Overview

Ontario has established an independent expert advisory body to review the Building Code. The advisory body will identify opportunities to reduce regulatory burdens and costs while maintaining safety.

The review will help modernize the Building Code by removing outdated or unnecessary requirements while identifying burden reduction and cost saving opportunities.

Minister’s message

We are advancing our plan to streamline and right-size the Building Code.

A full review of the Building Code is immense, complex, and involves many sectors. It requires independent, specialized expertise that cannot be replicated through an internal review alone. That is why we have taken action to establish an expert advisory body.

This independent body of industry experts will help identify where requirements can be simplified, consolidated, clarified, or modernized. To be clear, Code requirements that protect health and safety will stay in place, but unnecessary ones will be removed.

Reviewing Ontario’s Building Code is important step forward in our plan to protect Ontario and meet the growing demand for more homes.

Hon. Robert Flack  
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Expert Advisory Body

The Ontario government has appointed an expert advisory body to review Ontario’s Building Code.

The advisory body includes engineering, construction, and Code specialists. It will:

  • review the Building Code section-by-section
  • identify unnecessary or outdated requirements
  • maintain health, safety, accessibility and performance standards.

The final report will be presented to the Minister and made public.

Advisory Body Members

  • Leo Grellette, Chair
  • Stephen Wong, Member
  • Paul De Berardis, Member
  • Mike Seiling, Member
  • Doug Tarry, Member

Learn more about the advisory body and their qualifications on the Public Appointments Secretariat website.

Interim report and next phase of Ontario’s Building Code review

This interim report is an early milestone in the review. It identifies preliminary recommendations for the consideration of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The interim report also outlines the next phase of the review in Part 6: Next Phase of the Review – Complex Issues Requiring Additional Consultation.

The advisory body will continue reviewing feedback provided to date and will undertake focused discussions with affected stakeholders, technical experts and subject-matter specialists on priority issues. The purpose of this work is to assess and test the evidence already received, clarify issues and examine practical approaches for consideration in the final report rather than to seek repetition of earlier submissions.

The final report is expected to include:

  • recommendations
  • potential regulatory or policy changes where appropriate
  • implementation considerations, risks and sequencing