Good morning, Mr. Chair. Thank you for having me back at this committee.

I was here in the month of June. Thank you again to all the committee members for the opportunity. Thank you for being here.

This past June, I appeared here during our industry's national roofing week. Perhaps someday we can have a national trades day during roofing week.

The Canadian Roofing Contractors Association represents over 400 Canadian industrial, commercial and institutional roofing contractors, companies and needed suppliers. Some of our members do both non-residential and residential roofing and building envelope systems. In fact, many may have started in residential and moved over to non-residential.

Our member companies vary in size, from as many as 6,000 employees across North America to as few as 12. Most contracting companies would likely be classified as small to medium-sized enterprises.

The following are our comments on some industrial, commercial and institutional roofing and building envelope advancements that can be used in multi-unit residential construction and perhaps someday in single-family units.

New housing investments of any nature create communities. These communities need infrastructure services, be they schools, hospitals, recreational complexes or shopping facilities. CRCA members will be called upon to meet the demand.

There is a related challenge. In the roofing and building envelope industry, there is an acute need for people in all facets of the business. We need skilled and unskilled labour. We need superintendents, project managers, estimators, engineers and so on. This is why the industry has turned to technological advancements as one way forward.

No matter the technology, innovation or other enhancement, we still need people to build and manage the construction of the buildings.

Perhaps two of the more known ways that are used in the advancement of industrial, commercial and institutional roofing and building envelope construction are modular construction and insulation. Each has a residential application. Often used interchangeably, prefabricated construction and modular construction are different.

Prefabricated construction involves the creation of building components in a controlled environment before they are transported for assembly.

Modular construction, a subset of prefabrication, consists of creating complete modules or units in a factory setting. These modules can include walls, floors, ceilings and integrated systems, which form self-contained units.

The ICI construction modular systems use integrated components that include preassembled units that integrate insulation, membranes and structural elements. This has the potential to enhance overall performance and ease of installation.

Use of modular systems has the potential to speed up construction. Given that it is in a controlled environment, there are likely to be quality control improvements. There are many examples, but I'll only look at one because of time constraints.

The Hive in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a mixed-use development featuring modular construction for both residential and commercial spaces, with an emphasis on sustainable building practices. This project includes roofing systems that enhance energy efficiency, and the design facilitated rapid construction. It is constructed with advanced mass timber systems using prefabricated cross-laminated timber panels—CLT in the industry—and glue-laminated timber columns, bracing and beams.

When it comes to insulation systems, there is something called “continuous insulation” systems. These are wall assemblies where insulation is applied continuously across all structural elements of a building's exterior without thermal bridging. This is not the time for a class on thermal bridging. However, I will say that thermal bridging refers to the transfer of heat through conductive materials with insulated areas, leading to energy loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer.

One application for continuous use in systems in commercial and residential is exterior foam board. These attach directly to the exterior of the sheathing or framing. Such systems provide higher energy efficiency ratings. Given the limited time, I will say there are many examples of technological advancement in construction that will lead to greater efficiencies and faster outcomes.

However, technology alone will not resolve the current housing supply issue, and not all technological advancements are used on a mass scale to make a significant impact.

I said this in June and I say it often: We should all encourage our children, grandchildren or anyone else for that matter to pursue a career in a trade. We are all touched in some way by the current housing situation in Canada. The CRCA does not see a one-size-fits-all solution going forward. The housing crisis will not be resolved overnight. It's going to take time.

Our members want to see governments and industry work together to build communities Canadians want to live and thrive in.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.