Another small amendment to our Condo Act came into force on December 15, 2009, this time by virtue of Bill 218, the Ontario Tax Plan for More Jobs and Growth Act, 2009.

Clause (b) of the definition of "eligible security" in subsection 115(5) of the Condominium Act, 1998 is amended to include certain financial instruments issued by institutions located in Ontario insured by the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario ("DICO").

Subsection 115(5) now reads as follows (with amendment underlined):

Continue Reading Further amendment to Condo Act increases choice for investing condo funds

The Ontario Legislature passed Bill 212, the Good Government Act, 2009 on December 3, 2009.   The bill received Royal Assent with very little fanfare on December 15, 2009 and is now law.

This omnibus bill is intended to modernize statutes by correcting errors and plugging loopholes.  It also does the following things:

  • makes minor amendments to almost every Ontario statute, mostly by updating language and terminology
  • repeals a few outdated or ineffective statutes
  • makes significant improvements to the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Municipal Elections Act
  • legalizes the until-recently covert process of conducting criminal records checks on jurors
  • replaces the old Public Inquiries Act with a new one

The bill also makes three minor amendments to the Condominium Act, 1998 and a few small consequential changes to related statutes.   Here is a brief description of the changes:

Continue Reading Condo Act amended slightly by omnibus bill

Anyone still trying to circumvent Ontario’s anti-smoking laws by operating as a “private club” should consider this recent advice from our Court of Appeal: Don’t bother.

In Kennedy v. Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, 2009 ONCA 685 (CanLII), the court upheld convictions against the operator of a Smith Falls sports bar who tried to operate the place as a private club. “Members” paid monthly dues of $4.00 and submitted application forms saying that they didn’t mind second-hand smoke. The “club” was reported as having more than 500 members.

Continue Reading Court of Appeal smokes the “private club” defence

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:

Continue Reading My nominations for 2009 Clawbies

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.

Continue Reading Best of the blogosphere for November 2009

Follow chrisjaglowitz on TwitterI’ve been using Twitter for the last few months as a way to quickly and easily share news I find in the news or blogosphere by posting a "tweet."   I can also  "re-tweet" interesting items posted in the media or by other condo or legal professionals.   

With a maximum limit of 140 characters per tweet, one has to choose words carefully, abbreviate where possible and, above all, be brief.  Each tweet will typically contain a single thought or concept.   This gives rise to the term "microblogging" which is discussed in Wikipedia here.

From time to time, I’ll republish some of my microblog posts or "tweets" here on our main blog for you to enjoy.   These tweets will frequently contain links to other blogs or newspaper websites where you can read more details about the story, so be sure to click those links.  

We hope you enjoy this new feature.   Comments and newsflashes are always welcome.

Here are some of the recent microblog posts:

Continue Reading Introducing our microblog

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.

Condo managers who missed the legal expert panel at the Annual Condo Conference earlier this month can get their annual quota of condo law news at the ACMO "legal grab bag" luncheon this Friday, November 27, 2009 at Richmond Hill Country Club. 

I will have the great pleasure of moderating this all-star panel of up and coming condo lawyers:

  • Marko Djurdjevac of Deacon, Spears, Fedson & Montizambert
  • David Di Lella of Horlick Levitt
  • Kevin Inwood of Heenan Blaikie
  • Karen Kisiel of Kisiel Law Office
  • Michael Pascu of Fine & Deo

We will be covering a wide range of topics, including:  

  • Human Rights
  • Occupational Health & Safety
  • Oppression Remedy
  • Alterations to common elements

We’re saving time to answer your questions, so come prepared!

Registration details are here.  Act fast — tickets are limited.

Managers earn 2 continuing education credits by attending.  Resource material will be posted online after the event on the ACMO website and this blog.  Stay tuned.

See you there.

Many condo boards and unit owners are concerned over the impact of the proposed Harmonized Sales Tax on their condominium corporations and their own pocket books.  They will be glad to know that  the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute (which represents over 113,000 condo units in the GTA) has been valiantly advocating against the proposed tax.  

CCI-Toronto is taking their fight to the airwaves on TV tonight.   Hear the latest about what is being done.   According to their news release: 

 Tune in to Focus Ontario on Global Television on Saturday, November 21st at 6:30 p.m. to hear host Sean Mallen speak with guests Armand Conant – President, Canadian Condominium Institute – Toronto Chapter and Robert Hattin – Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, on the issue of the Harmonized Sales Tax.

Mr. Conant, President of CCI Toronto, Co-Chair of the Joint CCI-T/ACMO Government Relations Committee and a lawyer with the firm Heenan Blaikie LLP will focus his comments on Saturday’s show on CCI-T’s opposition to the inequities the HST will create for condominium owners.

For details on Focus Ontario click here.

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!