Year: 2019

It’s been a busy awards season for EnerQuality builders, raking in more than 50 awards in five HBA locals and two national programs.

The year started off particularly well for Branthaven, taking seven trophies at the Hamilton-Halton HBA Awards of Distinction, and one at the BILD Awards.

Also rolling in the hardware is Minto Communities, taking one at BILD, four at Durham Region HBA’s Awards of Excellence, and being named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers by the Top 100 Employers Project.

Marz Homes received six trophies from the Hamilton-Halton HBA Awards, too.

Activa and Andrin Homes each also started the year with a bang, taking four each. Activa won two awards from the Waterloo Region HBA’s SAM Awards and two national ENERGY STAR^® Awards from Natural Resources Canada, and Andrin four in Waterloo.

Results for ENERGY STAR^®, EnerGuide and Net Zero builders (see each for a link to full results)

Building Industry and Land Development Awards

Menkes Developments
– Best Salesperson or Team, Mid/High Rise

Minto Communities
– Best Single-Detached House Design, Large

Rosehaven Homes
– Best Suite Design

Aspen Ridge, CountryWide and Regal Crest
– Best Long Video

Branthaven Homes and Greenpark Homes
– Best New Community, Planned/Under Development (with Argo Development, DECO Communities and TACC Construction)

Empire Communities
– Best Short Video, Best Marketing Innovation, Best Overall Marketing Campaign

Treasure Hill Homes
– Project of the Year: Low Rise
– Best Brochure – Low Rise

Mattamy Homes
– Best Digital Marketing Campaign

Great Gulf
– Home Builder of the Year: Low-Rise

Full list of BILD winners.

ENERGY STAR^® Awards

Doug Tarry Custom Homes
– Mid-Size New Home Builder of the Year

Activa Group
– Large New Home Builder of the Year, New Homes Promotional Excellence

Full list of ENERGY STAR^® winners.

Hamilton-Halton Home Builders’ Association – Awards of Distinction

Branthaven Homes
– Best Project Logo
– Best Magazine Ad
– Best Website
– Best On-Site sales & Marketing
– Best Exterior Concept on a Mid-Rise
– Best Condo Concept (Under 750 and 750-1200)
– Project of the Year Mid/High.

Marz Homes
– Best On-Line Video
– Best Social Media Campaign
– Best Virtual Tour
– Sales Team of the Year
– Consumer Choice Award Low Volume
– Best Interior Merchandising Model Home or Suite.

Full list of HHHBA winners can be downloaded here. HHHBA Awards results 2019

Waterloo Region Home Builders’ Association Sales and Marketing Awards of Distinction

Reid’s Heritage Homes
– Grand SAM Green Builder of the Year
– Best Colour Ad
– Best Project Sales Brochure.

Activa Group
– Grand SAM Builder of the Year – Multi-Unit Home
– Most Outstanding Low Rose Multi-Unit Design (Up to 2,000 sq ft).

Andrin Homes
– Most Outstanding Mid/High Rise Design (4 Story and over)
– Best Project Signage
– Best E-marketing Campaign
– Best Advertising Campaign.

Jeff Duimering Carpentry
– Most Outstanding Bungalow Design (Multi-Unit).

Full list of WRHBA winners can be downloaded here. WRHBA Awards Winners 2019

Durham Region Home Builders’ Association – Awards of Excellence

Minto
– Community of the year
– Excellence in Production Built Home (under 1,600 sq.ft.)
– Excellence in Production Built Home (2,401-3,400 sq.ft.)
– Corporate Citizenship.

Steve Snider
– Green Builder of the Year
– Excellence in Home Renovation/Addition ($150,001 and up)

Full list of DRHBA winners can be downloaded here. DRHBA Awards Results 2019

Niagara Home Builders’ Association Awards of Excellence

Rosehaven – Best Print Ad Campaign
Best New Home Showroom or Sales Centre
– Most Outstanding Condo/Townhome up to 1,500sq ft

Lucchetta Homes
– Most Outstanding New Home Kitchen – Production
– Sales Team of the Year
– Excellence in Green
– Community Development of the Year.

Full list of NHBA winners.

Canada’s Top 100 Employers project

Minto – Named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers

More information.

May 2nd saw the release of the Ontario Government’s Housing Supply Action Plan (“More Homes, More Choice”) by the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH). The  announcement was a significant milestone following an extensive consultation with stakeholders and, in particular, many OHBA members and local home builders’ associations in communities from across Ontario.

The Housing Supply Action Plan is available online here
The OHBA Press Release is available online here

The Housing Supply Action Plan is focused on building more housing and providing more housing choice in communities across Ontario. The Housing Supply Action Plan is comprehensive and far reaching, so this notice will simply highlight the broad legislative (new legislation introduced today), regulatory (multiple regulatory packages) and policy (multiple policy updates) components of the plan. Each of these components have their own set of details and in some cases additional regulatory consultations that will take place over the coming weeks and months – there is still a lot of work to do and consultation to occur to implement various aspects of the Housing Supply Action Plan.

Again, please note that the list below are only the highlights and do not cover all aspects of the Housing Supply Action Plan.

Theme Area 1: Steps the government has already taken

• Modernizing apprenticeship ratios and winding down College of Trades to support more skilled trades in housing sector.
• Releasing surplus lands.
• Exempting new construction from rent control.
• Infrastructure investments to support housing.
• Transit investments to support housing.
• Transforming Tarion and enhancing consumer protection.

Theme Area 2: New and recently announced initiatives linked to the Housing Supply Action Plan

Planning Act

• Streamlining approvals and reducing timelines (120 days for Official Plans & 90 days for zoning).
• Amendments to support secondary suites.
• Changes to community benefits (sec 37 and parkland dedication) to make them more transparent and predictable
• Community Planning Permits Systems in Major Transit Station Areas will streamline approvals to 45 days.
• Enable the Minister to require the use of the Community Planning Permit System in specific areas such as Major Transit Station Areas.

LPATLPAT hearings will allow fresh evidence (de novo hearings) and allow examination of witnesses at hearings.

• Additional adjudicators will be brought on to address the backlog of transitioned OMB hearings.
• Appeal fees will be adjusted to self sustain LPAT, but not act as a barrier to justice.
• LPAT decisions to be based on best planning outcomes (vs. a conformity test).

Development Charges (DCs)

• Waste will no longer be a soft service, but rather a fully funded hard service (no deduction).
• DCs will be deferred to occupancy for rentals and non-profits and payable over a five-year period.
• Soft services will be amalgamated into a new community benefits charge (along with Sec 37 and parkland) that will have a new more transparent and predictable formula based on land valuation (further consultation will occur on the structure of this). These services will still fall under a “growth pays for growth” model, but there will be caps in place, greater certainty by eliminating negotiations around Sec 37 density bonusing and a connection to land value. Community benefits will exempt some housing (i.e. non-profit).
• Locking in the DC rate sooner in the process to enhance certainty at the time of zoning or site plan application (not current pulling of permits).
• Secondary suite exemptions.

Secondary Suites

• Greater flexibility for ancillary buildings and within main building.
• Clarity on parking requirements.
• Development Charges exemptions.

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ)

• The current rules set out in the existing regulation will continue to apply.
• However, IZ framework will through a legislative amendment, only apply within a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS is a package that rolls zoning, site plan and building permit into a single streamlined approvals process). Within a Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) any use of  IZ would require a CPPS that meets the minimum density targets of the MTSA – meaning that the entire MTSA would have to be pre-zoned to achieve the minimum density targets.

Education Act

• Focus on reducing costs, increasing accountability and standardizing education development charges rates while enabling a more localized approach within school boards.
• Increase predictability of education development charge rates.
• More innovative approaches to site selection.
• The cap/restrictions currently in place will continue (allowing only modest increases in EDCs).

Growth Plan

• New Growth Plan is finalized and will be in force on May 16.
• The density and intensification targets have been further simplified from the proposal earlier this winter (two categories instead of three) to better reflect local infrastructure capacity and municipal requests for lower targets.
• “A” category of municipalities will have a 50% intensification target and a 50 persons and jobs per ha target (previous proposal had some municipalities at 60%).
• “B” category of smaller outer ring municipalities will be improved, from the current intensification target, and have a 40 persons and jobs density target.
• Fast tracked planning for Major Transit Station Areas (MTSA).
• Increased encouragement towards mixed-use in some employment areas.
• Streamlined and modernized approach to settlement boundary expansion.

PPS

• PPS will be amended and updated to reduce barriers and encourage more housing supply.
• Further consultations on a new updated PPS will be launched soon.

Conservation Authorities Act (CA)

• Province recently launched consultation to clarify mandate of CAs towards core services.
• Streamlining CA role in planning.

Endangered Species Act

• Province recently launched consultation to modernize ESA.
• Greater transparency in species listings.
• New authorization processes.
• Species-at-Risk Conservation Trust that provides an option to pay a charge in lieu of completing certain on-the-ground activities.

Excess Soils / Brownfields

• Province launched consultation yesterday on Excess Soils and Brownfields Regs.
• Improvements to Brownfields Reg. & certain exemptions for RSCs.
• Encouraging greater reuse of excess soil & reducing soil sent to landfills.

Environmental Assessments (EA)

• Province recently launched consultation to modernize EAs.
• Modernize EA Act to focus on higher risk activities and exempt lower risk.
• Eliminate duplication.

Ontario Heritage Act

• Direction will be provided on how municipalities can use the Ontario Heritage Act while allowing for compatible changes and creating consistent appeals.
• Create a consistent appeals process.

WSIB

• Lower WSIB premiums.
• Occupational Health & Safety Act to be amended to reduce employers training costs and unnecessary paperwork.

OBC

• Remove requirement that all new homes include infrastructure for an electric vehicle charging station.
• Working towards harmonization with National Code.

Theme Area 3: Future Items

• Further efforts towards streamlining development application process.
• Working with municipalities and federal government on housing data to better inform decisions.
• Further guidance materials to make it easier to build secondary suites.
• Clearer guidance materials for tenants and landlords to know their rights & settle disputes.
• More info on co-ownership, life leases etc.

(Article originally published in the OHBA Builder Advocate.)

From how concrete is mixed for road construction, to roofing standards enabling buildings to withstand stronger storms and plans to help homeowners manage increased flooding, Canada’s building rules are being rewritten due to climate change, according to briefing notes for a senior government official seen by CBC News.

If no changes are made to the way we build, infrastructure failures linked to climate change could cost Canada $300 billion over the next decade, according to estimates cited in the partially redacted documents.

With Canada warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, according to an official report leaked this month, analysts say it’s crucial to design infrastructure that protects residents from extreme weather while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Some of the new rules for construction in the era of climate change are nearly ready, while others remain in the planning stages, according to a briefing note prepared for the deputy minister of infrastructure in 2018 and accessed by CBC News under freedom of information laws.

“The development of building and infrastructure codes and guidelines in this country is a somewhat ponderous process,” the high-level briefing states.

“More problematically, the code development process has also been very slow to address the very significant challenges posed by climate change for Canada’s buildings and core public infrastructure.”

The briefing said the new code will be the “first substantive” introduction of climate change considerations for buildings and crucial infrastructure in Canada.

Some of the changes under discussion, according to the notes, include:

• New guidelines for certifying the resiliency of roofs to extreme weather events, planned for 2020.
• New specifications to optimize concrete mixes for pavement to mitigate flooding, expected to be ready for 2021 following field trials underway now.
• New structural design rules for buildings to take into account the changing climate should be ready for adoption by the 2025 building code.
• New standards for basement flood protection should be finalized by the end of this year.
• Guidelines for climate resilience for existing storm water systems will be developed for 2021.

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for Infrastructure Canada stressed that provincial and territorial governments will have the final say over whether aspects of the National Building Code are applied in their jurisdictions.

Representatives of the construction industry who reviewed the proposals for CBC News welcomed the plans to fight climate change, provided they don’t lead to increased bureaucracy or inflated costs.

“We want to ensure these changes aren’t just increasing red tape and impeding progress,” said Arlene Dunn, director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions representing 500,000 construction workers. “Otherwise we run the risk of continuous rework, escalated costs and delayed projects.”

Climate change analysts and green building experts said the plans are a step in the right direction, but don’t come soon enough.

“I’m definitely excited about the direction it’s going in … [although] 2025 feels long,” said Mona Lemoine, an architect with the firm Perkins+Will in Vancouver. “We are dealing with climate change because we haven’t been building the right way.”

Canada’s construction industry is worth $171 billion a year and employs more than 1.2 million people, the briefing notes said. It also consumes 40 per cent of the country’s energy and 50 per cent of its primary resources. Getting the new building code right will require a balancing act.

“To remain vital in the face of coming climate change challenges, the construction industry will need better, safer, energy-efficient and affordable construction materials and technology that can maintain or improve lifespan expectations for buildings and core infrastructure,” the briefing note states.

As an architect designing new green buildings, Lemoine deals with these challenges daily.

“It requires a shift in how we look at costs; the capital costs of building more resiliently and efficiently may be higher,” she said, citing more expensive windows and extra insulation.

“But when you look at the operating costs, those triple-pane windows reduce the costs of operating … and the need for additional heating and cooling infrastructure.

“With more efficient buildings there is better quality,” she said, as workers need to pay more attention to sealing gaps to prevent heat loss, which leads structures to last longer.

Constructing a zero-emissions building costs on average eight per cent more up front than a traditional structure, said Mark Hutchinson from the Canadian Green Building Council, an Ottawa-based non-profit.

But over a 25-year lifespan, those costs usually pay for themselves and then some in savings on heating, cooling and maintenance, he added.

“You can make a business case for zero carbon buildings today.”

While architects and construction workers grapple with reducing emissions from large buildings, average Canadians will face other problems.

“Flooding is the biggest challenge” linked to climate change for most homeowners, said Natalia Moudrak, director of climate resilience at the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre.

But homeowners don’t have to wait for new building standards to come into effect: There are measures they can take now.

If a homeowner has a pump to get water out of a basement, “it’s important to install a backup generator,” she said. Widespread flooding often leads to power outages, leaving regular pumps useless when they’re most needed.

Homeowners can also take simple steps to elevate valuables, like expensive electronics, off their basement floor or put items in plastic or steel containers in case water does creep in, Moudrak said.

To prevent sewage from flowing into your home during a flood, David Foster, a spokesperson for the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, recommends installing a back flow preventer, a mechanical device linked to plumbing designed to only allow water to flow away from the home.

When constructing a new home, installing a back flow preventer costs roughly $400, Moudrak said. When retrofitting an existing home, it usually costs about $3,000. But municipalities often offer subsidies to help offset that expense.

The problem, she said, is most people don’t know about them.

Only six per cent of Toronto homeowners took advantage of the city’s flood resilience subsidy program, she said. When floods hit the city last year, she said the average cost to affected homeowners was $43,000.

Foster said the construction industry will be ready for small changes in the code, ideas like mandating back flow preventers in new homes, making sure to build developments outside of flood plains or tweaking the fasteners used to attach shingles to roofs to protect against higher winds.

The bigger problem, he said, is that no one has hard data on exactly how different regions will be impacted by climate change to enable contractors to plan and build accordingly.

“We need scenarios,” he said, acknowledging that is “a devilishly hard thing to figure out.”

While safeguarding individual homes by changing building standards is important, he said the first priority has to be protecting critical infrastructure, which will come under increased strain as temperatures rise, wildfires flare and storms intensify.

“If my basement floods, it’s my problem. If my hospital shuts down, it’s everyone’s problem.”

(Article courtesy the CBC)

Ontario’s environmental commissioner issued dire warnings Wednesday about the “frightening” state of climate policy in the province as she delivered her office’s last report.

The Progressive Conservative government announced last fall that it was eliminating the office of the environmental commissioner and merging its functions with the auditor general. In delivering a report on energy conservation, Dianne Saxe said Ontario is heading in the wrong direction on the environment.

“At a time when climate damage is accelerating, Ontario is turning away from the things that we know work,” she said, describing the government’s climate policy as “very inadequate, very frightening.”

“On the big things that will reduce our climate pollution, allow Canada to fulfil its role under the Paris Agreement and show the poorer countries of the world that are suffering the greater damage that we are going to do our part, we are causing great damage.”

Saxe is critical of the government’s cancellation of a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases, as well as the cancellation of electricity conservation programs and a growth plan that she says increases urban sprawl and therefore reliance on transportation fuels.

“I think that what we’re doing in Ontario and what we may do in Canada this year puts the entire Paris Agreement at risk,” she said, referring to the federal Conservatives’ opposition to the upcoming carbon tax.

“If the world can’t hold together on the Paris Agreement we are toasted, roasted and grilled.”

The 2015 Paris Agreement sets a target of keeping average global temperatures from rising by more than 2 C, or 1.5 C if possible.

Saxe was critical of the government’s recent cancellation of a slew of electricity conservation programs, including rebates for energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment, discounts for buying energy-efficient products such as LED light bulbs, incentives for builders to improve energy performance in new residences, and refrigeration equipment upgrade incentives.

Since 2007, Ontario has made valuable progress in conserving electricity and some progress in conserving natural gas, and without those programs the province would be emitting about six megatonnes more each year in carbon dioxide equivalents, she said.

The government’s environment plan doesn’t even mention electricity conservation, Saxe said, and abandoning it would increase greenhouse gas emissions from electricity by about two megatonnes.

Environment Minister Rod Phillips said his climate plan will produce a 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the target set by the federal government, without a carbon tax — which the province continues to rail against.

Phillips said the plan focuses conservation efforts on natural gas instead of electricity.

“We’re adding conservation programs around areas that actually produce greenhouse gases, like natural gas production,” he said. “The conservation programs related to electricity largely are affecting programs that come from our electricity grid, which because of nuclear power, because of renewables, because of hydro, doesn’t produce a great deal of greenhouse gas.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said reports and comments like the ones Wednesday from the environmental commissioner are why the government got rid of Saxe’s office.

“They don’t want to hear what it takes and what’s necessary to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets,” she said. “Instead, they just want to continue along their merry way and not take seriously our responsibilities when it comes to climate change.”

TORONTO – February 28, 2019.    The change-makers in the Ontario building industry gathered at the Toronto Marriott Markham yesterday for the 2018 EQ Awards. Together, the 250 guests, including Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, celebrated 20 years of EnerQuality along with the accomplishments of its leaders with the official announcement of the award winners.

“It speaks volumes to see how the longevity of EnerQuality and our certifications like ENERGY STAR^® have continued to remain relevant and grow in impact over the years,” say Corey McBurney, President of EnerQuality. “The 2018 EQ Awards allowed the industry to celebrate where we have come from and spotlight the pioneers who are joining forces to carve a new path for the future with programs such as our ENERGY STAR^® Multifamily High Rise certification.”

“The People’s Choice Award was an amazing new addition to the Awards, allowing us to involve the greater community in both recognizing and selecting the winner,” says Shannon Bertuzzi, Vice President of Market Development at EnerQuality. “Our certifications are voluntary investments by our builders. EnerQuality is committed to ensuring the greater public is aware of the investment these builders are making for the sustainability of these communities.”

The EQ Awards were enjoyed by all and featured special designations to highlight the outstanding contributions of industry leaders including…

2018 Hall of Fame – Sean Mason, President of Sean Mason Homes

EnerQuality is proud to announce Sean Mason as the 2018 Hall of Fame recipient. Sean has been a dedicated proponent of ENERGY STAR^®® for New Homes since the very first days. From 2002-2013, he encouraged green building and land initiatives at Mason Homes, when they were among the first three builders in Canada to participate in and certify with the then-new ENERGY STAR^® program, and the first in Canada to make ENERGY STAR^® their standard. Since he started Sean.ca in 2013, the company has won numerous awards, including BILD’s Green Builder of the Year in 2015, and EnerQuality’s ENERGY STAR^® Builder (Small Volume) in 2018. He has also been a finalist in BILD’s Places to Grow Project of the Year and People’s Choice Project of the Year, and BILD’s Best Low Rise Project (Built Category). At Sean.ca , ENERGY STAR^® is their standard offering, certifying 100% of their homes. Sean’s stamp has been on more than 1,000 ENERGY STAR^® homes in the last decade.

Said Sean Mason, president of Sean Mason Homes: “Sean.ca is about building modern, healthier and more affordable green homes in a sustainable community, allowing residents to connect with their neighbours in a meaningful way. The platform EnerQuality has provided with ENERGY STAR^® has allowed us to prove our commitment to our homeowners through a trusted third-party certifications.”

Impact Award 2018 – Tamarack Homes

Tamarack Homes is honoured to receive the EnerQuality 2019 Impact Award for making significant long-term voluntary progress in reducing carbon emissions and showing outstanding achievements through energy efficiency and sustainable practices. From its beginnings more than 70 years ago, Tamarack Homes has strived for the highest quality in construction and customer service by pursuing materials and technology that would become industry standards.Thirteen years ago, with the launch of a brand-new Ottawa community called Jackson Trails, Tamarack certified its first ENERGY STAR^® home. Impressed with the results, Tamarack Homes committed the entire community to the new standard, a first for the entire region. Today, every home Tamarack builds carries the ENERGY STAR^® certification.

Said Chris Taggert, vice president of Tamarack Homes: “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication to sustainability in the home-building industry. The EnerQuality Impact Award symbolizes the commitment we make every day to prioritizing families, communities, and the environment.”

See the full list of winners

An injection of federal green energy money will make a highrise in the heart of the province’s first net-zero community — one that produces as much energy of it consumes — at least 25 per cent more energy efficient, the president of the developer says.

London’s Sifton Properties is receiving $3.9 million from the Liberal government, as part of Canada’s Energy Innovation Program, to support the construction of Helio, a $57-million, mixed-use highrise at its West 5 development in northwest London.

The funding, announced Tuesday, will help the company make the 10-storey, 115-unit building 77 per cent more energy efficient than a standard building — up from the 50 per cent estimate when construction began last May.

“We had initially planned to put in a certain volume of solar panels, but this will allow us to put in more, and it’ll also allow us to upgrade some of the mechanical equipment . . . that will allow us to get that much closer to net zero,” said Richard Sifton, president of Sifton Properties.

Now under construction, Helio is being built in the middle of the residential-commercial, medium-density development along Oxford Street West.

Once completed, West 5 will have about 2,000 residential units, including townhouses and lowrise and highrise units, along with ground-floor and stand-alone commercial units.

The heart of the community will be a central square for events such as movies, concerts or yoga classes.

“As a community as a whole, we will be producing as much energy as all of the building will use,” Sifton said.

“You can’t do it on a unit by unit, or building by building basis, because office buildings use a different profile than a residential unit and a residential unit obviously is different from retail (space), so what this allows us to do is to balance those out,”

Kate Young, Liberal MP for London West and who announced the funding, praised Sifton for taking the lead and creating this project, which she said could become a template to be followed across the county.

“This really is the future,” she said about West 5. “A future where we combine better energy efficiency, more renewable energy and sustainable technologies to create good jobs, a stronger economy, and healthier and thriving communities.

“Projects like this one also have the potential to make Canada a leader in a $1-trillion global market for clean technologies,” she said.

A total of 87 townhouse units are already occupied in the development, which is being built in phases and has a 10-year timeline for completion.

Helio is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2020.

The building, with a roof and parking canopy filled with solar panels, will include all the amenities people have come to expect with a larger focus on energy efficiency, Sifton said.

“We are not developing new technologies, but we are putting them all together and making them work more efficiently, so that allows us to bring to market something that is completely unique, different and environmentally friendly,” he said.

Sifton also said the company is designing the next structures for West 5, which would likely be a 100-unit retirement apartment complex.

Construction for this project is expected to begin in about four months, he said.

(Article courtesy London Free Press.)

This year’s recipient of the EnerQuality Impact Award for long-term commitment to green building practices is Ottawa’s Tamarack Homes.

The award, being presented on February 28, 2019, at the EQ Awards Gala at the Toronto Markham Marriott, recognizes Tamarack’s significant long-term voluntary progress in reducing carbon emissions and outstanding achievements through energy efficiency and sustainable practices.

One of the first handful of ENERGY STAR^® builders in Canada, Tamarack has labelled nearly 4,000 ENERGY STAR^® homes since the program’s inception. That includes Canada’s first ENERGY STAR^® community, Ottawa’s Jackson Trails.  Now, every home Tamarack builds carries the label.

Tamarack Homes’ legacy of building quality homes in eastern Ontario goes back to the 1940s. From its beginnings more than 70 years ago, Tamarack Homes has positioned itself as a leader, and striving for the highest quality in construction and customer service, Tamarack has pursued materials and technology that would become industry standards.

“We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication to sustainability in the home-building industry. The EnerQuality Impact Award symbolizes the commitment we make everyday to prioritizing families, communities, and the environment.

We would like to thank the EnerQuality staff for selecting Tamarack Homes as the 2019 recipient of the Impact Award. As we continue to build on the legacy that brought us to this point, we look forward to creating even more sustainable homes and communities in the years ahead,” Tamarack said in an official statement.

To purchase tickets, visit the awards on the web.

EnerQuality is excited to announce that the 2019 Hall of Fame award will be presented at the EQ Awards on February 28, 2019, to Sean Mason, founder and president of Sean.ca.

Sean has been a dedicated proponent of ENERGY STAR^® since the very first days. From 2002-2013, he encouraged the green building and land initiatives at Mason Homes, when they were only the second builders in Canada to label with then-brand new ENERGY STAR^® program, and the first in Canada to make ENERGY STAR^® their standard.

At Sean.ca, ENERGY STAR^® is their standard offering, certifying 100% of their homes. Sean’s stamp is on more than 1000 ENERGY STAR^® homes in the last decade!

Environmentally-friendly, sustainable building is Sean’s way of life. Standard to all his homes are low-VOC materials, they use native plants and preserve the natural landscape and existing wildlife habitats, building communities with walkable, pedestrian-friendly streets and shared open spaces.

Since he started Sean.ca in 2013, the company has won numerous awards, including BILD’s Green Builder of the Year in 2015, and EnerQuality’s ENERGY STAR^® Builder (Small Volume) in 2018. He has also been a finalist in BILD’s Places to Grow Project of the Year and People’s Choice Project of the Year, and BILD’s Best Low Rise Project (Built Category).

Sean’s dedication to the industry has been demonstrated for more than a decade through his involvement in the boards of BILD, OHBA, Peterborough & The Kawarthas HBA and EnerQuality.

To purchase tickets, visit the awards on the web.