Mr. Speaker, the National Building Code of Canada relies upon the National Research Council as its centre of expertise. The NRC has been providing that expertise for many years.
One of the specific items that firefighters have raised with me is the design techniques in buildings that tend to use lighter materials. These materials burn more quickly. Materials, particularly in the floor construction, may be prone to earlier collapse when exposed to flame and sometimes even just to heat without the flame.
Firefighters are concerned about building materials that burn hotter, faster and more intensely. That is part of the explanation for why a fire 25 years ago might have taken 20 minutes to get into a blaze, where in this day and age it might only take 5 minutes.
I think firefighters would want that issue seriously examined, and they are prepared to co-operate with the government to provide expertise to ensure the right technical answers are found.