REMI

Provincial

Ontario to offset electricity costs with fixed rate for global adjustment in April, May and June

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 hold steady despite dropping demand

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.
Postponed reassessment delays Ontario's next property tax cycle

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.
criminal trespass

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.
Ontario benchmarking

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to voluntarily share energy and water consumption data, but a looming deadline for mandatory disclosure has been withdrawn.
environmental approvals

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.
energy efficiency programs

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The move concludes the process begun five months ago when the newly elected United Conservative Party government repealed the carbon tax and eliminated the funding source for the incentives.
scrutiny of accessibility

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.
property tax breaks

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

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.
Ontario to offset electricity costs with fixed rate for global adjustment in April, May and June

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.
plug-and-play power

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

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.
unpaid building code advisors

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.
Ontario fee revenue

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.
Ontario to further bolster LTB staffing

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.
CDM program delivery

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.