Barbara Carss
Construction Business
LaBranche legacy entrenched in BOMA BC
Wrapping up a 25 year tenure with the Building Owners and Managers Association of British Columbia, soon-to-retire president, Paul LaBranche, characteristically looks through the lens of his organization's strategic plan to assess what he has accomplished.
Canadian Property Management
Ontario revises property assessment schedule
The launch of a new four-year cycle in 2017 spurred a wave of assessment appeals as property owners reacted to often dramatic increases in value over the previous assessment.
Canadian Apartment Magazine
Investment property imperils preferred tax rate
The new rules capture the demographic of investors who own small low-rise residential or mixed-use commercial-residential buildings as a sideline to their main business ventures.
CondoBusiness
B.C. residential development land takes tax hit
The British Columbia government expects to collect about $520 million in new annual revenue through additional residential property taxes and property transfer taxes.
Facility Cleaning & Maintenance
Little oversight of high-GWP anesthetic gases
Anesthetics commonly used in medical, dental and veterinary surgery have global warming potential ranging from 130 to 2,540 times greater than carbon dioxide, but are largely overlooked when greenhouse gas emissions are officially tallied.
Canadian Property Management
Capital growth nudges 2017 investment returns
Robust economies in Toronto and Vancouver, a continuing slump in Calgary, retailing challenges and sustained high demand for rental housing all play into an index-wide total return of 6.7 per cent.
Canadian Property Management
New U.S. tax rules alter competitive landscape
Commercial real estate operations within Canada could experience fallout simply due to the interconnectedness of the two economies, while companies with holdings on both sides of the border may be pushed to reassess some of their financing strategies and structures.
Canadian Property Management
Accessibility certification fills industry void
Much of the existing building stock falls short of the universal design ideal, but RHFAC can help owners/managers identify impediments to access and set priorities to address them.
Canadian Property Management
New trade partners move up Canada’s wish list
CETA isn't expected to suddenly propel a wave of Canadian firms onto short lists for EU projects, but it does open up opportunities to start building relationships with potential customers.
CondoBusiness
Vertical density channels Mississauga growth
Nearly five decades of lower-density development will take some time to fill in to more compact neighbourhoods and pedestrian-oriented commercial streets, but the vitality of the city's condominium market demonstrates that single-family residential is no longer the default built form.
REMI Network
REMI Network wins top honours at Canadian Online Publishing Awards
The REMI Network won gold for Best Trade Media Website in the business-to-business category at the 9th annual Canadian Online Publishing Awards.
Canadian Apartment Magazine
Long Term Energy Plan reframes CDM incentive
Ontario's newly released provincial Long Term Energy Plan, now updated to replace the 2013 version, rescinds favoured status for combined heat and power systems that rely on fossil fuels.
Canadian Facility Management & Design
Single-use professional sports venues falter
Ottawa and Calgary are two current Canadian examples where pressure is mounting to abandon major arenas still far from the end of their structural life cycles and build anew.
Canadian Property Management
Senior execs plumb real estate talent pool
Prominent senior real estate executives attempted to pin down the somewhat intangible concepts of leadership, team-building and inclusiveness during a panel discussion, earlier this fall in Toronto, to kick off BOMEX 2017.
Facility Cleaning & Maintenance
Maintenance deemed a portal to innovation
Senior real estate executives reflected on evolving building technology as part of the kick-off to BOMEX 2017, earlier this fall in Toronto.
Canadian Facility Management & Design
WiredScore certification to launch in Canada
Proponents and early adopters suggest the program can provide simplified credibility for landlords and simplified assurance for tenants via a formal third-party building assessment and an easily decipherable rating system that is tied to rigorous criteria.
Canadian Property Management
Energy storage enables low-carbon power
Industry insiders speaking at the Energy Storage Canada conference in Toronto celebrated technological advances, but stressed that viable, steady revenue will be needed to propel the technology into the mainstream.