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Clause 2.1.2.1.(1)(c) of the Ontario Building Code (OBC) provides that "a communication tower exceeding 16.6 meters above ground level" is a designated structure and is required to be designed in accordance with Part 4 of the OBC.
It is important to note that broadcasting and telecommunications fall under federal jurisdiction pursuant to s.91 and 92(1)(a) of the Constitution Act, 1867. Furthermore, provincial legislation does not apply to a federally regulated undertaking where the provincial legislation will have effect on an integral aspect of the federal undertaking.
The Supreme Court of Canada in Montcalm Construction Inc. v. Minimum Wage Commission (1978) 93 D.L.R. (3d) 641 at 654, held that the details of the design, dimensions, materials to be used and other similar specifications of a structure that is a federal undertaking are, from a legislative point of view, generally taken to be matters of exclusive federal concern.
A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in R. v. Royle & Leblanc Telecom Inc. (1994) 18 O.R. (3rd) 737 applied the Montcalm case to determine that the health and safety of workers employed by a company involved in the design, construction and maintenance of telecommunication towers for federally regulated operators was a sufficiently integral and vital part of the operations of the federal telecommunications undertaking that the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act had no application to these operations.
It is the opinion of the Housing Development and Buildings Branch that the application of Clause 2.1.2.1.(1)(c) of the OBC is restricted and it would not apply in respect of the design and construction of communication towers utilised for federally regulated broadcasting and telecommunication undertakings.
The above principles would not affect the application of the OBC to buildings that are associated with communication towers, as the application of the Code is not aimed at regulating broadcasting or telecommunications or an integral part thereto, but the objective is to ensure the structural integrity of ordinary buildings or property.
As a result, where a building is associated with a communication
tower, the design or the building must take into account the impact
of the communication tower on the building. In addition, the
design of communication tower have to take into account special
characteristics of the building.
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