Ontario Condo Law Blog : Toronto Condominium Lawyer & Attorney : Gardiner Miller Arnold Law Firm : Ontario, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener

As another year-end draws closer, it’s time to submit nominations for the annual Canadian Law Blog Awards.  The “Clawbies” recognize the work of Canadian legal professionals who share their insight and expertise through a blog. 

Details about the awards, the nomination process and previous winners can be found here. You can also keep track of this year’s nominations by searching #Clawbies2011 on Twitter.

Here are my three nominations for the 2011 Clawbies, in no particular order:

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Each of the 1,000+ attendees at the spectacular ACMO/CCI-T Condominium Conference earlier this month received a complimentary copy of the Conference Edition of our Condo Alert! newsletter in their delegate bag.

In case you missed the conference, you can pick up this special edition newsletter (in pdf) here or by clicking the picture on the right. 

Topics include:

• Tendering
• Hoarding in condo units
• Human rights vs. Health and safety in pools

Our thanks to everyone who attended the educational sessions hosted by GMA lawyers or who stopped to chat with any of us on the conference floor.  We were thrilled to see so many friends (old and new) and we're already looking forward to next year.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The Community Associations Network blog posted a nice piece on Friday wishing a Happy Canada Day to those of us north of the border. In that post, CAN’s president, a Michigander named Joe West, explains why he includes Canadian stories in his excellent condo law newsfeed and blog lists, apparently in answer to a question asked by his readers.

The answer is worth reading, but the question itself gives us some pause.  

Most American condo law blogs pay little attention to condo law and news from the Great White North, perhaps for any number of good reasons, but Joe quite rightly recognizes the importance of looking elsewhere for ideas in how to improve things close to home. That’s a good point, considering that while the laws in our respective countries are considerably different, there are many common issues facing condominiums and community associations on both sides of the border. Some include:

• Preventing fraud by directors, managers and others;
• The nascent movement to restrict smoking in multi-unit residential buildings;
• Ensuring financial security in the face of difficulty economic times; 
• How to persuade government to enact protective laws;
• Enforcing the documents in people, pets and parking cases;
• Enhancing home values through prudent maintenance and repair;
• Forging strong community bonds and good neighbourship;
• And so many more.

Condos and community associations are, at their essence, an important and popular way for many millions of North Americans to live and co-exist. Finding, sharing and delivering information to help the homeowners and directors of those associations and the professionals, trades and others that serve those folks remains important.  The line on the map between our two counties is remarkably unimportant by comparison.

Canadian condominium professionals and enthusiasts are wise to keep watching developments in the United States. To do that effectively, follow CAN’s newsfeed and peruse the impressive list of community association blogs showcased on their website, many of which we have highlighted from time to time.

Best wishes for a happy Fourth of July to all our American friends and neighbours.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

If you're looking for activities between rainshowers and sporadic bursts of sunshine this Victoria Day long weekend, reading the Spring edition of our quarterly newsletter might help fill the void.  It's available here.

Topics include:

• Electronic status certificates
• Access to condo owners' lists

Are there topics that you'd like to see in a future issue?  If so, drop us a line or submit a comment below.  We always love to hear from you.

Have a good long weekend.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The winter edition of our quarterly newsletter is now available online.

Special features in this edition include:

• Top 10 condo law cases of 2010
• Benefits of a condo privacy policy
• The coolest condo-related Worldle you've ever seen!

The printed version of this publication has the handy added feature of combustion, which might help keep readers warm during this cold spell.  Our lawyers ask us to remind you to please be sure to drop the hardcopy shortly after lighting.

Luckily, it won't be long now until spring according to the customary gang of revered varmints across Canada.  Stay warm in the meantime!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The winners of the 2010 Canadian Law Blog Awards (the “CLawBies”) were announced on December 31, 2010.

We were thrilled that our blog won the CLawBie for Best Practice Group Blog of the year.  Here's the blurb:

Best Practice Group Blog – This is a new award for 2011, meant to recognize the growing number of law firm practice group blogs in Canada. Our inaugural winner in this category is the Ontario Condo Law Blog, written by the lawyers at Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP. Led by editor Chris Jaglowitz, this blog regularly delivers a variety of original topics and interesting links. Not only does it make for engaging reading, but the firm always makes clear just how well it knows its niche topic (condominium law) and its audience (condo corporations in the Greater Toronto Area).

We are quite honoured to be named, considering the high calibre of the other award winners and the many other outstanding Canadian law blogs, both new and old. Be sure to check out all of this year’s CLawBie winners and also the listings at lawblogs.ca to find Canadian law blogs sorted by topic, province or category. There’s sure to be one of interest to you there.

Hat’s off to Steve Matthews and the rest of the judging panel for providing this great showcase of  law blogging in this country and for coming up with some interesting new award categories to highlight the expanding and maturing talent of Canadian lawyers in the blogosphere. We also salute all the other award winners as well as the finalists and nominees.

To you our readers, thanks for joining us and sharing your feedback this past year. As long as you keep reading and writing in, we’ll keep writing! Cheers. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

With the end of 2010 in sight, nominations are now being accepted for the annual Canadian Law Blog Awards. The “CLawBies” recognize the work of Canadian legal professionals who share their insight and expertise with the world through a blog.

Details about the awards and the nomination process and previous winners can be found here. You can view all the nominations by searching #Clawbies2010 on Twitter.

For an authoritative list of Canadian law blogs, visit www.lawblogs.ca, where there’s sure to be something for everybody.

Here are my three nominations for the 2010 Clawbies, in no particular order:

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Attendees at last week's spectacular ACMO/CCI-T Condominium Conference received in their delegate bag a complimentary copy of the Conference Edition of Gardiner Miller Arnold's Condo Alert! newsletter. 

In response to popular demand, we're now releasing this special edition to the public.  

Topics include:

• PIPEDA compliance
• Booting out owners for extreme behaviour
• Prostitution laws
• Parallel proceedings under Condo Act and Human Rights Code
• Special bonus feature: The coolest condo-related Wordle ever seen!

Click the picture at right or this link to view/download the pdf version for yourself or to share with others.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Don’t miss the 14th Annual CCI-T/ACMO Condominium Conference this Friday and Saturday (November 5-6, 2010) at the Hilton Suites Toronto/Markham.  

In addition to the excellent educational seminars and trade show, this important national event features the annual general meeting of the Canadian Condominium Institute and its national awards banquet dinner.  Condo unit owners, directors, managers and professionals from coast to coast will be on hand.

I am excited to be speaking on how to build responsible digital communities.  Be sure to attend this super session to find out how to make best use of social media tools and avoid pitfalls and traps while enhancing communication at your condo.

Mark Arnold is moderating a panel on condo mediation and arbitration in human rights disputes, which is becoming an increasingly hot topic.

Bob Gardiner will be moderating the ever-popular Ask the Experts panel on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday's keynote speaker is Major-General (Ret.) Lewis Mackenzie, one of our country's most notable peacekeepers. Not to be missed.

Gardiner Miller Arnold is proud to be a Silver sponsor of the conference once again, and all of us from GMA will be there. Take a moment to stop any of us and say hello! If you don’t know us by sight, see our mugshots here so that you will recognize us. We look forward to meeting you.

The details for Mark's program and mine are below, but visit www.condoconference.ca to view the full conference program, exhibitors list and registration details.

See you there!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As the season changes and we resume normal work hours, our quarterly newsletter returns with new tidbits of useful info.

Topics in this edition include:

• Why condos need legal advice about warranty claims
• New defence to defamation lawsuits 
• Workplace violence risk assessments for condos
• Firm news, including our speaking engagements this fall

Download your pdf copy here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

With the last vestiges of summer now disappearing, it’s time to highlight some of the more notable condo-related entries from the blogosphere in August.

City Smoking Ordinances - Do They Apply to HOAs? – California condo lawyer Beth Grimm asks the tough question and raises the possibility that cities may be able to take the lead and provide a good example for condos to follow. In a related post, Beth responds to reader feedback on the question of Smoking in Units Okay … Or Not?

Present a Budget That Actually Means Something (and might actually get read) – Joe at the Community Associations Considerations blog explains why most budgets don’t strike a chord with owners. He then offers some creative suggestions and a neat specimen worth looking at. Who says budgets have to be dull, dreary and uninformative?

Upstairs, Downstairs – Among the most common complaints of unit owners are noises made from neighbouring units that are transmitted through walls or ceilings. Lawyer Paul Windust suggests some strategies for dealing with these sorts of noise complaints on his firm’s California Condo Issues blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Despite the hot weather and summer holidays, there was still some dynamite stuff in the blogosphere. Here are our picks for some of the best. 

Dispute Resolution Procedures for Condos & HOAs -- Lisa Magill of the Florida Condo & HOA Law Blog shares some tips to help turn common homeowner frowns upside down. J

The Potential for Huge Liability and Murphy’s Law -- Batten down the hatches! With natural and man-made disasters abound, the Community Associations Considerations Blog reminds us that not being prepared for the worst is not being prepared at all.

Failing To Obtain Regular Appraisals Can Hurt Associations After A Large Loss -- Florida lawyer Corey Harris observes that too many condominiums fail to regularly update their insurance appraisals.   Ontario condos should take heed – your pre-July 2010 appraisal is now 8% too low thanks to HST.

Down Economy Exacerbates Strife Within Community Associations -- Although lawyers can't reduce the economic difficulty facing homeowner associations and condos, Daniel Zimberoff at the Northwest HOA and Condo Law Blog has tips to help avoid unnecessary conflict within homeowner communities during tough times.

The Law of Insubordination -- Not sure when employee insubordination amounts to just cause for dismissal? Toronto labour and employment lawyer Michael Fitzgibbon summarizes the state of the law in this sometimes vexing legal area.  

How Does Subrogation Work? -- Chicago construction lawyer Joshua Glazov takes a crack at the answer and offers examples in both the insurance context and the construction financing setting.

The Condo Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI): What to Expect & Tips -- The bloggers at livehigh.com remind us that doing a proper PDI requires more than just checking if the unit has four walls, ceiling and floor. Take your time and be thorough!

Did we miss anything?  Let us know by submitting a comment below.

Happy Friday the 13^th.  Tell your building super not to walk under any ladders and remind owners to lock up their black cats for the day.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Here, for your early summer reading pleasure, are some of the most thought-provoking pieces from the condo law blogosphere last month. 

Community Needs Cosmetic Surgery -- Mike Inman of the Virginia Condo & HOA Blog suggests a good thought process for boards to follow in deciding whether and how to conduct renovations at their complex.

How to Effectively Run a Board Meeting -- Are you looking for a way to shorten those agonizing board meetings that go nowhere and don’t end?   Try some of the tips offered by Ashley Yorra of Vial Fortheringham and bring order to chaos.

Can Owners View Draft HOA Meeting Minutes? -- The answer is not cut and dry, according to this article on LeClairRyan’s Virginia Community Association Law Blog.

When the Board Should Really Call the Association Attorney – Part I --In a two part series, Donna Berger provides helpful examples about when to call the lawyers. Part II is here.   Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

This month’s best of the blogosphere collection contains a blend of the latest news, time-tested advice and some recurring issues.

The Gulf Oil Spill: Prepare for the Worst - Hope for the Best – John Cottle of the Florida Condo and HOA Law Blog offers tips to community associations in the areas affected by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Embezzlement Prevention Strategies from Accountant Andrew Cohen – Seattle condo lawyer Kevin Britt posts some tips to help boards prevent fraud. This topic never gets tiresome, given the rising number of frauds being reported.

Fake Security Cameras - A Good Idea? – California condo law guru Beth Grimm takes a shot at this question.  

2010 Hurricane Preparedness Guide for Community Associations is Now Available!! – Just in time for hurricane season, the Community Advocacy Network of Florida has posted a sensible guide to preparing for disasters and how to respond to them. Some good ideas here to help batten down the hatches.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The spring edition of GMA's quarterly Condo Alert! newsletter is ready.  

Topics include:

• Extricating individual directors and managers from human rights claims
• When does a condo lien cause slander of title? 
• Single family use provisions and the Human Rights Code
• Alterations: Stay or go?

Bonus feature: Discover the secret location where Bob Gardiner does his best work

Download a pdf copy here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

CCI-Toronto is offering some interesting and useful seminars at very modest cost in the coming days.   Condo directors and unit owners looking to increase their knowledge should attend!  

Details and registration info is online.

If you're outside Toronto, consult your local CCI chapter for events near you.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

It's time once again to sample some of the best condo-related news from the blogosphere.

Spring has different meanings to different people – With winter behind us, it’s time to get to work on the year’s maintenance and reacquaint yourself with your neighbours.   Hats off to the Community Associations Network blog for some pleasant seasonal tips!

Owner posts website about his HOA problems and gets sued – The title says it all.   Check out the story and follow the links to the offending website to see what all the noise is about and whether you can get to the bottom of the million dollar question... oops, I mean “lawsuit.”

Proper Protocol for a Board’s Use of Emails – Everybody and their brother uses email these days and condo boards are no exception. Donna Berger offers some practical guidelines to avoid typical problems arising from condo boards use of email.

Condos/HOAs Have a Lot to Lose if Design Professional Protection Bills Become Law – Imagine if you couldn’t sue architects, engineers or surveyors if their negligence affects your condo.  That nightmare scenario may come true in Florida if legislators don’t give their heads a good shake. Sanjay Kurian sounds the alarm.   

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Here is this months’ instalment of condo-related goodies from around the blogosphere.

Top 10 Issues for 2010 and Beyond…. – Here’s a list of issues that associations are going to face this year and in the near term, courtesy of the Community Association Considerations blog.

ROC Presidents Must Vote at Board Meetings – Florida law blogger Scott Gordon helps shatter the misconception that association presidents can’t vote and explains how Robert’s Rules of Order is often misinterpreted.

Elections in HOAs and Condos - Can the Board Endorse Candidates? – California condo law guru Beth Grimm tackles this issue head-on. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

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.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

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!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In case you spent January at the gym or fulfilling other resolutions for the new decade, here is our mini-digest of noteworthy condo-related posts from the blogosphere last month.

Enjoy the Family Day long weekend!   

Records Retention: Going Paperless through E-Archives -- Paper is so passé! Marilyn Perez-Martinez of the Florida Condo & HOA Legal Blog describes some of the critical considerations in devising an electronic archive process for storing a condo’s records.  The key is in preparing a sound plan.

A Building Component does not become Common Area just because it was placed or built on the Common Area -- California HOA attorney David Swedelson blogs on a recent appellate case that sounds strikingly similar to our Court of Appeal’s ruling in Wentworth Condo Corp. 198 v. McMahon.   

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

With the twenty-tens now well underway, let’s look back at some of the best of the condo-related blogosphere for the last month of the “aughts.”

New Year Resolutions for Boards – Colorado lawyer Molly Foley-Healy of the HOA Legi-Slate blog suggests three new years’ resolutions that any condo or HOA board should make. It’s not too late!

10 Tough Questions with Herman Turkstra - The Hamiltonian blog picks the brain of local institution, lawyer and former politician Herman Turkstra on Steeltown’s successes, failures and future.

How Much Are My Condo Fees Per Square Foot? – In a recently-launched blog called It’s a Condo Life, Oshawa property manager Tracey McLellan shines some light on how comparing common expenses of different buildings can be confusing.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Nominations are being accepted for the 2009 Canadian Law Blog Awards (or “Clawbies”). These awards recognize the excellent work of legal professionals who share their insight and expertise with the world through a blog.

Details about the awards and the nomination process can be found here.

Here are my nominations for this year:

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

November was a busy month for condo professionals in the Greater Toronto Area. The Annual Condo Conference was a great hit, as was ACMO’s pub night and monthly educational luncheon.

Here are some of the best condo-related posts from the blogosphere last month. Click the bolded titles to view the entries.

Buyers hit with big bills for surprise adjustments - Bob Aaron describes the despicable practice of a  condo developer that saddles new unit purchasers with charges of up to $11K as an adjustment for increases in a levy charged by municipalities but never actually incurred or paid by the developer. Buyer beware.

The Essential Ingredient in Effective Management of Community Associations - Lawyer Tyler Berding describes the players, their perspectives and a number of sensible tips for minimizing disputes in community associations.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Here are the papers from the ACMO Legal Grab Bag luncheon held November 27, 2009.   

Click the bolded names of the authors to view the papers in PDF.   To save the files, right-click on the bolded names and "save as" onto your computer.

David Di Lella of Horlick Levitt on what constitutes an “addition, alteration or improvement.”

Marko Djurdjevac of Deacon, Spears, Fedson & Montizambert on altering common elements to accommodate persons with disabilities.

Karen Kisiel on the latest oppression remedy case.

Kevin Inwood of Heenan Blaikie on preventing workplace harassment and violence.

Michael Pascu of Fine & Deo on how to enforce the declaration and rules in tenancy situations.

You can download all of these papers in a single ZIP file here.

Thanks again to all of the speakers for taking the time to make such excellent presentations and to prepare these helpful papers.  

From all of us on the panel, thanks to everyone who came out today!   Contact any of us if we can be of help to you.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Here is the latest edition of Gardiner Miller Arnold's Condo Alert! 

Topics covered in this issue include:

• The new Apology Act
• Increased limit of Small Claims Court jurisdiction
• Using consultants in CCDC-2 contracts
• Steps to guaranteed lien collection

This issue was distributed in the grab bag given to all attendees of the ACMO/CCI-T Condo Conference this past weekend.   Kudos to the conference organizers and participants for a well-organized, well-attended and brilliant conference!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Most problems facing condominium corporations are either created or made more complicated by the simple fact that owners or directors (sometimes both) lack basic knowledge about the rights and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the condo community.

This obstacle can be partly overcome in a number of ways. Here are four:

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

From the many blog entries that might interest condo directors, owners and managers, here are some of the best of the past month.

Click the bolded titles below to read the entries.   Enjoy!

Do you know what your association attorney thinks of you? – Have you ever stopped to think about what your lawyer thinks of your condo and its board? Find out what's on the minds of the lawyers at Donna Berger's Florida law firm.

ROCs can use written rules to encourage civility at meetings – Scott Gordon of the Florida Resident-Owned Communities Law Blog suggests that passing rules to govern members’ conduct at annual meetings may be an appropriate way to deal with declining civility and courtesy.  Hear, hear!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Here are some of the many interesting condo-related items from around the blogosphere last month.  Click the bolded titles to view the original entries.

Virginia homeowner may lose home because of failure to fund reserves – The HOA Legi-Slate blog of law firm HindmanSanchez in Colorado cites a heart-wrenching story of a condo board’s failure to properly fund its reserve leading to a special assessment of $15,000 per unit in order to raise the $2 million needed for emergency repairs. A recently laid-off unit owner stands to lose her home as a result. This piece contains helpful lessons for board members and for unit owners, who should remember that this scenario can easily happen anywhere, especially when directors are elected on the ever-popular (but foolish) "zero increase" platform.

How to pick the right attorney for your community – Florida HOA attorney and blogger Donna Berger gives some pointers on choosing lawyers that will best serve your community association. I say (with tongue-in-cheek) to select the firm with the best condo law blog!

Alzheimer’s Advance: 115-million by 2050 – Toronto trusts and estates lawyers Hull & Hull discuss a recent report pointing to an imminent explosion in Alzheimer’s cases around the world. Start asking how this trend will impact your condo and what you should do to prepare. Consider asking a local estates lawyer to give an info session to your residents on the importance of having their personal care affairs in order.

Illinois Manager Licensing FAQ – Ungated, the blog of the Community Associations Institute, reports that law has now passed regulating the property management profession in Illinois starting in January 2010. An FAQ page is presented. 

Aging in Place: A New Plan for the Suburbs? – In a rather futuristic piece, California lawyer Tyler Berding predicts the coming end of suburban neighbourhoods as we know them and suggests that aging condominiums and their residents may become the building blocks for a new way of living.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Just in time for the first week of fall, the Summer 2009 edition of our Condo Alert! newsletter is now available here.  

Topics include:

• Altering common elements to accommodate disabilities
• Condo law in the context of international humanitarian law
• Limitations issues in construction deficiency cases

Stay tuned for the fall edition, which will be released just in time for the annual CCI/ACMO Condominium Conference in early November.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Condo unit owners and directors are often uninformed about their rights and responsibilities or about how condos work. This is largely due to a lack of comprehensive information online to address basic condo concepts.

A new website may help fill that void.

The Condo Information Centre (found at www.condoinformation.ca) was launched on June 30, 2009 by Anne-Marie Ambert, a retired university professor and condo director, who offers her knowledge of how condos work. Her site offers an impressive digest of original text and commentary on a number of topics, including:

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Check out the Spring 2009 issue of the GMA Condo Alert! newsletter.

Topics include:

• Directors' fiduciary duties
• Fair hearing of owner disputes
• Checking for easements
• Human rights cases dealing with pools

Click here to view the newsletter in PDF.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Are you kicking yourself over a negotiation with a contractor, owner, or board member that could have gone a little better?   Are you looking to improve your bargaining skills?   

Check out The New Conflict Management: Strategies for Dealing with Tough Topics & Interpersonal Conflicts, a free report from Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation.

Download that report and sign up for free tips by email here.

[Hat tip to Geoff Sharp at mediator blah...blah...]

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

A property manager recently asked us how to tactfully approach a unit owner who shows poor hygiene habits (like hacking, sneezing and spitting) in and around the pool or sauna area. 

One simple approach we suggested was to print and display some of the handy posters distributed by local health units to promote "cover your cough" and proper hand washing techniques.

In these days of heightened pandemic alert, this type of information can help promote greater health awareness, reduce the spread of germs in common areas, minimize worker absenteeism and help us all breathe easier.

Posters, fact sheets and other flu resources are available from local health units and government agencies.  Click the links below to access them.

• City of Toronto
• Durham Region
• Peel Region
• Halton Region
• York Region
• City of Hamilton
• Province of Ontario
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The latest edition of Gardiner Miller Arnold's Condo Alert! newsletter is now available online. 

Topics include:

• Residential condo purchases commercial hotel operation
• Customer service standard imposes accessibility requirements
• Electronic status certificates
• Privacy Commissioner on the examination of condo records
• Signing condo service contracts
• GMA firm news

Click here to view the newsletter.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

One of the most common issues arising from people living in close quarters is the transmission of sound and noise.  At what point noise becomes a prohibited nuisance is one of the questions that plagues every condominium board and manager, and the answer varies from case to case and depends entirely on the circumstances.

It may sometimes be helpful to approach noise cases from a different angle.

Lawyer Dianne Saxe has written a short blog entry highlighting some of the issues in regulating noise through environmental law statutes and municipal by-laws.  The piece is of interest to condominium professionals since it is written from an environmental law perspective and cites evidence that "environmental noise" is harmful to health.  Links are provided to a number of resources that aren't often consulted in condo noise disputes.  

This short article may be of interest to anyone confronting the issue of noise and nuisance in condo settings or otherwise.  Read it here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (3)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Daily Commercial News reports that the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (an agency of the federal government) has launched a new online course to help organizations of any size develop their own OH&S program.

This new course adds to the Centre's lineup of over 40 "e-Courses" that are offered over the Internet and require as little as an hour to complete.   Students achieving 80% or better on the final online exam earn a certificate of completion.   These e-Courses are developed by experts, reviewed by government and cover a variety of occupational health and safety topics.  Some of the available courses that may be of interest to condo property managers and directors include:

• Accident Investigation
• Confined Space Management
• Emergency Response Planning
• Health & Safety for Office Managers
• Ladder Safety
• Pandemic Planning
• Preventing Falls from Slips and Trips
• WHMIS

In addition to the e-Courses (a few of which are free), the Centre's website contains valuable resources on all aspects of occupational health and safety.  Check it out.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

With the avalanche of information available online, we all need to maximize, optimize and organize the flow of essential information while minimizing the time and hassle needed to review it.  

The solution is so simple:  If you're following more than one blog or want to receive updates from one or more websites, all without clogging up your email box and without wasting time visiting multiple websites, you need to use Google Reader, period.

Learning to use Reader is a snap.   Detailed information is readily available from Google's Reader Help Center or see the Google Reader Help Channel on YouTube where you will find helpful step-by-step videos.  Or take the Google Reader Tour!

Expand your brain and stay cutting-edge current with developments while maximizing your efficiency.

Happy Google reading.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Toronto lawyer Dianne Saxe, one of Canada’s foremost environmental law practitioners, has posted a short but thoughtful blog entry on indoor air quality in homes.

After suggesting that indoor air quality (IAQ) in homes is significantly under-regulated, she goes on and:

• Identifies the most common indoor air pollutants;
• Outlines the problems arising from poor IAQ;
• Describes existing Canadian guidelines that may apply;
• Provides tips to improve IAQ; and
• Offers links to resources.

This is worthwhile reading for anyone seeking a crash course in indoor air quality. Check it out.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The Institute of Chartered Accounts of Ontario has announced the release of an important document entitled Accounting and Auditing Guidelines for Ontario Condominium Corporations.

This publication is the first major revision of the Institute’s audit guidelines for condominium corporations since 2001 and incorporates recent changes in accounting practice and the requirements of the Condominium Act, 1998. According to the Institute:

The result is a comprehensive guide that promotes best practices for the industry. It details considerations for both accounting and audits that range from budgeting and financial statements to tax issues and reserve funds.

Members of the committee that drafted these guidelines include the most prominent auditors on the local condo scene. Most have audited the books of hundreds of condo corporations and face the unit owners at dozens and dozens of annual general meetings each year. These folks know their stuff. 

This guide will be a valuable resource for any condominium manager, director, unit owner or professional who wants to better understand accounting principles and best practices for audit procedures for Ontario condominium corporations.  In addition to being written in no-nonsense plain English, it also includes a preferred specimen presentation for financial statements.

The full document is available for free download here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Education for condo directors and owners has become increasingly important.    

Regardless of their experience, any condominium director, prospective director or interested unit owner should seriously consider taking one or more of the excellent courses offered by the various chapters of the Canadian Condominium Institute.  

The following message from the Toronto and Area Chapter of CCI describes their course offerings for January and February.     

Sign up today.   This small investment will pay for itself in spades.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

I follow a large number of blogs to help expand my knowledge of the world, stay current with news and trends in my law practice and business, and enhance my skills as a lawyer, entrepreneur and human being. While there is no shortage of blogs out there, it is not always easy to find blogs that are on point or have the right focus to fit the bill.

Check out the Canadian Law Blog Awards ("the CLawBies").  Organized by Steve Matthews, a law firm consultant, law librarian and blogger, the CLawBies showcase some of the remarkable talent in the Canadian legal blogosphere each year. 

Nominations for this year’s CLawBies are being accepted from law bloggers.  Full details on how to participate are  here. 

I am delighted to add the following as my picks, in no particular order:

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

By popular demand, a PDF version of the premiere edition of our Condo Alert! newsletter is now available for your online viewing pleasure.

Topics  include:

• Trademarking your condo name
• The new human rights regime
• Clotheslines and clothestrees
• GMA firm news

We also offer an answer to this age-old question: “How may lawyers does it take to stop traffic in downtown Toronto on a Friday afternoon?” See page 4.

Click here to view the newsletter now.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link