Canada / Quebec
Quebec Names Its Code by Edition and Document Number.
We Read the Section That Amends It.
We are a United States estimating desk writing Xactimate supplements for Quebec roofing contractors. Service is in English, said plainly, with no French version of this site or its intake. Quebec is the one province in this program where the code text names its own edition and printing, and where the code section that does so also points straight at the section that amends it. Pricing is in United States dollars, stated plainly.
All pricing in USD.
The best-sourced code sentence in this program
Quebec's Construction Code, chapter B-1.1, r. 2, states in section 1.01 that "Code" means the National Building Code of Canada 2020 (NRCC-CONST-56435E), First Printing, published by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, National Research Council of Canada, and that the Code is incorporated into the chapter by reference. That is a rare sentence in this program. Other provinces adopt a national code with amendments, adopt by reference through a regulation that is difficult to name precisely, or leave general adoption unresolved in anything we could find. Quebec names the edition, the printing, and the document number in the regulation text itself.
The same sentence does not stop there, and this is the part a scope writer cannot skip. Section 1.01 incorporates the Code "subject to the amendments specified in section 1.09". Section 1.09 is its own division of the regulation, titled Amendments to the Code, and it points to a separate, cross-referenced amendment document. We read sections 1.01 and 1.02 directly. We have not read the section 1.09 amendment document itself, and we are not going to describe what is in it without having read it.
What we will say plainly is the mechanism. The governing text on a Quebec file is the National Building Code 2020 as amended by Quebec, not the bare national edition. A citation built on the 2020 code without checking whether section 1.09 touches the relevant provision can be citing text Quebec has changed. Section 1.02 adds the scope question on top of that: subject to the exemptions in section 1.04, the chapter applies to construction work on a building to which the Building Act applies, plus certain public-use facilities listed in section 1.03. Which provisions actually govern a given repair is still a per-file question. What Quebec gives us, that most of this program does not, is an exact, checkable place to start looking.
Water, not hail, and one honest number
The severe weather that shows up in the Insurance Bureau of Canada's Quebec reporting is water, not hail. The clearest figure is the largest one. IBC reported that the remnants of Hurricane Debby travelled across southern Quebec on August 9 and 10, and that CatIQ's initial estimate put the insured damage at nearly $2.5 billion, ranking the event as the costliest insured event in Quebec's history, ahead of the 1998 ice storm.
We checked for a restatement of that figure before putting it on this page, because a publisher revising its own number is something we watch for on every page in this program. We did not find a later release on IBC's own site restating a Quebec-only total for this event. We did find later industry coverage describing a combined Ontario-and-Quebec loss estimate for the same flood event, published on a trade newsletter rather than IBC.ca. That combined, two-province figure is not a Quebec-only restatement, it covers different ground entirely, and we are not going to treat it as one. We are also not going to split it ourselves to guess at a Quebec-only share. That kind of arithmetic produces a number nobody actually published. The $2.5 billion figure ships here as CatIQ's initial estimate, dated, exactly as IBC reported it.
English-language service, said once
This desk works in English. There is no French version of this site, no French intake process, and no French-language review of any kind, because we are not going to ship copy we cannot properly check. We would rather tell you that plainly, once, than have you find out partway through a file.
Quebec government bodies themselves publish some content in English under a stated legal frame. The English page of Quebec's contractor-credential authority carries this line: "This content in English is intended for individuals covered by the exceptions to the Charter of the French language and its regulations." We are noting that a government English page exists and says that about itself. We are not a language-law authority, we are not interpreting what those exceptions are or who qualifies for them, and we are not stating any obligation a contractor or a business carries. That is not our subject.
What we do not claim
- We are not licensed in Quebec. Our credential is a United States one. We do estimating and supplement documentation, working behind you.
- We do not offer service in French. There is no French version of this site, no French intake, and no French-language review. That limit is stated here plainly and applies regardless of who is reading this page.
- We do not describe Quebec contractor licensing or its process. That is a contractor obligation, not our service, and it stays off this page entirely.
- We make no claim about Quebec's language-law obligations. We quoted one sentence from a government English page as a sourced observation. We are not interpreting the law behind it, stating who it covers, or advising on compliance with it.
- We do not enumerate the amendments in section 1.09 of the Construction Code. That section exists and points to a separate document. We have not read that document, so nothing from it appears here.
- We do not treat a combined Ontario-and-Quebec loss figure as a restatement of a Quebec-only number, and we do not derive a Quebec share by subtraction. A number nobody published does not go on this page.
- We do not claim to have Quebec insurers mapped. They are different companies from the American ones, and inferring their behaviour from a US insurer would be making something up.
- We are a US company working remotely. Nothing about the service depends on being in the same country as the roof, and we would rather you know that before you send a file than after.
The TEC Guarantee
Send us an average of 2 claims per week for 12 months and we guarantee you will add a minimum of six figures in additional margin to your business. If you do not, we write you a $5,000 check at the end of the 12 months.
All pricing in USD, and the guarantee is paid in USD. This is a commitment we are making to you, not a projection of what your claims will return.
Questions
Which building code applies to a Quebec roof?
The answer is unusually exact for Canada. Quebec's Construction Code, chapter B-1.1, r. 2, states in section 1.01 that "Code" means "the National Building Code of Canada 2020" (NRCC-CONST-56435E), First Printing, published by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, National Research Council of Canada, and that the Code is incorporated into the chapter by reference. Most provinces in this program adopt a code with amendments, adopt by reference through a regulation that is hard to pin down, or leave the adoption unclear. Quebec names the edition, the printing, and the document number in the text of the regulation itself.
So is it just the National Building Code 2020, plain and simple?
No, and this is the part worth reading carefully. The same section that identifies the edition, section 1.01, incorporates it "subject to the amendments specified in section 1.09." Section 1.09 exists as its own division of the regulation, titled Amendments to the Code, and it points to a separate cross-referenced document. We have read section 1.01 and section 1.02 directly. We have not read the section 1.09 amendment document itself, so we are not going to summarize what is in it. What we will say plainly is that the governing text on a Quebec file is the national code as amended by Quebec, not the bare national code, and a scope built on the 2020 edition without checking whether section 1.09 touches the provision in question can be citing text Quebec has changed.
Does the code apply to every building?
Section 1.02 states that, subject to the exemptions in section 1.04, the chapter "applies to all construction work that is performed on a building to which the Building Act (chapter B-1.1) applies," and also to certain public-use facilities listed in section 1.03. That is a scope question specific to the building in front of us, and we check it on the file rather than assuming a blanket answer.
What has severe weather actually done in Quebec?
Water, not hail, is the pattern in the two events the Insurance Bureau of Canada has published on Quebec. The larger one: the remnants of Hurricane Debby crossed southern Quebec on August 9 and 10, and IBC reported that CatIQ's initial estimate put the insured damage at nearly $2.5 billion, ranking it as the costliest insured event in Quebec's history, ahead of the 1998 ice storm. We checked for a later restatement of that specific figure before using it and did not find one published on IBC's own site. We are shipping it as CatIQ's initial estimate, dated, exactly as IBC framed it.
Is $2.5 billion still the current number?
It is the number IBC has published and the number we can verify at the source we read. We did find later industry reporting describing a combined Ontario-and-Quebec loss estimate for the same flood event at a different figure, but that number covers two provinces together, not Quebec alone, and it did not come from IBC's own site. We are not going to treat a two-province combined figure as though it restates a Quebec-only number, and we are not going to do the arithmetic to split it ourselves. That kind of division produces a number nobody actually published.
Do you offer service in French?
No. We are an English-language desk and we say that plainly rather than let you find out partway through a file. We do not maintain a French version of this site, a French intake process, or French-language review of any kind, because we are not going to ship copy we cannot properly check. If your work requires a French-language desk, we are not that desk, and it is better you know that before you send a file than after.
Are you licensed in Quebec?
No, and we do not present ourselves as being. We are a United States company. Our credential is a United States one. What we do for you is estimating and supplement documentation, delivered remotely, working behind you while you keep the relationship with your insurer.
What currency are your fees in?
All pricing is in United States dollars. We do not quote in Canadian dollars and we do not publish a converted figure, because an exchange rate printed on a web page is out of date almost immediately. Your own bank or card issuer applies the conversion at the rate on the day you pay.
Send us one and see
Send the insurer estimate and your measurement report. We will read it and tell you what we see, including telling you if there is nothing worth chasing on it.
All pricing in USD.