Our Aug. 31, 2015 update has prompted a number of comments and questions regarding the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH), as well as Minister McMeekin’s handling of this matter -- first as the Minister responsible for consumer protection and Tarion, and now as the Minister responsible for MMAH and the Ontario Building Code. Here is some additional information: In Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015, Dara Bowser submitted technical documents to MMAH, and requested that MMAH review them to see if they complied with the Ontario Building Code. This was the response from MMAH: "....After reviewing the documents provided, we have concluded that the ministry is not able to provide a determination of the degree to which these documents comply with the Building Code. The Building Code Act, 1992 assigns responsibility for enforcement of the Building Code to municipalities. Unfortunately, the ministry is not empowered to establish whether a particular design or permit application complies with the Code. You may wish to consult the local building official in jurisdictions where these designs have been used, for further information." In a Feb. 23, 2015 meeting with MMAH officials, Dara Bowser advised that this HVAC issue has been brought before the Building Code Commission* (BCC), but the BCC declined to rule on a technicality. In the same Feb. 23, 2015 meeting related to this request for an Inquiry, an MMAH official asked if anyone has died related to this HVAC situation. An MMAH official advised that an Inquiry has never been conducted under this provision of the Building Code Act. There are a number of questions that arise, for example: - Given Minister McMeekin’s multiple “Ministerial hats”, and given the relationship of the BCC to MMAH, is there a conflict of interest for Minister McMeekin/MMAH related to this call for this Inquiry for these HVAC systems? - Why didn’t MMAH find a way to determine if technical documents submitted comply with the Ontario Building Code? - Does someone have to die before an Inquiry is conducted under the Building Code Act? Thank you again to everyone who has signed this petition thus far. Any assistance you can provide in getting more signatures on this petition would be greatly appreciated. * "The Building Code Commission (BCC) is an adjudicative tribunal, authorized under the Building Code Act. Its mandate is to resolve disputes concerning the sufficiency of compliance with the technical requirements of the Building Code, time period disputes for site inspections and time period disputes for processing permit applications” (MMAH web-site).