5 lessons from Calgary condo fire

This month’s news featured a horrifying story of a serious fire at the Millrise, a 159-unit condominium building in Calgary.   Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but 300 people are homeless and the 3-story wooden building was subsequently condemned by the city as uninhabitable. 

We carried the following related news articles on our microblog, some of which feature video footage of the fire and resulting damage:

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GMA Condo Alert! (Winter 2010 edition)

With spring nearly upon us, it's high time to unleash the winter edition of GMA's quarterly newsletter.   Enjoy it while sitting in the sunshine this week.

Major topics featured in this issue include:

  • Condo mediation
  • Workplace violence and harassment (Bill 168)
  • Top 10 condo law cases of 2009
  • Corporate Social Responsibility

Download a pdf copy here.

Microblog posts to 3/16/2010

For your March break reading pleasure, here's a big bunch of tweets from our microblog:

Condo corp operating Pacific Mall in Markham announces ambitious plan to double its size and add a hotel operation - http://bit.ly/b5wmS6

Condo dustup over girl’s chalk pictures draws ire - Resident told to erase sidewalk art (via @OttawaCitizen) - http://bit.ly/cEipU5

CAI: "Overwhelming majority" of Americans are satisfied with the governance, management of their community ass'ns - http://bit.ly/ccS0cG

Condo board sues after sex toy salesman turns swank Tribeca condo unit into raucous nightclub (via NY Daily News) - http://bit.ly/djhDB6

Condo Living: Some people aren't meant to share common walls, ceilings, floors with strangers - (via @chicagotribune) http://bit.ly/91bmv9

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Best of the blogosphere for February 2010

For a short month filled with Olympic excitement (Yay Canada!), there was still plenty of great condo-related stuff in the blogosphere in February. 

Businesses should learn from 2010 Olympics surveillance camera debate -- Winnipeg privacy lawyer Brian Bowman emphasises the importance of having appropriate policies in place to manage the data recorded by surveillance cameras. If your condo has surveillance cameras, you need to implement proper written policies.

Association Driving You Nuts? – Take Out a Creepy Newspaper Advertisement -- Roger Wood of Arizona law firm Carpenter Hazlewood blogs about the slings and arrows hurled at HOA/condo boards and their professionals and offers some constructive suggestions to the malcontents who give “barbarians at the gate” a bad name.

Would a Condo and HOA Board Member Draft Solve Our Problems? -- Donna Berger debates condo conscription.    She also offers some important negotiation tips for community association members in Association Negotiations 101!

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Tackling rude, disrespectful conduct

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has become an increasingly popular venue for frustrated condo unit owners to bring their grievances against condo boards and property managers. This is thanks to the low cost to file a case, simple procedure, ability to self-represent and obtain free legal advice and help. Most such cases, however, are not made in response to discrimination where a unit owner’s human rights are violated. Instead, most cases brought by unit owners are complaints relating to bad service, poor treatment, insults or rudeness by the board or manager.

While rudeness and insults to unit owners are never be acceptable, the Human Rights Tribunal is quite properly throwing out cases where the bad behaviour does not amount to legal discrimination or actual  violation of human rights. The February 2010 decision of the Human Rights Tribunal in the case of Iourtchak v. York Condominium Corporation No. 201 serves as a good example.

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Condo Act weekend giveaway!

At long last, the official electronic version of the Condominium Act, 1998 has been updated to show the latest amendments made in December 2009.  Most of those amendments were made by the Good Government Act, 2009, which amended over 300 Ontario statutes, and hence the long delay in updating the official electronic version of most statutes.

Condominium owners, directors and their professionals should always check to be sure they're consulting the latest version of legislation and regulations before making decisions.   The best way to do this is consult the Ontario Government's e-Laws website at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca.

At the top of every statute and regulation on e-Laws is a currency date, as well as a reference to the latest amendment.  See below picture.

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