Last week In Saint John, New Brunswick the CHBA National Housing Week took place bringing members, HBA staff, EOs, and sponsors together for a week of committee meetings, AMM Meeting, National Board Meeting, and the National Housing Awards Gala. While I could not personally attend, there were several HAVAN representatives in attendance including HAVAN Board Chair, Henri Belisle of TQ Construction, and standing in for me HAVAN VP Wendy McNeil. Compliments to both Wendy and Henri for working up to and attending the HAVAN Awards on Saturday, May 4, only to have to start bright and early Sunday, May 5 on a 10+ hour journey to Saint John and joining meetings/ events on Monday morning and through the course of last week.
CHBA’s Home Building Week in Canada seeks to support members in a broad range of issues and provide value with local members inherently having representation at the provincial and federal level. From government relations to exploring innovative technologies and construction techniques for both renovation and new homes, to addressing building code changes, to working to improve development processes, to addressing the housing supply deficit, and more, the week was filled with discussions focused on the biggest challenges facing the industry and Canadians around new construction, development, and renovation. Key topics addressed included collaboration and innovation on how to boost housing supply while navigating high interest rates, development costs, labour shortages, and record-high product and material costs.
Meetings included the Technical Research Council (TRC), Modular Construction Council, Canadian Renovators Council (CRC), Urban Council, Executive Officers Council, Board of Directors meetings, and Annual Meeting of Members. The business side of the AMM and BoD saw Sue Wastell stepping down as National President and Matt McCurrach, from Kamloops BC and CHBA-CI member taking up the National Presidency. Matt is second-generation builder of singles and multis in Kamloops operating Homex Developments, is former president of CHBA-CI, CHBA-BC, CHBA-BC GR Chairs, and has served on the provincial and national executive. It is great to have a BC member well acquainted with our issues representing our interests at the National level – thank you Sue, and all the best Matt.
The meetings were attended by our HAVAN representatives and the following is a summary by CHBA of the substance of those meetings. These meetings follow the recent announcements from the feds on the Canada Housing Plan which included addressing almost all the asks we have been lobbying for at the federal level for many years.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHBA’s Board of Directors’ meeting focused on the current federal political landscape and CHBA’s ongoing government relations actions, reviewing the long list of CHBA wins for members in the new Federal Housing Plan and recent budget, with dialogue focused on how to build on this and continue the momentum, as there is much more work to be done to address all the housing supply and affordability issues facing the industry and Canadians. From the next steps on mortgage rules to collaboration on strategies for addressing the jurisdictional quagmire facing infrastructure and transit funding tied to housing outcomes, the Board and other members and EOs present had much to discuss. The Board meeting also covered CHBA financials and key actions for CHBA committees and councils.
The new Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. From left to right: Brian Charleton, Presidential Appointee; Alex Tavuchis, Presidential Appointee; Garnet Northey, Treasurer; Kevin Lee, CEO; Matt McCurrach, President; Sue Wastell, Past President; Alex Miller, Vice President; Curtis Mercer, 2nd Vice-President I; Rick Weste, 2nd Vice President II
URBAN COUNCIL
CHBA’s Urban Council discussed some preliminary results from the next iteration of the Municipal Benchmarking Study which is currently underway by Altus Group. The impacts of development politics on flood mapping were also discussed, as Gary Martin of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University presented to the Urban Council his preliminary findings on his study on comparing stakeholder dynamics as the climate and flooding maps change. The assembled group also commenced dialogue on next steps to address the burden of regulation in the home construction industry and the associated costs from government red tape. A follow-up discussion pertained to the development process and opportunities to streamline it. The meeting concluded with a roundtable on the federal budget’s infrastructure and transit announcements with a view to jurisdictional conflict associated with conditions being placed on receiving funding.
TECHNICAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE (TRC)
Now that the 2020 edition of national codes, including the tiered energy efficiency targets, have been implemented in almost all provinces, and as TRC members have been providing comments on the proposed changes for the 2025 harmonized codes during a series of ongoing public reviews, the CHBA Technical Research Committee meeting focused on yet another set of changes coming: the way national code committees will be structured going forward, in alignment with the 2030 national code priorities. The TRC also discussed technical challenges with window installations and how to minimize water ingress into walls – an industry-wide issue that has the potential to create more problems with ever-increasing building envelope complexity because of ambitious energy efficiency targets.
CANADIAN RENOVATORS’ COUNCIL (CRC)
With the transfer of the RenoMark program from BILD-GTA to CHBA underway, CHBA is set to launch the much-anticipated RenoMark Online Verification System. The verification system is an important step in bolstering the program’s market offering and legitimacy with homeowners. In collaboration with local/provincial HBAs, all existing RenoMark members will be officially invited to complete the verification process. Once complete, members will receive access to a full suite of marketing materials to promote their designation as a RenoMark member. In addition to RenoMark discussions, the CRC meeting also held discussions on the plans to strengthen the Adaptiv Home program by increasing awareness and participation in the course and delivering value to the growing community of Qualified Adaptiv Home Specialists.
NET ZERO COUNCIL (NZC)
With the upcoming Net Zero Leadership Summit in June, hybrid training courses coming soon include new LEEP Workshops, and the recently launched NRCan-funded project on preparing members for higher levels in the code (and informing that code development from a builder’s perspective). CHBA’s industry education efforts have been ramping up to help members bridge the knowledge gap between what’s currently required for codes and what’s coming in the new tiered codes, all the way to CHBA’s voluntary Net Zero Ready level of performance. The NZC session also reviewed new projects focused on resilience and education to prepare members for the coming code changes, leveraging CHBA’s voluntary programs to trial resiliency measures.
MODULAR CONSTRUCTION COUNCIL
CHBA’s Sector Transition Strategy is moving forward rapidly. The strategy, which is rooted in the need for increased productivity amid chronic labour shortage projections, has factory-built construction methods playing a key role. Members of the Modular Construction Council have assisted in the collection of data to assess the readiness for investments in mechanization and automation. The feedback included the amount of additional output that would be expected with investments through either tax credits or low-interest loans with repayment tied to those new outputs. Further study in these areas will be completed in 2024 and 2025. The Council meeting featured a discussion on an Infill Catalyst Program that is currently being developed, which includes modular homes playing a significant role in several Canadian municipalities. RJH Architects and Planners presented the project and are seeking modular factory partners to bring the project to fruition. The annual University of New Brunswick student competition winners for modular design presented new and innovative ideas that could become the future of modular, and Sebastien Lebreque of Strategy Corp presented an economic outlook to help members chart their course for the year ahead.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS’ COUNCIL (EOC)
The EOC is comprised of Executive Officers and HBA staff members from the local, provincial, and national levels of the Association and focuses on supporting the professional development of EOs, continued improvement in the administration and management of the Association at all levels while enhancing collaboration and sharing of experience among Council members to strengthen all our associations. Leadership development specialist Terri-Ann Richards, a professional speaker from Saint John, led a valuable session with the EOs during their round table this week, focusing on career resilience.
The meetings taking place at the National level have taken on a greater significance for members as many code issues we are now dealing with locally start with the National Building Code and we need to be more invested in commenting and providing feedback. Renomark is also evolving, and we now have a chance to give this program a much-needed lift and increase brand awareness and relevancy. The work and information being developed in Modular Construction will be much more significant with the feds and other levels looking to expand innovation and application in this space to mitigate labour and quality issues while enhancing the housing supply. The issues at the national level have never been more relevant and our membership is fortunate that we have this resource.
The week in Saint John was capped with the National Housing Awards saw over 51 winners in sales and marketing, renovations, and new home construction in multiple categories. HAVAN was well represented with 28 members being nominated and four companies winning five awards. A complete list of winners can be found here. Of note, 2024 HAVAN Award winners Miracon Developments Inc may hit a trifecta should they also win an award at the upcoming CHBA-BC Georgie Awards on May 25. This would see a winning entry at all three levels of the association.
We hope all HAVAN members and staff have returned safely from New Brunswick and we now look forward to the CHBA-BC meetings and Georgie Awards on May 23 – 25 where the focus will be on issues important to members at the provincial level where we have seen an unprecedented number of housing policies announced in the last year. Meetings will include a one-hour Q&A with Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon with questions submitted by members which will address specific concerns including the pending code changes re: accessibility, seismic, the legislative changes to development financing, BC Hydro, and the new land use and zoning policies.
Our strength lies within the fact that as an association we have strong voices at all levels of jurisdiction, and we rely on members providing their input, time, and efforts to be heard and seek remedies for their concerns. info@havan.ca
HAVAN continues to work with CHBA BC and CHBA to advocate for all levels of government to work together to address the challenges of the housing industry including zoning restrictions, density limits, and NIMBYism.
Looking to stay up-to-date on Metro Vancouver’s residential housing industry? Sign up for Ron’s weekly Monday Morning Briefing and other HAVAN emails here.
QUICK BITES …
- In another story (horror?) about delays, layered requirements, and conflicting directions coming from the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Sun recounts a well-intentioned desire to undertake a reno to provide a few affordable housing units to the arts community that took 8 years and ballooned in cost to over $1 million.
- A good summary of the Home Flipping Tax is provided here for your information.
- What is going on in Delta? Last week, the entire council voted in favour of stripping Mayor George Harvie of numerous responsibilities and the Chair of the Metro Regional Board. Council indicated they have lost confidence in the mayor to effectively represent Delta’s interests at Metro?! Details are still sketchy, but the lack of confidence, when the council represents a full slate put together by the mayor who was elected with 75% support, does not sound stable. Is Delta now on the dysfunctional list along with Kamloops, and Harrison?
- BC Housing’s April New Home Registry report has been released. Selected highlights include:
- In the first four months of 2024, 16,273 new homes were registered1 in B.C., including 2,097 single detached2 and 14,176 multi-unit homes3.
- So far in 2024, total home registrations are up 12.8% from 2023. Registrations for multi-unit homes3 increased 15.9%, while registrations for single detached homes2 decreased 4.6%.
- So far in 2024, 5,595 purpose-built rental units were registered in B.C. Compared with the same period in 2023, the number of registered rental units decreased by 1.9%.
- If you might have been wondering; here are the Top 10 Trends in Affordable Housing – this is coming from a US perspective so, take it with a grain of salt but interesting, nonetheless.
