Advocates call on city to develop maximum heat bylaw for Calgary rental units
Province enforces housing standards, which don't set out maximum temperatures
A group of advocates and tenants are calling on the City of Calgary to develop a maximum heat bylaw for rental units following a heat wave last week that sent temperatures soaring into the low 30s.
They rallied outside The Birkenshaw Apartments in the city's Beltline on Wednesday, holding signs that read "heat relief now" and "max heat bylaw."
"Unfortunately, it's like a furnace here," said Abi Martin, who lives in the building and is also a tenant union representative with the Calgary chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).
"And with the growing smoke issue we have every year, it's not like I can just open my windows. I'm asthmatic, I can't breathe," Martin said.
She added that her building does not offer air conditioners, and tenants must pay an installation fee if they wish to add their own units.
The proposal would legislate protections to keep residences no warmer than 26 C when outdoor temperatures increase.
Other municipalities like Toronto and Hamilton have been exploring the idea. Toronto's city council has directed staff to study maximum temperature requirements alongside other ways to mitigate extreme heat impacts. A report on their findings is expected by the end of next year.
In Hamilton, city councillors could soon vote on a proposal for a maximum heat bylaw after staff were directed last summer to develop one as quickly as possible.
Steve Bentley, a lifelong renter and a co-founding member of Calgary Climate Hub, was at the rally. He highlighted the dangers that come with extreme heat and referenced the B.C. heat dome that killed more than 600 people in the summer of 2021.
"We have to do these sorts of things or we're going to lose Canadians," said Bentley, who supports the maximum heat rules.
"We've bought our way into many, many more hot years to come," he said.
Province enforces housing standards
Unlike Toronto and Hamilton, which have their own bylaws outlining property standards, housing standards in Alberta are enforced by the province.
"Habitable is defined by the Minimum Housing and Health Standards under Alberta's Public Health Act and Housing Regulation," said a statement from Brandon Aboultaif, a spokesperson for Dale Nally, the minister of Service Alberta.
The existing legislation requires rental housing units to have a minimum indoor temperature of 22 degrees but does not set out a maximum temperature.
Aboultaif also said the province encourages landlords to ensure their units are "safe and comfortable for tenants" and is willing to hear feedback on issues like maximum heat rules.
Courtney Walcott, a Calgary city councillor, said "the fact there is a rule about [how] we're not going to let apartments freeze, but we'll let people cook, is something that speaks to the fact that so much has changed in so long.
"When you're experiencing the type of climate we're seeing with some of these extreme days, absolutely it's starting to become untenable and homes become unlivable."
Cooling standards needed, says expert
Caroline Metz, managing director of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, at the University of Waterloo, says it's an important issue.
"The same way we protect people in the winter by providing a basic level of heat in rental units, we would want to do the same for people in the summer," she said.
"A maximum indoor temperature would ensure that people are not subjected to excessive indoor overheating."
According to Metz, metropolitan areas and urban cores, which feature large apartment buildings, can be much warmer than the surrounding countryside since there are fewer trees, vegetation and water features that provide natural cooling.
"The end result is that residents within urban environments experience more heat, and heat within a city is not evenly distributed," Metz said.
Metz cited data from the Climate Atlas of Canada, which found that between 1976 and 2005, an average of five days per year exceeded 30 C in Calgary.
But between 2051 and 2080, the data projects an average of 32 days each year when temperatures exceed 30 C.
"Unfortunately, we're going to see more warming, which is going to bring on more heat and more heat waves," Metz said. "So we need to be prepared for what's to come in the future decades and build and retrofit appropriately for that."
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With files from The Canadian Press