CGSB approves funding to update Canadian glass standards

Photo courtesy FGIA.

The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) has announced funding approval for the updating of three Canadian glass standards, made possible through the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB), a federal government organization offering comprehensive standards development.

CGSB is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) as a Standards Development Organization (SDO), a formal recognition contingent upon CGSB providing a consensus process. Recently, CGSB selected three glass standards for which the SCC committed funding to update, with the intent of reviewing environmental and climate resiliency components in support of the federal government’s efforts to prioritize environmental issues.

“This is wonderful news,” says Amy Roberts, FGIA’s director for Canadian and technical glass operations. “Some of the Canadian glass standards are long overdue for revision. With changes to the National Building Code (NBC), as well as more stringent energy requirements, keeping the standards relevant is vitally important.”

The three standards that will be updated by CGSB with funding approval from SCC are:

• CAN/CGSB-12.1-2022, Safety Glazing.
• CAN/CGSB-12.8-2017 (R2022), Insulating Glass Units.
• CAN/CGSB-12.20-M89, Structural Design of Glass for Buildings (withdrawn).

CAN/CGSB 12.20 has not been revised since 1989 and is currently in ‘withdrawn’ status, which according to CGSB means the information contained may no longer represent the most current, reliable and/or available information on the identified subject. Meanwhile, CAN/CGSB 12.8 has not been revised since 1997.

Roberts notes FGIA and the Fenestration Association of British Columbia (FENBC) tried in 2019 and 2020 to secure funding for revisions to the three standards, but with no success.

“To have SCC offer funding for updating these glass standards is a big step forward,” she says. “Canada is leading the way with environmental and climate change goals.”