New Conservation Advisor

The TowerWise Conservation Advisor service has helped hundreds of buildings to plan retrofits and access government and utility incentives. Now we'd like to welcome Mara Del Bianco as our new advisor. Mara is a LEED AP® and has been an active member of the Canada Green Building Council (national and local). Over the past six years she has championed the benefits of sustainable building practices and existing building retrofits. She currently serves as a member of both the Green Committee and Energy Committee at her Toronto condo. You can reach Mara at advisor@towerwise.ca or 416-931-1463. The Conservation Advisor service is free for all high rises in the 416 area.



Bed Bugs

Toronto Public Health provides information on bed bugs for professionals and the public. Their bed bug fact sheet is available online in 14 different languages.

Toronto EMS has a handy one-pager on bed bugs.

The Ontario government also provides information on how to identify, prevent and deal with bed bugs.



Electrical Safety Compliance

Social housing providers have a responsibility to ensure a safe environment for tenants and members. The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) must inspect and approve all electrical work completed at housing sites. For more info, visit the ESA's website.

Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)

The OHSA sets out the rights and duties of all parties in the workplace employees and employers in Ontario workplaces. The OHSA is the primary legislation governing workplace health and safety. The purpose of the Act is to protect workers against health and safety hazards in the workplace.

The Act sets out the rights and duties of all parties in the workplace; it establishes procedures for dealing with workplace hazards, and it provides for the enforcement of the law where compliance has not been achieved voluntarily.

The Act is based on the principle of the internal responsibility system where the workplace parties - workers and employers - work together to identify and develop solutions to workplace health and safety problems. Ideally this system involves everyone from the Governing Council of the University to the individual worker.

A number of provisions of the Act are directed at fostering this internal responsibility system. Among these are:
• the requirement for employers to have a health and safety policy, and a program to implement the policy;
• the placing of responsibility on officers and directors of a corporation to ensure that the corporation complies with the Act and regulations;
• the requirement for joint health and safety committees in the workplace;
• the specification of rights of workers with respect to workplace health and safety;
• The imposition of general and specific responsibilities on employers, supervisors and workers.
For more information visit www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/


Ontario Building Code

The Ontario Building Code is a set of minimum provisions respecting the safety of buildings with reference to public health, fire protection and structural sufficiency.

The Ontario Building Code is divided into 12 Parts:
• Scope & Definitions
• General Requirements
• Use & Occupancy
• Structural Design
• Wind, Water & Vapour Protection
• Heating Ventilating and Air-Conditioning
• Plumbing
• Sewage Systems
• Housing & Small Buildings
• Change of Use
• Renovation
• Transition, Revocation & Commencement
For more information visit www.mah.gov.on.ca


Ontario Fire Code

The Ontario Fire Code (Ontario Reg. 388/97) is a regulation made under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act as a companion document to the Ontario Building Code.

This document provides for the safety of occupants in existing buildings through the elimination or control of Fire Hazards in and around buildings, the maintenance of Life Safety Systems in buildings, the establishing of a Fire Safety Plan in those buildings where necessary and the Retrofitting of certain occupancies.

Some things looked at under this legislation would include:
• Fire Separations
• Fire Hazards
• Fire Department Access to Buildings
• Service Equipment and it's Maintenance
• Safety to Life
• Emergency Planning
• Scheduled Maintenance of Fire Protection Equipment
For more information visit www.ofm.gov.on.ca


Technical Standards & Safety Authority (TSSA)

The TSSA is a full-service safety provider that carries out a broad spectrum of tasks on behalf of governments, businesses and the general public. Services include safety inspections, engineering reviews, technical training and certification to public education and outreach.

Housing Providers with elevators would have contact with the TSSA. TSSA reviews and registers elevating device designs, conducts inspections and licenses devices when they conform to the Act, Elevating Device Regulation and adopted safety codes and standards. For more information visit www.tssa.org


Waste Management Resources

For information on Solid Waste Management Services visit the City's Garbage and Recycling website.

To help you find places to drop off household hazardous and special wastes and unwanted electronics visit: Do What You Can.

For more information or to report errors on our website please contact us at socialhousing@toronto.ca