Provincial
Ontario to temporarily offset electricity costs
Commercial and industrial electricity customers will pay the differential above 11.5 cents per kilowatt-hour in added monthly increments beginning in January 2021.
Ontario electricity prices flout sliding demand
Despite a steep drop in province-wide energy consumption due to COVID-19 triggered business shutdowns, many building owners/managers expect a more modest flow-through dip in operating costs.
Ontario to delay next property tax cycle
The move was announced in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, but additionally opens a window to adjust the mechanics of the assessment process itself.
Alberta cracks down on criminal trespass
Along with measures to discourage spurious lawsuits, the legislation has implications for commercial real estate operators and any organization with potential scofflaws among its employees or membership.
Smaller buildings spared Ontario benchmarking
Owners of smaller commercial and multi-residential buildings in Ontario will still be welcome to voluntarily share energy and water consumption data, but a looming deadline for mandatory disclosure has been withdrawn.
Friendlier CHP environmental approvals welcome
It's still unclear how the process of securing environmental approvals for combined heat and power systems will be streamlined, but the Ontario government's recent pledge has been greeted enthusiastically in the buildings sector.
Alberta won’t rescue energy efficiency programs
The move concludes the process begun five months ago when the newly elected United Conservative Party government repealed the carbon tax and eliminated the funding source for the incentives.
Ontario aims to relax scrutiny of accessibility
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing says the underlying principle of improving accessibility will be maintained, and connects the revisions to the government's commitment to cut red tape that is slowing down the production of new housing.
Alberta enables long-term property tax breaks
Newly adopted amendments to Alberta's Municipal Government Act extend provisions that were initially devised to support the rejuvenation of derelict brownfields to all non-residential properties.
Alberta energy efficiency programs in question
Ontario draws on the legacy of more than a dozen years of programming, while Energy Efficiency Alberta has had little time to capture public or capital planners' attention.
Nova Scotia to dim focus on lighting incentives
With the largest share of relatively inexpensive lighting upgrades completed, finding additional energy savings gets more complicated and costly. However, significant paybacks are projected from the increase in upfront program costs.
Global adjustment status quo foreseen into 2020
The current formula for allocating global adjustment costs is generally thought to be locked in for at least another year. Changes in the conservation and demand management regime are unfolding more rapidly.
Ontario Fire Code to add steeper fine bracket
More stringent fines and an extended period for prosecutions are slated to come into force 30 days after the Ontario legislature adopts the Budget Measures Act.
Ontario spurns unpaid building code advisors
The 2019 Ontario budget lists the Building Code Conservation Advisory Council among 10 provincial agencies deemed to be unnecessary or imprudent expenditures.
LTB collects $13 million in Ontario fee revenue
The volume and sum of Tribunal admin charges exceed most other tolls tied to commercial real estate and/or professional and skilled personnel who work in the industry.
Backlog plagues Quebec rental housing regulator
Quebec's largest rental housing association maintains fewer cases would go to la Régie du logement if landlords were entitled to ask for security deposits.
Ontario reroutes CDM program delivery
Local distribution companies have been the prime drivers of the Conservation First Framework, tasked with collectively attaining 7 million megawatt-hours of energy savings in the 2015-2020 period.