A couple of weeks ago, Southern Ontario experienced its first sustained heat event of the season. Temperatures climbed into the low to mid-30s, but with humidity, it felt more like the high 30s — even into the 40s. It was hot. And unbearably humid.
Around that time, I read a heartbreaking news story: a six-year-old child narrowly survived a fall from a 10th floor window in an older high-rise apartment in Toronto. The safety mechanism on the window had reportedly been disabled — likely to help cool down an “impossibly hot” unit. In any context, this is a tragedy. But in the context of extreme heat, it becomes something more — a warning. A near-tragedy caused not just by circumstance, but by the failings of outdated building design.
There was a time when how hot or cold a space became was secondary to construction cost or architectural intent. Comfort was often considered a luxury. Fifty years ago, heat events like the one we just experienced were rare. I remember growing up in a suburban house without air conditioning. None of our neighbours had air conditioning. The year we got a window fan was a moment of local excitement. But the world has changed. Our climate has changed. What was once rare is now routine — and becoming more dangerous every year.
We see the consequences of poor design in our aging building stock every day. But this story reminded me how critical those design oversights can be to the safety and well-being of the people who live in these buildings. It’s why getting new builds right — today — is more important than ever. The climate crisis is here. We often ask what 2030 or 2040 will look like. But what about 2075 and beyond? How impossibly hot will our homes feel then if we don’t get more people to act now?
Just days ago, I read a sobering interview with Dr. David Suzuki in iPolitics. In it, he declared that the fight against climate change is lost. “It’s too late,” he said. It stopped me cold. This is a man I grew up listening to, someone who championed science, environmental responsibility, and informed action. And now, he believes the best we can do is prepare to “hunker down.”
I hope he’s wrong. But I fear he may not be.
Even so, what we do — what you do — now, matters.
We in the Passive House community are pointing the way forward. We are advancing a building standard that rises to both challenges: reducing the built environment’s contribution to global warming and protecting the people who live, work, and play in our buildings from the effects of a rapidly changing climate.
If “hunkering down” becomes part of our future, let’s ensure people can do so in comfort, safety, and dignity — not in stifling apartments or freezing homes. Let’s build homes, schools, and workplaces that remain stable and resilient, no matter what comes.
We may not be able to undo everything that’s already set in motion. But we can shape what’s ahead. Together, we’re proving that better is possible — and that better is needed now.
Yes, 2030 matters. So does 2040. And every building we touch between now, then, and beyond.
Warm regards,
Michael Quast
CEO, Passive House Canada
