(UPDATED March 2015 with video) November 28, 2013 – Yesterday, the Ontario government unanimously passed the Hawkins-Gignac Act into law, making carbon monoxide (CO) alarms mandatory in all Ontario homes with fuel-burning appliances or heating systems, fireplaces or attached garages.

“Now, whether your home is new construction or old, the mandatory requirement for CO protection is the same,” said John Gignac, co-chair of the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for CO Education, and the uncle of Laurie Hawkins, who was killed, along with her husband and two children, by CO poisoning in their Woodstock, Ont., home.

While at Solar Canada earlier this winter, EBMag had the opportunity to chat with Jack Burt, deputy fire chief with Meaford & District Fire Department, to help us navigate the new requirements coming into effect in Ontario.

He and the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation urge all Ontario residents not to wait until the law takes effect, but to act now and install at least one CO alarm today.

PHOTO: Ernie Hardeman, MPP, Oxford (left), and John Gignac, co-chair, Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for CO Education, congratulate each other on the passing of the Hawkins-Gignac Act into law, making carbon monoxide alarms mandatory in all Ontario homes with fuel-burning appliances or heating systems, fireplaces or attached garages.