhanced participation and the creation of a national fire liaison function. 

Presentation of the Affordability Breakout Group

CHBA's Frank Lohmann presented on behalf of the Affordability Breakout Group. He outlined the groups main recommendations: to embed affordability in code development, including defining affordability as construction‑related cost impacts, adding an affordability objective aiming to establish affordable, core requirements, applying cost‑limiting principles, setting affordability thresholds per code cycle, and strengthening impact analysis through training, multi‑layer cost reviews and a small business lens. Additional work will examine the costing of referenced standards and NRC research support.

Stakeholders asked for clearer definitions of affordability, consideration of cross-sectoral impacts (accessible housing vs housing starts) , and attention to greater cost impact if issues are left to renovation rather than new construction. Concerns about increasing regulatory burden and reduced sector capacity were highlighted. The group committed to continued engagement with ACHCC members and refinement of the report before submitting it to the ACHCC Chair and NRC. 

Communications: 2025 National Model Codes

The 2025 National Model Codes have now been published, and Codes Canada is exploring effective ways to communicate code changes to industry. While not committing to the traditional “road show” format used in past cycles, Codes Canada expressed openness to new approaches and invited suggestions. The ACHCC Chair also sought advice on how the Advisory Council can best support the rollout. Many organizations encouraged Codes Canada to partner with them and use their existing communication channels—such as websites, webinars and technical documents—to help ensure broad and timely dissemination of code information. CHBA brought up the fact that the best way to help code users to implement the new codes would be to publish the user guides at the same time as the codes.

For more information, please contact Frank Lohmann