Vancouver city council approved Mayor Ken Sim's motion Thursday to align the municipal building code with the provincial one, a change that brought back a contentious debate around allowing natural gas heating in new home construction.
Sim and his ABC Vancouver colleagues argued that Vancouver does not need its own unique building code independent from the rest of the province, and said these changes aim to improve housing affordability.
But opponents disputed the claims of affordability, and said the changes will prevent the city from hitting its climate targets. The push to reintroduce natural gas heating puts Vancouver council at odds with both the provincial and federal housing ministers, both of whom happen to be former Vancouver council members.
Public response and political reactions
Sim's motion elicited a big public response, with 121 people signing up to address council late into Wednesday night, and resuming Thursday afternoon.
Postmedia reached out to the office of federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, who served as mayor of Vancouver from 2008 to 2018 while many of the city's green building policies were introduced.
In an emailed statement sent before council's vote Thursday, a spokesperson for Robertson's office spoke to what the federal government is doing on retrofits and clean electricity. The statement also said: "For over a decade, people in Vancouver — and three different councils — have strongly supported phasing gas heating out of our homes and buildings for affordability, health, and climate reasons. This makes it even more disappointing to see city council considering a backslide on installing gas heating in new buildings."
On Tuesday, one day before the motion came to council, B.C. housing minister Christine Boyle, a former Vancouver councillor, urged Sim and council to delay their proposed changes to building code and green building policies.
Boyle wrote that buildings are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Vancouver, contributing nearly 60 per cent of total carbon pollution in the city (buildings are roughly 10 per cent of emissions provincewide). She encouraged Vancouver to delay its decision on further changes until the fall, when her ministry is expected to complete a cost and impact analysis of its Energy and Zero Carbon Step Codes.
Boyle said this work involves housing construction sector representatives to ensure it considers "all relevant impacts, costs, and technical options."
Sim publicly responded to Boyle's letter Wednesday before the council meeting, blasting the minister for involving herself in a municipal debate. In a press release, Sim said Boyle's letter to council "reads like an eleventh-hour attempt to intervene in an active Vancouver city council debate on energy choice and affordability."
