Regulations
Closing the condo manager skills gap
This pandemic has helped condo managers to identify relevant skill gaps in relation to being prepared for the unexpected.
Ontario to stretch energy efficiency spending
A new slate of conservation and demand management (CDM) programs allocates $456 million for commercial, institutional and industrial consumers over the four-year period from 2021-24.
Construction rebar imports spur dumping inquiry
Canada Border Services Agency is currently investigating evidence that up to nine countries are dumping products that undercut domestic prices and are deleterious to Canadian manufacturers.
What’s ahead for virtual meetings in 2021?
Up until May 31, 2021, condominium corporations can hold virtual meetings and use electronic voting, without a bylaw.
More electricity price adjustments for Ontario
For now, residential and small business customers enrolled for either time-of-use (TOU) rates or tiered pricing under the provincial regulated price plan will be charged the off-peak TOU rate of 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for all electricity consumption.
Vacant dwellings yield revenue gains for B.C.
Resident British Columbians own about 30 per cent of the properties subject to the speculation and vacancy tax, but account for just 6.6 per cent of collected revenue.
Is remote condo management working?
Portfolio managers and supervising managers remain in the wilderness of the home office, strategizing, planning, and serving clients from the comfort of their home.
Mental illness in condos amid a pandemic
The role a condo corporation plays in the life of a resident struggling with mental illness can often be a delicate matter.
The ins and outs of hybrid meetings
In some respects, hybrid meetings may actually be more complex than an exclusively virtual meeting or an in-person meeting.
Requisitions: waiting on changes to the Condo Act
Requisitions and the self-help remedy can be extremely complex, not to mention the litigation that may ensue.
Inside one condo board’s COVID-19 response
In February, before the WHO declared a global pandemic, talk among the condo board at Palace Pier was of various news reports piling in.
COVID-19 related investment unveiled
The commercial real estate, facilities management and construction/retrofit sectors appear poised to capture a share of the spending announced in the Canadian government’s fall economic statement.
Chargebacks and lessons learned in 2020
Condominiums need to be careful when they decide to chargeback costs to an owner and must ensure they have the legal right to do so before they start lien proceedings.
How a newly expanded CAT will impact condos
This expansion of the CAT’s jurisdiction into new issues should be noted by condominium corporation boards and managers alike.
Developer avoids liability after cancelling condo
A recent Ontario court decision is very good news for Ontario condo developers who must cancel their projects prior to construction.
Why benchmarking small buildings still matters
While building codes and standards help regulate efficiency in new buildings, existing buildings have been operating with little oversight and, in fact, no insight at all into how energy and water was being used in our cities.
Rebate extension postpones hydro cost hit
The six-month extension comes with an improved rate since the discount on pre-tax electricity consumption and transmission/distribution costs will increase to 33.2 per cent on November 1.