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Download the TSSA Media Release - Here

QuoteToronto, ON, May 25, 2026 – Repeat offender Mark Van Watteghem has been sentenced to 15 days in jail and fined $10,000 plus a victim surcharge by the Ontario Court of Justice after being found guilty of fuel safety violations under the Technical Standards and Safety Act.

Mr. Van Watteghem was convicted for the third time after removing a gas furnace and installing a replacement unit at a home in Windsor, Ontario. He was found performing this work without valid authorization by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA). The fuel technician was previously convicted in 2016 and 2019 for unsafe fuel work and for performing fuel work as an unregistered contractor, receiving fines totalling $25,000 plus the victim surcharge.

"Mark Van Watteghem's fuel work was deceitful and placed the lives of those who trusted him at serious risk," said Owen Kennedy, Director of Fuels Safety at TSSA. "He has not been a registered contractor for 11 years and has been without a valid certificate for nine years. During that time, his work exposed customers to potentially fatal dangers, including carbon monoxide poisoning. TSSA supports the court's decision to impose a stronger penalty in response to his repeated and fraudulent conduct."

In Ontario, only fuel contractors registered with TSSA and individuals holding a valid gas technician certificate are legally permitted to work on fuel-fired appliances. Before commissioning any fuel work, members of the public are encouraged to search for and verify registered contractors using TSSA's online Authorized Heating Fuel Contractors Lookup Tool.

The previous 2017 Ontario College of Trades fine can be found here - https://www.hvactechgroup.com/hvacforum/index.php?topic=2589.msg8530#msg8530

The previous 2019 TSSA fine can be found here - https://www.hvactechgroup.com/hvacforum/index.php?topic=2950.msg9987#msg9987

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and would really appreciate the expert advice of anyone on here. Being a consumer in Toronto who has a furnace and any other HVAC equipment while looking for simple support or advice is extremely difficult. It often feels like there are so many obstacles in trying to help ourselves without laying out tons of money in order to get any support. Let me explain. I apologize for the length of this message but for full clarity I need to get it down here.
A few weeks back I smelt gas in the furnace room. Had Enbridge come to assess. He shows up, runs a test on the outside gas meter. Sees a pressure issue and then proceeds to check the main two appliances, The Water heater and then the Furnace. Water tank is 15 years old, the furnace is close to 4 years old. Shuts the gas to furnace, does pressure test outside and still an issue. Then shuts the water heater gas supply and tests show no pressure issue. Hence the water heater is the "problem" and he tags it. He also tags the furnace as I left the panel off while I was troubleshooting.  We replaced the water heater as it's a rental but now I needed the furnace to come back online. I don't think there is enough space in this message window to describe how hard this was to get done. Enercare does the yearly maintenance but did not know how to resolve this request. I finally requested a service call for someone to come out, first time the tech cancelled the request after speaking to me but the second tech said she'd come to have look. The assumption was it was a $99 cost to just come out which I had to accept. She was great! Came out, checked the furnace for monoxide etc, and closed it back up and went on her way. Ethically refused to charge me as nothing needed to be done really. Fast forward two weeks and I still smell gas in the room. Took the cover off, bought a neotek hand tester to try empower myself. This is the product I bought.Neotek

The scenarios is like this: I shut power off to the furnace but leave the gas line running. Use the sniffer near each orifice on the manifold and it registers a leak. Each one of the four orifices shows a level, worst being the one closest to the gas valve assembly inside the furnace.  I leave the furnace off for hours yet still sniffs a leak. We have a 10 year parts and labor warranty via Home Depot. Where things get annoying is that even though we are warrantied any licensed HVAC company will charge us around $200 just to come in and assess. I also seem to be stuck with using the original installer. I called them and spoke to the head technician. Unfortunately was a little difficult to understand him but what he was telling me is the Trane S9X2 will have some gas floating in the chamber as normal and I must leave the power on. I hence put the cover back on, set the unit back up as normal and ran a heat cycle. Here is where I am concerned. I sniffed the flu coming out of the furnace, (Its the flu that is short and exits in the furnace room. The other flu goes outside. This sniff test registered high levels of gas even for some time after I turned the heat off again. I left the main fan blower running for a few hours and the sniff test in the flu was registering no gas. Ofcourse thats a silly test as the blower would help disperse the small levels of gas. So I turned the fan off, left the power on and now I test a low level of gas out of the same flu. This has been tested many hours after the blower has been off, Still tested gas and I smell gas if I put nose close the flu. Now that I have explained my scenario. Here are my thoughts. The installer wants $200 just to come out and assess is this reasonable, should I be detecting gas at all? Is this a micro gas valve leak. Is this normal for a Trane S9X2? It seems the system is designed to overcomplicate things by making it expensive to troubleshoot even with a full warranty and there is very little comfort in trying to clarify if this behaviour is normal. So please, anyone who is experienced on this topic please advise. All I am seeing is there should be zero gas sniffed unless the furnace is calling for heat.

What is your line voltage?

Hi I have a stelpro sefe2021 and have had to change controllerboard 3 times since 2012 usually nothing works. This time turn thermostat to do a heat or cool call or hrv calls furnace blower turns on for a minute then off for minute then back on. When blower is off loose 5vdc at blower contactor coil and still have 24vac at w and c on controller board. Blower amps normal are nameplate 2.2a. Was doing some tests and noticed when thermostat isn't calling and furnace should be not doing anything one contactor for heat element gets 5vdc to coil for a minute then off for a minute element draws 20a with no blower so shut it down. Is it more than likely board again? Heartbeat led pulses 5vdc and 24vac led constant board is making a high pitch quiet sound

This should happen in Canada too.

https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/hvac-price-fixing-antitrust-class-action

QuoteHagens Berman has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of consumers accusing seven of the nation's leading HVAC manufacturers of conspiring to fix prices of HVAC equipment, including air conditioner condensers, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, rooftop units, split systems, chillers and variable refrigerant flow systems. The lawsuit names Bosch, Trane, Carrier, Daikin, Lennox, Rheem and AAON as defendants stating they fraudulently concealed their conspiracy that began in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, obscuring their unlawful anticompetitive behavior amid supply chain disruptions. The class action accuses defendants of secret meetings, information sharing and more to drive the price of HVAC equipment to "historic levels."

Major brand names listed in the complaint include:

Bosch (including subsidiaries JC Residential and Light Commercial LLC and Johnson Control-Hitachi Air Conditioning North America LLC)

Trane (including subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US)

Carrier (including Viessmann Manufacturing Co.)

Daikin (including ThermalNetics LLC)

Lennox (including subsidiary Allied Air Enterprises LLC)

Rheem (including its division Heat Transfer Products Group LLC) and

AAON (including subsidiary BASX Inc.)

Hey everyone,

I've been working on a small project and wanted to share it here — hvac apprentice jobs

The main focus right now is helping people land their first HVAC job (apprentice/helper roles), because most job boards lean heavily toward experienced tech positions.

It's still early and pretty lean, but I'm building it out step by step. One thing I'm adding right now is better job organization with categories like:

HVAC Apprentice / Helper
HVAC Engineer / Designer
HVAC Installer
HVAC Sales / Comfort Consultant
HVAC Technician

So while the core focus is entry-level, I'm slowly expanding it to cover the broader HVAC space as well — just in a more structured and easy-to-browse way.

This is a one-person build, and I'm actively updating it with new jobs and features. It's not perfect yet, but I'm trying to make something genuinely useful instead of another cluttered job board.

If you've:

Tried breaking into HVAC
Already work in the field
Or hire people at any level

I'd really value your feedback — what works, what doesn't, what's missing.

Also, if you're hiring, I'm letting people post jobs for free for now to help grow the platform and get more eyes on listings.

Appreciate any thoughts 🙌

Thank you ... gonna order up now .... N toss out the old

Anytime there is a new codebook version you would be required to purchase it, then download the Ontario amendments provided by the TSSA.  This usually happens every 5 years.

The CSA would provide separate updates, if any, but the Ontario specific amendments and regulations would come from the TSSA.

As of June 1, 2026 the B149.1-25 code comes into effect in Ontario and you can download the TSSA FS-279-36 amendment here,

https://www.hvactechgroup.com/hvacforum/index.php?topic=4601.0

The B149.2-25 Propane code comes into effect t June 8, 2026 and you can download the TSSA FS-281-26 amendment here,

https://www.hvactechgroup.com/hvacforum/index.php?topic=4602.0

It's cheaper to buy both code books as a bundle from the CSA,

https://www.csagroup.org/store/product/CSA_B149.1%3A25_B149.2%3A25_OT/

Then you would add the TSSA amendment pages to each codebook. Make sure to buy the hardcopy if you want to do this.  If you plan to use the PDF you would have to refer to the separate TSSA amendment PDF for any changes.

Are old code books finished once a new one comes out ..... curious or do I just download updates and insert in binder ...


I have gas and propane old one laying around came across it this weekend ... if i can just update it that would be sweet toss in another truck

Thanks. Good reply. I can do a heat load and measure air flow easily enough. I had considered over sizing to gain heating capacity. Maybe I will based on air measurements.
Thanks again.