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Explore our membership plans at the Canadian Wood Council and find the perfect fit for your needs. Access exclusive resources, expert support, and industry insights.

Webinar: Shearwall Connections and Lateral Systems for Wood Buildings

A Regionalized Industry Average EPD for Canadian Wood Trusses

An Industry Average EPD for Canadian Softwood Plywood

A Regionalized Industry Average EPD for Canadian Softwood Lumber

An Industry Average EPD for Canadian Pre-fabricated Wood I-Joists

  • building codes, construction, Mass Timber, Ontario, Publications, Wood Frame Construction

Guide to Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction in the Ontario Building Code

The Guide to Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction in the Ontario Building Code – Second Edition is a comprehensive resource designed to help designers, code officials, and building professionals understand and apply the latest Ontario Building Code provisions for Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction (EMTC), effective January 1, 2025. Developed by the Canadian Wood Council / WoodWorks Ontario in collaboration with Morrison Hershfield (now Stantec), the guide explains the technical requirements, fire safety principles, and design considerations unique to EMTC, with clear references to relevant OBC articles. It covers everything from structural mass timber element specifications and encapsulation materials, to use and occupancy limits, mixed-use scenarios, and related provisions for structural design, environmental separation, and fire safety during construction. Intended to be read in conjunction with the Ontario Building Code, this is not a design guide, but rather a tool to distill complex regulations into practical, accessible information—equipping professionals to confidently design, review, and approve EMTC projects while ensuring compliance and optimizing performance.

Notice of Correction: A previous version of this document contained a small error on page 19. In this electronic version of the document (updated August 12, 2025) the 3rd major bullet of Section 5.1.1 has been corrected.

  • construction, Ontario

Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan

Historical Tall-Wood Toronto

Courtesy of the Mass Timber Institute

There is much to learn from the resilient and adaptable warehouse buildings that line the streets of Canada’s historic manufacturing districts. ‘Historical Tall-Wood Toronto’ is an evidentiary database of late 19th and early 20th century vernacular brick and beam buildings that were built using the fire restrictive specifications and construction technology of Heavy Timber Mill-Construction (mill-construction) in Toronto.

Durability

Throughout history, wherever wood has been available as a resource, it has found favour as a building material for its durability, strength, cost-competitiveness, ease-of-use, sustainability, and beauty.  Wood-frame and timber buildings have an established record of long-term durability. From the ancient temples of China and Japan built in the 1000s, and the great stave churches of Norway to the numerous  North American buildings built in the 1800s, wood construction has proven it can stand the test of time.

Although wood building technology has been changing over time, wood’s natural durability properties will continue to make it the material of choice.

This website helps designers, construction professionals, and building owners understand what durability hazards exist for wood, and describes durability solutions that ensure wood, as a building material, will perform well for decades, and even centuries, to come.

Durability Guidelines

Wood structures, properly designed and properly treated, will last indefinitely. This section includes guidance on specific applications of structures that have constant exposure to the elements.

Mass timber exteriors

Modern Mass Timber Construction includes building systems otherwise known as post-and-beam, or heavy-timber, and cross laminated timber (CLT). Typical components include solid sawn timbers, glue-laminated timbers (glulam), parallel strand lumber (PSL) laminated veneer lumber (LVL) laminated strand (LSL), and CLT. Heavy-timber post and beam with infill walls of various materials is one of the oldest construction systems known to man. Historic examples still standing range from Europe through Asia to the long-houses of the Pacific Coastal first nations. Ancient temples in Japan and China dating back thousands of years are basically heavy timber construction with some components semi-exposed to the weather. Heavy-timber-frame warehouses with masonry walls dating back 100 years or more are still serviceable and sought-after as residences or office buildings in cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver (Koo 2013). Besides their historic value, these old warehouses offer visually impressive wood structures, open plan floors and resultant flexibility of use and repurposing. Building on this legacy, modern mass timber construction is becoming increasingly popular in parts of Canada and the USA for non-residential construction, recreational properties and even multi-unit residential buildings. Owners and architects typically see a need to express these structural materials, particularly glulam, on the exterior of the building where they are at semi-exposed to the elements. In addition wood components are being increasingly used to soften the exterior look of non-wood buildings and make them more appealing. They are anticipated to remain structurally sound and visually appealing for the service life. However, putting wood outside creates a risk of deterioration that needs to be managed. Similar to wood used for landscaping, the major challenges to wood in these situations are decay, weathering and black-stain fungi. This document provides assistance to architects and specifiers in making the right decisions to maximize the durability and minimize maintenance requirements for glulam and other mass timber on the outside of residential and non-residential buildings. It focusses on general principles, rather than providing detailed recommendations. This is primarily focussed on a Canadian and secondarily on a North American audience.

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Disaster Relief Housing

Shelter needs after natural disasters come in three phases:

Immediate shelter: normally supplied by tarpaulins or light tents
Transition shelter: may be heavy-duty tents or more robust medium-term shelters.
Permanent buildings: Ultimately permanent shelters need to be constructed when the local economy recovers.

Immediate and transition shelters are typically supplied by aid agencies. Light wood frame is ideal for rapid provision of medium- to long-term shelter after natural disasters. However, there are challenges in certain climates for wood frame construction that must be addressed in order to sustainably and responsibly build them. For example, many of the regions which experience hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis also have severe decay and termite hazards including aggressive Coptotermes species and drywood termites. In extreme northern climates, high occupancy loads are common and when combined with the need for substantial thermal insulation to ensure comfortable indoor temperatures, can result in condensation and mould growth if wall and roof systems are not carefully designed.

The desire of aid organizations to maximize the number of shelters delivered tends to drive down the allowable cost dictating simplified designs with fewer moisture management features. It may also be difficult to control the quality of construction in some regions. Once built, “temporary” structures are commonly used for much longer than their design life. Occupier improvements over the longer term can potentially increase moisture and termite problems. All of these factors mean that the wood used needs to be durable.

One method of achieving more durable wood products is by treating the wood to prevent decay and insect/termite attack. However, commonly available preservative treated wood in Canada may not be suitable for use in other countries. Selection of the preservative and treatment process must take into account the regulations in both the exporting and receiving countries, including consideration of the potential for human contact with the preserved wood, where the product will be within the building design, the treatability of wood species, and the local decay and termite hazard. Simple design features, such as ensuring wood does not come into contact with the ground and is protected from rain, can reduce moisture and termite problems.

Building with concrete and steel does not eliminate termite problems. Termites will happily forage in a concrete or masonry block buildings looking for wood components, furniture, cupboards, and other cellulosic materials, such as the paper on drywall, cardboard boxes, books etc. Mud tubes running 10ft over concrete foundations to reach cellulosic building materials have been documented. Indeed, termites have caused major economic damage to cellulosic building materials even in concrete and steel high-rises in Florida and in southern China.

Timber bridges

Timber bridges are an excellent way to showcase the strength and durability of wood structures, even under harsh conditions, when material selection, design, construction and maintenance are done well. They could also be critical infrastructure elements that span fast rivers or deep gorges. Consequences of failure of these structures can be severe in loss of life and loss of access to communities. Durability is as critical as engineering to ensure safe use of timber bridges for the design life, typically 75 years in North America.

There are numerous examples of old wood bridges still in service in North America (Figure 1). The oldest are traditional covered bridges (Figure 2), three of which are around 190 years old. In Southeast China, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces have numerous covered bridges that are almost 1000 years old (Figure 3). The fact that these bridges are still standing is a testament to the craftsmen that selected the materials, designed the structures, built them, monitored their condition and kept them maintained and repaired. They would have selected the most durable wood species available, likely Chestnut or cedars in North America, china fir (china cedar) in southeast China. They would have adzed off the thin perishable sapwood exposing only the naturally durable heartwood. The fact the covered bridges around today all look similar is because those were the tried and tested designs that worked. They clearly designed those bridges to shed water with a wood shingle roof, vertical siding projecting below the deck and structural elements sheltered from all but the worst wind-driven rain. Any rain that did not drip off the bottom of the vertical siding and wicked up the end grain would also dry out reasonably rapidly. Slow decay that did occur at the bottom of these boards was inconsequential because it was remote from connections to structural elements. Construction must have been meticulously performed by experienced craftsmen. Those craftsmen may well have been locals that would continue to monitor the bridge over its life and make any repairs necessary. Of course, not every component in those ancient bridges is original, particularly shingle roofs that typically last 20-30 years depending on climate. These bridges have all been repaired due to decay and in some cases dismantled and re-built over the years for various reasons (e.g., due to changes in traffic loads, arson, flooding, fire, hurricanes, etc.). The Wan’an Bridge in Fujian is known to have been built in 1090, refaced in 1708 and rebuilt in 1845, 1932 and 1953. The apparently increasing frequency of rebuilding may suggest a loss of knowledge and skills, but all repairs and reconstruction prior to 1845 may not have been recorded.

Permanent Wood Foundations

A permanent wood foundation (PWF) is a strong, durable and proven construction method that has a number of unique advantages over other foundation systems for both the builder and the homeowner. The first Canadian examples were built as early as 1950 and are still being used today. PWFs can also be designed for projects such as crawl spaces, room additions and knee-wall foundations for garages and mobile homes. Concrete slab-on-grade, wood sleeper floors and suspended wood floors can all be used with PWFs.

A permanent wood foundation is an in-ground engineered construction system designed to turn a home’s foundation into useable living space. A below-grade stud wall constructed of preservative treated plywood and lumber supports the structure and encloses the living space. PWFs are suitable for all types of light-frame construction covered under Part 9 (Housing and Small Buildings) of the National Building Code of Canada, under clauses 9.15.2.4.(1) and 9.16.5.1.(1). This includes single-family detached houses, townhouses, low-rise apartments, and institutional and commercial buildings. In addition, the recently revised CSA S406 standard, Specification of permanent wood foundations for housing and small buildings, allows for three-storey construction supported by PWF.

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Durability Solutions

Wood has been a valuable and effective structural material since the earliest days of human civilisation. With normal good practice, wood can deliver many years of reliable service. But, like other building materials, wood can suffer as a result of mistakes made in storage, design, construction, and maintenance practices.

How can you ensure long life of a wood building? The best approach is always to remember that wood meant for dry application must stay dry. Start out by buying dry wood, store it carefully to keep it dry, design the building to protect the wood elements, keep wood dry during construction, and practice good maintenance of the building. This approach is called durability by design.

If wood won’t stay dry, you have two choices in approach. Because wet wood is at risk of decay, you must select a product with decay resistance. One choice is to choose a naturally durable species like Western red cedar. This approach is called durability by nature.

Most of our construction lumber is not naturally durable, but we can make it decay resistant by treating it with a preservative. Preservative-treated lumber is more reliably resistant to decay than naturally durable lumber. This approach is called durability by treated wood.

The level of attention you give to durability issues during the course of design depends on your decay hazard. In other words, the more that your circumstances put wood at risk, the more care you must take in protecting against  decay. In outdoor applications, for example, any wood in contact with the ground is at high risk of decay and should be pressure-treated with a preservative. For wood that is exposed to the weather but not in direct ground contact, the degree of hazard correlates with climate. The fungi that harm wood generally grow best in moist environments with warm temperatures. Researchers have developed hazard zones in North America using mean monthly temperature and number of rainy days. This map in particular shows the rainfall hazard and applies to exposed uses of wood such as decks, shingles and fence boards. A high degree of hazard would indicate a need to carefully choose a wood species or preservative treatment for maximum service life. In the future, building codes may provide more specific directives as a function of decay hazard. For wood not exposed to weather, such as framing lumber, this map is only moderately useful. This is because the environmental conditions in the wall may be substantially different than those outdoors.

Durability Hazards

Moisture, Decay, and Termites

Wood is a natural, biodegradable material.  That means certain insects and fungi can break wood down to be recycled via earth into new plant material.

Decay, also called rot, is the decomposition of organic material by fungal activity.  A few specialized species of fungi can do this to wood.  This is an important process in the forest.  But it is obviously a process to be avoided for wood products in service.

The key to controlling decay is controlling excessive moisture.  Water by itself doesn’t cause harm to wood, but water enables these fungal organisms to grow.  Wood is actually quite tolerant of water and forgiving of many moisture errors.  But too much unintended moisture (for example, a major wall leak) can lead to a significant decay hazard.  If a wood product is to be used in an application that will frequently be wet for extended periods, then measures need to be taken to protect the wood against decay.

Various types of insects can damage wood, but the predominant ones causing problems are termites.  Termites live everywhere in the world where the climate is warm or temperate.

Durability – FAQ

Please refer to the pdf documents below for Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to durability:

The Durability site is a joint CWC/ FPInnovations – website whose intent is to provide current information on the durability of wood products in order to ensure long service life of wood structures. The site is maintained and updated regularly by both groups, which ensures that architects, engineers, builders, and homeowners get answers to their inquiries regarding wood durability.

Durability

  • privacy policy

Privacy Policy

We are pleased to open our Call for Entries and invite North American and International submissions to the 2025 Wood Design and Building Awards program celebrating excellence in wood architecture and construction.

The Canadian Wood Council (“CWC”) is committed to upholding the confidentiality and security of your personal information. The CWC respects your right to privacy and have instituted best practices to help ensure that your personal information is handled responsibly. This Policy explains how CWC collects, uses, and discloses personal information that you knowingly provide while using this website and website content (the “Website”) and in any electronic publications, newsletters, or announcements made by it (“Electronic Communications”). By using CWC’s Web sites, you consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of the information you provide, as set out in this Privacy Policy. Any personal information provided to CWC through the Web sites will be treated with care, and subject to this Policy will not be used or disclosed in ways not consented.

1. Scope of this Policy

  • This Privacy Policy applies to the CWC and its subsidiaries with the Canadian Wood WORKS! program.

2. Information Automatically Collected

  • Non-Identifiable Information — The Website may automatically collect certain non-identifiable information regarding Website users. This non-identifiable information is used for Website and system administration purposes and to improve the Website. Your non-identifiable information may be disclosed to others and permanently archived for future use.
  • Cookies — The Website may use “cookies”, to enhance the convenience and use of the Website. You may choose to decline cookies if your browser permits, but doing so may affect your use and ability to access certain features of the Website.

3. Personal Information You Specifically Provide to the Website

  • Your Personal Information — During your use of the Website, you may be asked to voluntarily provide certain personal information (such as your name, e-mail address, postal address, and telephone number) for purposes such as facilitating communications with you and allowing you to use certain functionality of the Website.
  • Use of Your Personal Information — CWC may use your personal information to contact and correspond with you, and as otherwise permitted by law.
  • E-mails from CWC — If you provide your e-mail address, CWC may send you, from time to time, e-mail containing information about CWC and other matters it believes will interest you. At any time you may ask CWC to stop sending you e-mails and other information by contacting helpdesk@cwc.ca.
  • Tracking Information — CWC may use non-personal information to create aggregate tracking information reports regarding Website user demographics and Website traffic patterns. None of the tracking information in the reports can be connected to the identities or other personal information of individual users. CWC may also link tracking information with Website users’ personal information. Once such a link is made, all of the linked information is treated as personal information and will be used and disclosed only in accordance with this Policy, and in accordance with the law.
  • Disclosure of Your Personal Information — CWC may disclose your personal information to a government institution that has asserted its lawful authority to obtain the information or where CWC has reasonable grounds to believe the information could be useful in the investigation of unlawful activity, or to comply with a subpoena or warrant or an order made by a court, person or body with jurisdiction to compel the production of information, or to comply with court rules regarding the production of records and information, or to protect CWC’s rights and property. If CWC is involved in a merger or other reorganization, CWC may disclose your personal information to the resulting organization.
  • Storing and Securing Your Information — CWC may store and process your personal information at CWC’s office in Canada or through a third party service provider, which may or may not be located in Canada. To help protect the confidentiality of your personal information, CWC employs security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Nevertheless, due to the nature of the Internet and Internet technologies, security and privacy risks cannot be eliminated and CWC cannot guarantee that your personal information will not be disclosed in ways not otherwise described in this Policy.
  • Accessing Your Personal Information — You may request access to your personal information and information about CWC’s collection, use and disclosure of that information by contacting CWC at helpdesk@cwc.ca. CWC has a Privacy Officer who is responsible for the protection of personal information and compliance with privacy-related legislation in various jurisdictions. Your enquiries will be forwarded to the Privacy Officer when it is received. Subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law, you will be given reasonable access to your personal information, and will be entitled to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and to have it amended as appropriate. You can help CWC maintain the accuracy of your information by notifying CWC of any changes to your personal information.
  • Withdrawal of Consent — In some jurisdictions, you may withdraw your consent to the use and intention of personal information. To do this, please contact our Privacy Officer at helpdesk@cwc.ca. Additionally, we routinely provide “opt out” or “unsubscribe” instructions on our electronic communications to provide for removal of your name from future transmissions.

4. Other Matters

Your Comments — If you have any comments or questions about this Policy or your personal information, please contact CWC at helpdesk@cwc.ca.

Other Websites — The Website may contain links to other Websites or Internet resources. When you click on one of those links you are contacting another Website or Internet resource that may collect information about you voluntarily or through cookies or other technologies. CWC has no responsibility or liability for, or control over those other Websites or Internet resources or their collection, use and disclosure of your personal information.

Website Terms of Use — The Terms of Use governing your use of the Website contains important provisions disclaiming and excluding the liability of CWC and others regarding your use of the Website and provisions determining the applicable law and exclusive jurisdiction for the resolution of any disputes regarding your use of the Website. Each of those provisions also applies to any disputes that may arise in relation to this Policy and the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information, and are of the same force and effect as if they had been reproduced directly in this Policy.

Former Users — If you stop using the Website or your permission to use the Website is terminated by CWC, CWC may continue to use and disclose your personal information in accordance with this Policy as amended from time to time, and subject to compliance with the law.

Privacy Policy Changes — This Policy may be changed by CWC from time to time, without any prior notice or liability to you or any other person. The collection, use and disclosure of your personal information by CWC will be governed by the version of this Policy in effect at that time. New versions of this Policy will be posted here. Your continued use of the Website and receipt or request of any electronic communication subsequent to any changes to this Policy will signify that you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with the changed Policy. Accordingly, when you use the Website or receive or request any electronic communication, you should check the date of this Policy and review any changes since the last version.

  • terms of use

Terms of Use

By accessing and using this website and website content (collectively, the “Website”), you are deemed to have agreed to these terms and conditions of use (the “Terms of Use”) and any other notices, guidelines and rules published by the Canadian Wood Council (“CWC”) on this Website from time to time (each of which is incorporated into these Terms of Use by reference), and all applicable laws and regulations governing the Website. By using this Website you also represent and warrant that you have the legal authority to enter into this Agreement.

You also agree to the use of any personal information that you may supply to CWC through this Website, as further described in our Privacy Policy.

CWC has the right, in its sole discretion, to add, remove, modify or otherwise change any part of these Terms of Use for the Website, in whole or in part, at any time. Any change will be effective when notice of such change is posted on the Website. Your continued use of this Website after any such change is posted will constitute your acceptance and agreement from you or any party you purport to represent, without limitation or qualification, to be bound by this Agreement as it may be amended from time to time. If any portion of these Terms of Use or any change to these Terms of Use is not acceptable to you, you must discontinue your use of this Website immediately. These Terms of Use apply exclusively to your use of this Website and do not alter the terms or conditions of any other agreement you may have with CWC.

1. Your Use of This Website

The Materials included on this site are provided for convenience and informational purposes. CWC grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sub-licensable, revocable, limited license to display on your computer, print, download and use the Website for informational purposes only and solely for your own personal or internal company use. Except as otherwise expressly stated, no other use is permitted. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you may not use the Website to infringe the rights of, restrict or inhibit anyone else’s use or enjoyment of the Website, disseminate any unlawful or objectionable material, obtain unauthorized access to or interfere with CWC’s computer systems, or otherwise breach applicable laws or regulations. Accessing the Website from locations where its content is illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access the Website from other locations do so at their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

2. Intellectual Property

CWC either owns the intellectual property rights in the Website (including, without limitation, underlying HTML,  trademarks, logos, designs, photos, information and material in text, graphical, video and audio forms, images, reports, articles, data, databases, charts, graphics, interfaces, and other content), or has obtained the permission of the owner of the relevant intellectual property for use in connection with the Website. Except for any rights you may have in User Content (as defined below) posted by you on this Website, CWC reserves all rights that are not specifically granted under these Terms of Use. For permission to reproduce any portion of this Website, or to make suggestions for Website improvements, please email us at: helpdesk@cwc.ca. Any authorized reproduction of any portion of this Website must be accompanied by CWC’s copyright notice or the copyright notice of the owner of the relevant copyright, as the case may be.

CWC claims no ownership or control over any content including any and all trademarks, logos, designs, photos, information and material in text, graphical, video and audio forms, images, reports, articles, data, databases, charts, graphics, interfaces, and other content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through the Website (the “User Content”). You or a third party licensor, as the case may be, retain all rights to any User Content you submit, post or display on or through the Website and you are responsible for protecting those rights.

By submitting, posting, uploading or displaying User Content on or through this Website, you grant CWC a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, unrestricted, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, sublicense, collect, reproduce, store, compile, download, adapt, modify, translate, make derivative works from, transmit, publish, distribute, publicly perform or display such User Content for any purpose using any form, media or technology now known or later developed in accordance with CWC’s Privacy Policy, without providing compensation to you or anyone else, without any liability whatsoever, and free from any obligation of confidence or other duties on the part of CWC. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein to any User Content submitted. CWC may, but is not obligated to, edit any User Content provided to it prior to or after it being posted to the Website.

3. Disclaimer

The Website is provided “as is” and “as available”. Your use of the Website is at your own risk, and you acknowledge that you are solely responsible for actions and communications undertaken or transmitted by you in the course of your usage of this Website. The Website is not guaranteed to be error-free or uninterrupted. CWC assumes no responsibility and provides no warranties, representations, guarantees, covenants or conditions, express or implied (either in fact or by operation of law) or statutory, including, without limitation, with respect to the quality, accuracy, reliability, currency, truth, completeness, merchantability, merchantable quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or continued availability of the Website.

The Website may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other websites or resources. Because CWC has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that CWC is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and that CWC does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, services or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that CWC shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such external site or resource. If you decide to visit any linked site, you do so at your own risk and it is your responsibility to take all protective measures to guard against viruses and other destructive elements.

4. Inbound Links

CWC welcomes links to this Website. However, you agree that if you want to link to this Website your website shall not:

  • create frames around any part of this Website or use other techniques that alter the visual presentation of this Site;
  • imply that CWC is endorsing you or any other person, or your or such other person’s products or services;
  • imply an affiliation between you or any other person, or your or such other person’s products or services, and CWC without the prior written consent of CWC;
  • misrepresent the relationship between you or any other person and CWC or present false, misleading or otherwise damaging information or impressions about CWC or any of its products or services; or
  • contain materials that may be interpreted as distasteful, harmful, offensive, infringing or inaccurate.

5. No Advice

The Website and its content are for informational or demonstrative purposes only. The Website and its content are not intended to be a comprehensive or detailed statement concerning the matters addressed and may not be relied upon as professional advice or a substitute for such advice. You are responsible for obtaining appropriate advice from qualified external sources prior to acting upon any information available at or through this Website.

6. Restricted Areas

Certain areas of this Website may be accessed only by use of a unique user identification and password.  If you are provided with or submit a password, you are responsible for ensuring that your user identification and password are not disclosed to or used by any other person.  CWC is under no obligation to verify the actual identity or authority of any person using the unique user identification and password to access and/or use this Website or any part thereof. You are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your user identification or password, and release CWC from and indemnify CWC against all claims, proceedings, liabilities, obligations and costs resulting directly or indirectly from the use of your identification or password by any other person. You must immediately notify CWC at helpdesk@cwc.ca if you know or suspect any unauthorized use of your user identification or password.

For the purposes of accessing any feature or portion of this Website requiring the use of a user identification and/or password, the user identification and password remain the property of CWC and CWC may deny access to or use of the Website or any part thereof, or may cancel or suspend the user identification and password at any time in CWC’s sole discretion, without any notice or liability to you or any other person.

7. Privacy

CWC may, in its discretion, monitor your use of the Website or any part thereof.  CWC collects, uses and discloses personal information in accordance with its Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference into this Agreement and available by clicking here. This Privacy Policy may be amended by CWC from time to time, in its sole discretion, without notifying or being liable to you or any other person, by making an amended Privacy Policy accessible through the Website. Each time you use the Website, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information by CWC in accordance with the Privacy Policy as it then reads.

8. Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL CWC, ITS AFFILIATES OR SERVICE PROVIDERS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE AND EXEMPLARY DAMAGES OR LOSSES, HOWSOEVER CAUSED, ARISING FROM, CONNECTED WITH, OR RELATING TO THE WEBSITE OR ANY PART THEREOF, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY PART THEREOF, OR THIS AGREEMENT INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, LOST PROFITS OR LOST SAVINGS, OR RESULTING FROM VIRUSES, DATA CORRUPTION, FAILED MESSAGES, TRANSMISSION ERRORS OR PROBLEMS, LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT, USER CONTENT, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS WEBSITE OR THE CONTENT UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY (WHETHER ON A CONTRACTUAL OR EXTRACONTRACTUAL BCWCS, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER THEORY OR LAW OR EQUITY), REGARDLESS OF ANY NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER FAULT OR WRONGDOING AND FUNDAMENTAL BREACH BY CWC OR ANY PERSON FOR WHOM CWC IS RESPONSIBLE EVEN IF CWC OR ITS AFFILIATES OR SERVICE PROVIDERS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIM.

9. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold CWC, its affiliates, and service providers, and their respective agents, directors, officers, employees, service providers, and suppliers (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses and costs, including without limitation reasonable legal fees and expenses, incurred by the indemnified parties in connection with any claim or demand arising out of, related to, or connected with Your use of the Website, Your violation or infringement of the rights of others, and/or Your use of the Website in breach of this Agreement. You will assist and co-operate as fully as reasonably required by the Indemnified Parties in the defense of any such claim or demand.

Advice and information provided by CWC or its representatives, or through the Website, whether oral or written, will not create any representation, warranty or condition or vary or amend this agreement, including the above disclaimers, liability exclusions, liability limitations, release and indemnity provisions, and you may not rely upon any such advice or information. The exclusion of certain warranties and the limitation of certain liabilities is prohibited by legislation in some jurisdictions. Such legislative limitations may apply to you. The disclaimer(s), liability exclusion, liability limitation, release, and indemnity provisions in this Agreement survive the termination of this Agreement.

10. Termination of this Agreement

If you breach any provision of this Agreement, CWC may prohibit you from accessing or using the Website or any portion thereof. CWC may, at any time without notice or liability, and for any reason whatsoever, terminate, change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Website and/or any part thereof, including i) changing the availability of, restricted access to, or imposing limits on any or all features or services on, or links to, the Website; ii) removing, adding, modifying or otherwise changing any content on the Website. CWC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to correct any errors or omissions in any portion of the Website at any time without notice, but confirms that it has no obligation to do so.

If this Agreement or your permission to use the Website is terminated by you or us for any reason, then (a) you must cease your use of this Website and destroy all materials obtained from this Website and all related documentation and all copies and installations thereof, whether made under this Agreement or otherwise; (b) this Agreement will nevertheless continue to apply and be binding upon you in respect of your prior use of the Website and anything connected with, relating to or arising from that use; and (c) we may continue to use and disclose your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, as amended from time to time. Sections 2 (Intellectual Property), 3 (Disclaimer), 4 (Inbound Links), 7 (Privacy), 8 (Limitation of Liability), 9 (Indemnity), 10 (Termination), 11 (Release), 12 (Governing Law and Dispute Resolution), 13 (Trademark Information), 14 (Other Matters) and 15 (Contact) survive indefinitely after the termination of this Agreement.

11. Release

You hereby release, remise and forever discharge CWC, its affiliates and their respective agents, directors, officers, employees, service providers, and suppliers from any and all manner of rights, claims, complaints, demands, causes of action, proceedings, liabilities, obligations, legal fees, costs, and disbursements of any nature and kind whatsoever and howsoever arising, whether known or unknown, which now or hereafter exist, which arise from, relate to, or are connected with your use of the Website.

12. Governing Law

This Agreement, your use of the Website, and all related matters are governed solely by the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada and applicable federal laws of Canada, excluding any rules of private international law or the conflict of laws which would lead to the application of any other laws. Any dispute between CWC and you or any other person arising from, in connection with or relating to the Website, this Agreement, or any related matters must be resolved before the Courts of the Province of Ontario, Canada sitting in the City of Ottawa, and you hereby irrevocably submit and attorn to the original and exclusive jurisdiction of those Courts in respect of any such dispute. Any claim or cause of action you may have arising from, in connection with, or relating to your use of the Website, this Agreement, or any related matters must be commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arises, after which time the claim or cause of action is forever barred, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary.

13. Trade-mark

CWC and the CWC logo are registered trade-marks and trade-names owned by CWC. Other product and company names and logos appearing on the Website may be registered and unregistered trade-marks, service-marks or trade-names of their respective owners. Any use of the trade-marks, service-marks, trade-names and logos (collectively the “Marks”) displayed on the Website, except as expressly provided in this Agreement, is strictly prohibited. Nothing appearing on the Website or elsewhere will be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any Marks displayed on the Website.

14. Other Matters

If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed to be severed from the rest of this Agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. No consent or waiver by either party to or of any breach or default by the other party in its performance of its obligations under this Agreement will be deemed or construed to be a consent to or waiver of a continuing breach or default or any other breach or default of those or any other obligations of that party. No consent or waiver will be effective unless in writing and signed by both parties. CWC will not accept transactions or instructions by Internet email messages. However, questions of a general nature or inquiries may be communicated by email. Any communication transmitted to CWC by electronic mail shall become the property of CWC or its affiliates and may be used for any purpose. CWC shall be free to use any idea contained in any communication sent to CWC for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products using such information.

This Agreement as amended from time to time by CWC constitutes the entire agreement between you and CWC relating to your use of the Website and supersedes all previous agreements, written, oral or otherwise, between you and CWC with respect to your use of the Website.

The provisions of this Agreement will ensure to the benefit of and be binding upon CWC and its service providers and their respective successors and assigns, and you and your heirs, executors, administrators, successors and personal representatives. You may not assign this Agreement or your rights and obligations under this Agreement without the express written consent of CWC, which may be withheld in CWC’s sole discretion. CWC and its service providers may assign this Agreement and their respective rights and obligations under this agreement without your consent.

15. Contact Use

If you have any comments or questions about these Terms of Use or your use of the Website or any part thereof, please contact CWC at helpdesk@cwc.ca.

The 2025 Ottawa Wood Solutions Conference will be presented on February 5, 2025 at the National Arts Centre

December 19, 2024 (Ottawa) – The 2025 Ottawa Wood Solutions Conference will be presented on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, at the National Arts Centre, located at 1 Elgin St. in Ottawa. 

First launched over 20 years ago to serve design and construction professionals interested in building with wood, this event has evolved from a niche gathering into a cornerstone of professional education, driven by the growing demand for sustainable wood construction. The program offers a range of presentations—from technical deep dives to inspiring case studies—catering to participants at every stage of their professional journey, from newcomers to seasoned experts. Attendees can also take advantage of valuable opportunities to connect, collaborate, and expand their professional networks within the wood community. 

Conference organizers are delighted to welcome Christophe Ouhayoun of KOZ Architects (France) to share insights into the innovative, collaborative development of the Paris Olympics Athletes’ Village. His presentation will also explore the current effort underway to convert these structures into much-needed permanent housing, highlighting this progressive mass timber development as a model of adaptability and sustainability. 

Another program highlight pays tribute to the venue itself. Donald Schmitt, CM, of Diamond Schmitt Architects will present on the revitalization of the National Arts Centre, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the timber structure and prefabrication process that transformed this iconic building into a modern landmark. 

Other technical presentations include managing sound and vibration in mass timber buildings and growing Canadian capacity for industrialized wood construction, advancing wood products in our changing climate, and a discussion of the value of conventional wood frame construction in small communities where it provides job opportunities, with a specific focus on Indigenous housing projects. 

Early Bird registration of just $99+HST is available until the end of December. In the new year, registration for the conference will be $149 +HST. Delegates can find the Ottawa Wood Solutions Conference on Eventbrite or jump directly to online registration with this link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2025-ottawa-wood-solutions-conference-tickets-1080654991169

A limited number of discounted passes are available for post-secondary educators and students in AEC+D programs of study. Please contact Kelsey Dayler for more information kdayler@cwc.ca.  

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