Code of Practice for Residential Wood Burning Appliances

The Code was developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to assist municipal, federal, provincial, and territorial governments in their response to air quality problems, energy efficiency, firewood and carbon conservation, and enhance measures for fire prevention and protection.

The Code will aid municipalities in by-law and program development to help drive change-outs of conventional wood burning appliances in favour of advanced technology (certified) appliances and fireplaces. Where municipal authority does not exist in jurisdictions this code may apply to provincial regulations. 

The Code also provides guidance on wood burning curtailment in response to air quality advisories, along with emissions testing for individual sources, and complaint response strategies – all of which provide useful reference points for the development of wood smoke management plans. Adopting a wood smoke management plan and engaging residents in addressing heavy wood burning activity is an important responsibility, especially when atmospheric conditions may prevent dispersion of smoke away from a community or region. The Code, therefore, provides advice based on six best practices for consideration by jurisdictions in designing policies and programs to reduce wood smoke emissions (see Section 5.0).

The Code also provides guidance for jurisdictions in the form of A Model By-law and Regulatory Elements for Residential Wood Burning Appliances (see Appendix 1). Jurisdictional background information on wood smoke management is located in Review of Municipal, Provincial and Federal Policies for Wood Burning Appliances in Selected Canadian and U.S. Jurisdictions (CCME, 2012).