Condo News - Fall 2022

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

Carole Booth Board Liaison Gail Cote

Bill Clark

Tim Van Zwol

For information about submitting an article for a future issue of Condo News, see page 32.

Dave Williams

From the President

Condo News

is produced 4 times per year

Summer Issue (July)

Deadline – June 1st

Fall Issue (October)

Deadline – September 1st Winter (January)

Deadline – December 1st Spring (May)

Deadline – April 1st

Articles of interest to condominium owners and directors are welcome. See details for submissions on page 41.

To advertise contact: Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute Box 37, Burlington, Ontario L7R 3X8

Tel: 905-631-0124 | 1-844-631-0124

Fax: 416-491-1670

Email: admin@cci-ghc.ca

The authors, the Canadian Condominium Institute, and its representatives will not be held liable in any respect whatsoever for any statement or advice contained herein. Articles should not be relied upon as a professional opinion or as an authoritative or comprehensive answer in any case. Professional advice should be obtained after discussing all particulars applicable in the specific circumstances in order to obtain an opinion or report capable of absolving condominium directors from liability [under s. 37 (3) (b) of the Condominium Act, 1998].

Authors’ views expressed in any article are not necessarily those of the Canadian Condominium Institute. All contributors are deemed to have consented to publication of any information provided by them, including business or personal contact information.

Advertisements are paid advertising and do not imply endorsement of or any liability whatsoever on the part of CCI with respect to any product, service or statement.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Sandy Foulds, RCM, B.A. GHC-CCI President

#LifeIsGolden

As

I am writing this, we are nearing the end of summer. I hope you have all made the most of the great sum mer season and the wonderful weather we have had. Its been so nice to be outdoors, walking, cycling, camping and cottaging again, without restrictions. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing during the summer, I hope you have been able to enjoy it. We only have a few more weeks before the weather starts to change and the days get shorter and cooler. Outdoor activities are great for one’s mental health and help to keep your head clear in these busy days…

Our in-person conference, “Clawing Our Way Out’, was held on Sept 16th at the OE Con ference Centre in Oakville. After two long years, we were very excited to meet with board members, colleagues, service providers and other professionals that we work with. Our conference committee put together an exciting list of topics and knowledgeable speakers for the event. Hope you were able to attend! Many thanks to all of the volunteers who put the conference together and the sponsors. Without you, the conference would be im possible.

The Golden Horseshoe AGM is coming up on Oct 19th. This will also be an in-person event at the RBG in Burlington. A wine and cheese event follows the AGM. Attendance is free, but registration is required. Sign up is available on our website.

As the Board got back to regular meetings in September, we have started receiving updates from our committees regarding the new topics and events that they have planned for the fall of 2022 and early 2023. There are many exciting events coming up! Condo board members, please submit your topics of interest to us and we will be happy to share them with our committees.

The provincial government has announced that they have extended the deadline for hold ing virtual meetings without a by-law to September 30, 2023. That is great news for the condos who have not yet had the opportunity to update your by-laws to allow for these convenient virtual meetings. They also extended the provision for sending notices to own ers by email, without an owners’ written consent. Also great news. Hopefully, the gov ernment will make these changes permanent.

We are also excited for the upcoming launch of the Ontario-wide CCI Condominium Di rector Certificate program. CCI members will be able to earn a certificate by enrolling in all 8 courses being offered at minimal cost. Stay tuned for more information on how the Golden Horseshoe Chapter will be participating in the new program.

Thank you to my fellow CCI board members for all of your dedication to CCI.

Enjoy the crisp, cool days of fall.

Sandy Foulds, RCM, B.A.

Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute Box 37, Burlington, Ontario L7R 3X8

Tel: 905-631-0124 | Toll Free 1-844-631-0124 Fax: 416-491-1670 | Email: admin@cci-ghc.ca Website: Website: www.cci-ghc.ca

2021-2022 Board of Directors

PRESIDENT

Sandy Foulds, RCM, BA

PAST-PRESIDENT

Maria Durdan, B.A., LL.B., ACCI (Member Finance Committee, Member Ron Danks Award Committee)

VICE-PRESIDENT

Richard Elia, B.Comm., LL.B, LL.M (ADR) ACCI (Board Liaison Education Committee)

TREASURER

Tony Gatto, CPA, CA (Chair Finance Committee)

SECRETARY

Gail Cote, RCM

(Member Professional & Business Partners Committee, Communications Committee)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Carole Booth, B.Ed., M.A. (Board Liaison Communications Committee, Member Education Committee, Member External Relations Committee, Member Governance/Policy Committee)

Sally-Anne Dooman, RCM (Member Education Committee)

Joseph (Joe) Gaetan, B.G.S. (Chair External Relations Committee, Member Governance/Policy Committee)

Tom Gallinger, BBA, FCIP (Co-Chair Conference Committee)

Ed Keenleyside, B.A., CCI (Hon's) (Board Liaison/Chair Governance/Policy Committee, Member Education Committee, External Relations Committee)

Thomas F. Nederpel, BSc, PEng (External Relations Committee)

Kevin Shaw, B.Tech (Arch. Sc) (Board Liaison Professional & Business Partners’ Committee)

Stephanie Sutherland, BAS (Hons), LL.B., ACCI (Co-Chair Conference Committee, Member Professional & Business Partners Committee)

Inf lation: Good News for Condos? Not!

Dave Williams

Let’s

assume you own a restaurant. You had to lay-off staff and close for COVID. This spring, you decided to re-open. You discover that your staff has moved on to other careers where more money was available. So now you must hire “all-new” people at higher wages.

Now you call your food supplier and find out that your food costs have risen.

In its most simplistic form……this is inflation. The same trend is occurring in all indus tries. Most if not all products and services are costing more. Worst hit is anything made from petroleum (shingles, asphalt, gasoline); the list goes on.

Mitigating events are the Ukraine War, COVID related payments to people to help them shore-up their incomes, and supply shortages with pent-up demand.

To be sure it is too many dollars chasing too few available products.

The latest US figures indicate 9.1% inflation. In Canada it is *8.1% (June 2022)and maybe higher.

Statistics Canada has a great website where you can see updates on product prices monthly.

Products and Services

Everything is affected. Heather Scoffield, in her excellent article in the June 24th Toronto Star points out that gas prices alone are up 48% year over year and up 12% in May alone. Further she suggests that the CAA indicates that calls from drivers out of gas in April were up 23%. They were trying to push their gas supply to the limit.

The Toronto Star of July 9th, 2022, claims food prices are up anywhere from 20% to 76%.

I can confirm that a Starbucks Latte at the Enroute Centre on the 400 to Barrie is $6.13 now versus a little over $4 a few months ago. Ouch!

I think you get the message. So, what does this have to do with Condo Life?

Condo Boards Take Note… A potential double-whammy!

There is a possible two-way collision here. First and foremost, condo dwellers are not immune to inflation. Everything they buy is going up in price. Let’s look.

Mortgages

Interest rates have risen by at least 2.5%. So, what does this mean for a per son with a $400,000. mortgage? The RBC mortgage calculator indicates that if you were at say 3.04% before rates started to climb and you must renew at 5.54%, your monthly payments are $549.68 more. (This calculation based on fixed rates with 25 year amortization. Rates can vary daily.)

This should be a heads-up to directors for the potential of resident owners pos sibly struggling……….. late fee pay ments? If so, have you considered your policies regarding this eventuality.

If your building/community is more senior/retiree oriented, their incomes if somewhat fixed will be under even greater pressure from the rising prices.

Here is the other side of the two-way collision. The Condo Corporation’s own monthly expenses will be affected.… ditto for any major replacement projects under way. Think here in terms of paving projects, roofing projects; both products based on petroleum.

Yes, major projects can be delayed but if you have read the CAO’s best prac tice** bulletin on “Reserve Funds” de laying only makes things worse and more expensive.

What to do?

Additional meetings devoted to brain storming the issues are certainly called for. Run some “cash-flow” scenarios against the Reserve Fund to update pro jections contained in “the updated Re serve Study.” By updated we mean that costing for major projects should be brought into line with inflation percent ages. Consult with your accountant/au ditor for his/her input. Doing nothing or “riding out the storm” pretending the wind isn’t blowing is not a solution.

You are elected to “manage the af fairs of the corporation.”

Flying the Aircraft

I was once grounded in “Deer Lake” Newfoundland during a windstorm. In the little coffee shop was the pilot and crew and I asked him how flying differed good weather to bad. He said this. “In good weather the plane basically flies it self. In bad, like what we are having now, we basically wrestle the machine onto the landing strip.”

Well, the current inflationary spiral can be likened to bad weather and the job of the board is to study possible ways to make for a soft landing.

A big decision for boards

What about annual fee levels? If you are favoring fee increases of less than in flation…… you may be mortgaging the future. This means that if inflation is at 8.1% and you only increase by 5%, it may not be appropriate.

The only way to figure this out is to run some of the afore-mentioned cashflow scenarios. It is true that some of the services/products you contract for may not be reaching the 8.1% levels. Some may be more, and some may be less.

Very often though if a service or two is maintaining price levels because of a contract agreement in place they will have to make up for it at the next con tract. Service levels may drop in the in

terim because of difficulty in hiring staff.

Every industry right now is trying to hire. I am told even the banks are not im mune… .they too have people turning over to better paying jobs or stepping away from the workforce for a while.

You may ask will prices go back down after inflation abates? Probably not. A re cession (if we have one) usually provides opportunities for lower prices however if a contractor or product provider has fallen behind, I think it is more likely they will backfill rates to catch up.

The Economy is like Climbing a ladder

A former teacher of mine (can’t re member which one) always used the lad der example. His/her point was that like climbing a ladder where you need to pause and catch your breath, the econ omy behaves the same way. It pauses to re-establish itself without inflation. It also pauses to let debt levels go down. Will it get better? Of course, it always does just like the stock market.

The best question I have heard about the current inflationary spiral came from Tom Keane on Bloomberg Surveillance. His question to a European financial an alyst was “what is the character of infla tion in Europe?”

They went on to discuss how inflation or the causes of, can vary continent to continent. To be sure our situation proba bly has some unique characteristics. Think about it this way. Germany for example may worry about whether they will be able to heat their houses this winter.

We on the other hand have greater distances to drive (using gas) to get to work or shopping (than in Europe) so our costs for those activities may be challeng ing.

The fascinating part of all this

Ian McGuigan, in the Globe and Mail of June 25th 2022, points out that Daniel Tarullo an appointee to the Federal

Reserve in the US, upon stepping down after 8 years, wrote an essay on “Mone tary Policy without a working theory of inflation.”*** You can read the essay on the internet but basically, Mr Tarullo says that the dynamics of inflation are not necessarily understood. What I take from this is that what causes inflation today, may be far different from former infla tionary times.

So, all this talk about governments being slow to react might be true but it may be difficult to see the train coming and to know what remedies will stop it, short, of course, of the right monetary policy.

We live in a time period when housing prices are and have been through the roof. This can often mean that mortgages are a very high percentage of the price of the home/condo. It is said that in today’s economy there are multiple mortgages on many homes. The point here is even if governments can see the inflation train coming, they are often reticent to slam

on the brakes too quickly for fear of put ting folks out of their homes. In fact, in 2008 and 2009 in the USA that exact thing happened.

I’m old enough to remember wage and price controls of the late 70’s and early 80’s. At that time interest rates rose to 19% and 24%. Central Banks have learned a lot since then and those ex tremes will not be needed again. Still, in that time period, we as manufacturers needed to apply to Ottawa if we needed to raise prices…… same for increases in wages.

Now, slowing down demand by in creasing interest rates seems to work if caught reasonably early in the cycle.

Directors and Residents...

Do your homework and proceed col lectively towards what you think will serve your community best. Sticking your head in the sand and hoping everything will look after itself will not likely work well.

We have probably worn out our plea to Condo Boards to establish commit tees. Here is a great opportunity to reach out to some residents experienced in business and finance. I bet you have some people like that in your residency. You may be surprised at some of the ideas that emerge from discussions.

*Statistics Canada Website, Consumer Price Index

** Condominium Authority of Ontario; “Guide to Ensuring Healthy Reserve Funds”

*** Daniel Tarullo; Monetary Policy without a Work ing Theory of Inflation.

Heather Scoffield, “Playing Chicken with Inflation” June 24th 2022, Toronto Star

Ian McGugan, “It might be time to admit we just don’t know that much about Inflation” Toronto Star June 25th 2022.

BNN Bloomberg, Bloomberg Surveilance RBC Mortgage Calculator

Dave Williams is a graduate of York University and retired corporate executive. We would like to hear your comments about this or any of our articles. Please address them to williamsdavem7@gmail.com.

Beachview Place - NNCC #35

by Cheryl Bristow

TheNiagara Region has been de scribed to me as Canada’s ‘banana belt’. I haven’t seen any banana trees growing here, but the climate sure beats most of Canada when it comes to winter. Most people here don’t even bother to get winter tires!

Beachview Place is in St. Catharines, the largest city in the Niagara Region, surrounded by miles of vineyards and or chards and within a delightful short drive to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and the US border.

Beachview Place is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario. Behind Beachview lies the Waterfront Trail, which we residents can easily access by slipping out the back door or rounding the build ing to connect with the adjacent paths.

The views from our condos are terrific.

Residents on the lake side are treated to lovely sunrises, breathtaking sunsets, icy rock formations along the wintry shores, lines of ocean-going ships and lakers waiting to enter the Welland Canal and

the lights and skyscrapers of Toronto fifty kilometers away. People on the street side overlook a park on a quiet, treelined street in a lovely settled neighbour hood. In the springtime, all of us see scores of birds, including a variety of ducks offshore during the mating season, and in late summer monarch butterflies fluttering by on their way to Mexico.

Beachview Place is an old-fashioned neighbourhood. The main entrance is lo

cated in a lovely pentagonal atrium whose windows look out to the everchanging moods of the lake and sky be yond. Members of the Social Committee decorate this at Christmas, and use it for Happy Hours, or other indoor gatherings at other times.

Just down the hall is our Board Room, which is used not only by the board, but by various committees and even by games players at times.

Pool area Sunset view

View of the grounds.

We also have a nice library full of books donated by resi dents and curated by a small team of volunteers, a wellequipped little gym, and a heated outdoor pool and bar becue area in our large back yard with its beautiful lakeview.

One of the committees is the team that produces our Beachview Newsletter, which comes out four times a year and delivers reports from the various committees, articles of particular local in terest and biographies of the residents. As Editor of the Beachview News for the last two years, I have been impressed by the wealth of experience and often amazing background stories of our resi dents. Through the Newsletter, people we would normally pass in the hallways be come faces we recognize and individuals we want to get to know.

One of our largest committees is our Gardening Committee. These hardwork ing individuals have collaborated to do an outstanding job in revitalizing our ex tensive grounds and regularly changing the plants in the decorative urns and flower gardens. An herb garden perfumes the air around our new outdoor conver sational seating area, while indoor plants in the common areas of the main floor are cultivated by one dedicated resident.

Our spirit as a community is reflected in our pride and the care we take of one another and the environment around us. Beachview Place has introduced a green recycling program. Paper, plastics, com post and garbage are all separated by the residents and deposited in the com munity receptacles. Wine bottles and beer cans are routinely deposited in spe cial bins as a matter of course now, and a volunteer takes them to the Beer Store. The money we receive back is donated to the Social Committee to help with their expenses.

Although COVID-19 curtailed our ac tivities, the Social Committee remained active. Last summer they organized out door games on the back lawn, and we celebrated Canada Day and Remem brance Day around our new flagpole on the back lawn. One industrious resident sewed hundreds of red and white trian

gles to form decorative streamers around the pool and barbecue areas where the flag raising ceremony is held. This year our Canada Day cel ebration was also our first major get-together since COVID started, and to the flag raising ceremony we added a pancake and sausage brunch with the catering, serving and decorating all done by resi dents.

The Board of Beachview Place has taken several hard decisions in recent years. All of the windows are being up graded, and since the reserve fund was unable to cover the cost of this massive project, the residents have agreed to pay for this themselves. The 35-year-old pipes are next on the construction agenda, and this will begin once all the windows are completed. Thinking ahead, the Board has created an ad hoc committee to study the feasibility of installing EV charging infra structure in the indoor garage area as a step forward into our electric vehicle fu ture, and most recently we have devel oped a Beachview website which will be extremely useful for all of us.

Beachview Place residents strive to make our home a true neighbourhood, and we are proud that in this we have truly succeeded.

Hallway Conversation area

Front entrance

Highlights of

Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute held its annual Conference and Tradeshow – the first since the covid pandemic began – on September 16th, 2022. As it was one of the Chapter’s first in-person events since 2020, the Conference Committee was prepared for attendance to be lower than in previous years. Happily, this was not the case! We had over 260 people in attendance, which included approximately 80 directors, along with 32 exhibitors, 26 sponsors, and 22 speakers – very comparable to pre-covid conferences.

The

Held at the OE Banquet Hall in Oakville, the Conference and Tradeshow program ran from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. With the theme of ‘Clawing Our Way Out’, sessions included “Clawed Their Way to the Top –Ask the Expert”, “Dealing with the CAT – When the Claws Come Out!”, “Coverage, Clauses & Clawbacks

- The latest in Insurance claims and chargebacks”, “Clawing our way out of project delays, inflation and managing crisis”, and “From DeCLAWrations to Decisions - Legal Case Panel Discussion”. Themed give aways included claw-shaped backscratchers, and buckets of Whiteclaw cans handed out to attendees dur ing the afternoon. The Conference Committee wanted the day to be educational, with plenty of opportunities for exhibitors and attendees to interact, but also wanted to ensure that we all had some fun!

the 2022 CCI-GHC Conference

Speaking on behalf of the Conference Committee, I would like to sincerely thank all exhibitors, sponsors, moderators, and speakers for their contributions to this year’s Conference and Tradeshow – without all their participation and financial support, the Conference and Tradeshow would not have been anywhere near the success that it was. A big thank you also to the Chapter’s administrator, Association Concepts, and par ticularly Rachel Gilmour who worked with the Conference Committee throughout the year, and without whom the whole event would not have happened! Finally, I would like to thank my fellow Conference Com mittee members for their work and support on planning this event. It was a true pleasure working with this fantastic group of people.

If you would like to be involved with planning the 2023 Conference and Tradeshow, please reach out to admin@cci-ghc.ca and find out about how to get involved. And to all directors and professional and business partners, we hope to see you at next year’s Conference!

Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

NOTICE is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute will be held on the 19th day of October 2022 at the hour of 7:00 pm, at the Royal Botanical Gardens, – Great Room, 680 Plains Rd W, Burlington, ON L7T 4H4 for the following purposes:

1. Call to Order

2. Introduction of Board of Directors

Rules of Order, Voting, Quorum

4. Adoption of minutes from the October 20, 2021 Annual General Meeting

5. President’s Report

Treasurer’s Report, Appointment of Auditors

Election of Nominees, Voting Instructions

Committee Chair Reports and Awards

New Business

Adjournment

DATED at Burlington, Ontario this 1st day of September 2021.

By Order of the Board of Directors

Sherry Denesha Operations Manager

Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute

Patricia Elia, B. Comm. LL.B., A.T. Coach Elia Associates PC,

Electric Vehicle Charging Systems

Electric Vehicle Charging Systems

Electric

Vehicles are the way of the future and are driven by the need to change human consumption behaviours, which are causing the planet to overheat and as a product thereof - humanity is suffering from the devastating effects of a rise in temperatures globally and seasonally. From floods to fires, the effects of climate change cannot be ig nored.

CCI Golden Horseshoe had a highly informative discussion at its May 17th, 2022 Con doTalk Webinar, which we recommend watching. It can be found in the CCI National Re source Centre: Going Electric

Via public policy, the Ontario government has committed Ontarians to reducing the en vironmental impact of cars and thereby, addressing one part of climate change causation. Since condominium living represents an ever-increasing portion of housing options in On tario, the implementation of electrical vehicle charging stations with little or no barriers seems like a logical way to implement the government's public policy initiatives.

From a legal perspective, the follow ing is worth considering:

Installation by the Condominium Corporation

Generally, when making a change to the common elements or a change in a service that the condominium corpora tion provides to unit owners, this must be done in accordance with section 97 of the Act. When it comes to Electric Vehicle Charging Systems (“EVCS”), however, O. Reg 48/01 exempts a condominium cor poration from complying with section 97 of the Act, as long as the installation of the EV charging station is carried out in accordance with the provisions therein.

If a condominium corporation decides to install the EVCS, all costs associated with same will be considered common expenses. Accordingly, all owners will be responsible for paying for the costs asso ciated with the installation, based on the statement of proportion set out in a con dominium corporation’s Declaration.

O. Reg 48/01 provides for two (2) sce narios:

1. On notice, but without a vote of the unit owners

Under this scenario, the condominium corporation may unilaterally install the EVCS, on notice to unit owners, if certain prescribed conditions are met. Generally, if: (i) the estimated cost of the installation is not more than 10% of the annual bud geted common expenses for the current fiscal year; and (ii) the installation of the EVCS would not, in the eyes of unit own ers, cause a material reduction or elimi nation of their use or enjoyment of their units or the common elements, then the condominium corporation may proceed with the installation.

2. Enhanced notice to unit owner’s and possible vote required

If the estimated cost of the proposed installation is in excess of 10% of the budgeted annual common expenses for the current fiscal year or the installation would cause a material reduction in the

use or enjoyment by owners of their units or the common elements, then the con dominium corporation will have to pro vide notice of the proposed change to unit owners, which notice must include a statement that the unit owners have the right, in accordance with section 46 of the Act, and within sixty (60) days of re ceiving the notice, to requisition a meet ing of owners. The proposed installation will be approved only if:

A. The owners of at least 15% of the units have not requisitioned a meet ing within sixty (60) days of receiving the notice;

B. If a meeting has been requisitioned, but a quorum is not present at the first attempt to hold the meeting; or

C. If a quorum is present at the first at tempt to hold the meeting, but the owners have not voted against the proposed installation.

Installation by a Unit Owner

Generally, a unit owner who wishes to make a change to the common elements may do so under section 98 of the Act by obtaining approval from the corpora tion’s board and entering into Section 98 Agreement. Section 24.4 of O. Reg 48/01 provides an exemption to section 98 of

Act for the installation of an EVCS by a unit owner, where the following process is to be followed.

Step 1: Written application

An owner must create an application and deliver it to the condominium corpo ration. The application must:

• Identify the owner and the owner’s address for service;

• Be signed by the owner; and

• Include drawings, specifications, and/or information relating to the proposed installation.

The condominium corporation then has an obligation to respond, in writing, and provide any information, permission, or authorization that the owner requests that will assist the owner in meeting the requirements for providing drawings, specifications, and/or other information.

Step 2: The Decision

Once the application has been sub mitted to the condominium corporation, the condominium corporation will have sixty (60) days to respond to the written application (this can be extended upon agreement of both parties). The condo minium corporation can only reject the request for installation if, based on the opinion or the report of a qualified pro fessional:

• The installation would be in viola tion of the Act or any other legis lation;

• The installation would adversely affect the structural integrity of the property; and/or

• The installation poses a health and safety risk to the property and its occupants.

If the condominium corporation is re jecting an application for one of the aforementioned reasons, it is required to provide a copy of the report or opinion of the qualified professional to the owner.

If a condominium corporation decides to install the EVCS, all costs associated with same will be considered common expenses.

Step 3: The Agreement

If the application is not rejected, the condominium corporation and the unit owner have ninety (90) days to enter into an Agreement. The Agreement must con tain terms and conditions that speak to, inter alia: the manner of installation of the EVCS; how costs will be allocated be tween the parties for the installation; each party’s duties and responsibilities with re spect to the EVCS, including the respon sibilities relating to the cost of the use, operation, repair after damage, mainte nance and insurance; and who will have ownership of the EVCS or any part thereof. There is no obligation on the cor poration to pay for the installation and the costs may be passed on to the unit owner. However, we suggest that consideration as to the type of EVCS, the consideration of design of the electrical distribution sys tem, and the lifespan of infrastructure cost be a basis for amortization and recoup ment for the investment.

The corporation must consider the re serve fund funding aspects of the same. The representative from SWTCH in the video provides some parameters on fu ture costs.

The condominium corporation must, as soon as reasonably possible, register the Agreement on title to the owner’s unit in order for it to take effect.

Mediation and Arbitration

Any disagreement between a unit owner and a condominium corporation with regards to the EVCS must be sub mitted to mediation and arbitration. An application by an owner for the installa tion will be deemed abandoned if the unit owner or condominium corporation do not submit a disagreement to media tion and/or arbitration for resolution within six (6) months of the condo minium corporation rejecting the owner’s application or within six (6) months of the time provided for the two parties to

into the written Agreement

Beyond the Law

While knowing the legal framework is relevant, the Board and management need to consider how to practically de sign, develop and implement the plan. At the outset, learning what the capacity of the electrical distribution system (“EDS”) would allow the corporation to understand what the corporation's exist ing EDS can accommodate. Most condo miniums do not require (by virtue of user demand) that every parking space have an EVCS. However, an assessment of the EDS would allow the condominium to determine how many spots could be of fered. Then through proactive communi cation and assessments of interest, the Board can determine how best to pro ceed in designing the system over time. The reserve fund planner should be en gaged to help understand the reserve

fund contributions required to support the EVCS.

Further, the Board should assess the various offerings of service providers and the types of chargers that would make the most sense for the corporation.

Practically, a board should sit down with Property management, service providers and engineers at one time to discuss the design, implementation and sustainability of the process. Property management is becoming more and more adept at supporting boards through this process, as more and more property management teams gain prac tical experience on the implementation of EVCS. As well, keeping unit owners in formed and up to date with progress helps the community stay abreast of the project.

From a legal perspective, design and implementation should also track the legal benchmarks including the entering into of agreements with unit owners and the development of policies and rules to deal with EVCS. In addition, Boards should procure advice before signing any agreements with service providers. Let ters of intent should be non-binding and relationship agreements should be com mercially reasonable. The provision of services to the condominium industry is not new and thus experienced advice can ensure commercially reasonable arrange ments for the condominium corporation. Electric vehicle charging is definitely coming to fruition now and for the fu ture. Generally, it appears that many unit owners see the value for the environment and equity in their units with the imple mentation of EVCS.

Patricia Elia is a senior lawyer with Elia Associates and has practiced law for over 25 years in the areas of condominium law and corporate law, in large, medium and the boutique specialty law firm of Elia Associates. Patricia is intrigued by the interplay of economics, the law and critical thinking models in condominiums and she likes to understand people. As a trained mediator, she understands the value of early and creative dispute resolution opportunities. As an active industry participant, she believes that the sharing of knowledge has the potential to empower Boards of Directors. Patricia’s commitment to condominiums has been in leadership roles such as the President of CCI Huronia, Co-Chair of CCI’s National Council, a member of CCI National Executive and a member of all 5 Ontario chapters. She has also sat as Vice-Chair of CCI National’s Government Relations Committee and Governance Committee. She is a founder of Women in Condos. She has been a Condominium Director for the last 19 years and a Unit Owner of a condominium.

Five Commonly Asked Board Questions about Audits/Accounting

By Justin Wareham

Q:nWhy is the GAAP so important to condominium financial preparation and what is it exactly?

ing Standards for Not-For-Profit Organi zations (ASNFPO) in order to be in com pliance with the Act.

statements when comparing actual expen ditures to budget, say when a 2022 ex pense is recorded in 2023.

A:

n GAAP stands for “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles”, which are a common set of accounting standards, policies and procedures used when preparing financial statements.

Specific to condominiums in Ontario, Sec tion 66 of Act requires that “A Corpora tion shall have it’s financial statements prepared in the prescribed manner and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as are prescribed.”

Regulation 48/01, Section 16 explains that “a Corporation shall have it’s state ments prepared in the manner and in ac cordance with accounting principles specified in the Handbook of the Cana dian Institute of Chartered Accountants.”

All audited condominium financial state ments must be prepared using Account

Q:nHow are year-end audits impacted by late invoicing, missed po’s, and any other missing or late items?

A: nLate invoicing and missed PO’s can affect the work that the audi tor performs on payables. Part of the audit process is to perform accounts payable cutoff testing where the auditor will re view invoices that are payable at year and invoices paid subsequent to year end to ensure that they are recorded in the cor rect fiscal year. Quite often an invoice is is sued late and recorded in the month(s) subsequent to year end so this testing helps identify items that should be accrued at year end. When invoices are issued ex tremely late and not picked up during the audit process, it can skew the financial

Q:n When Corporations want to split each and every tiny ex pense to various categories for EXTREME accuracy how does this impact the audit, and is this level of extreme detail required?

Extreme detail like this can make expense testing challenging, especially when the allocations to the various expense accounts aren’t well documented. However, with that being said, being as accurate as possible with expense allocations is crucial when preparing financial statements in order to get the truest representation of budget vs. actual. In my experience, a lot of the questions that I receive from own ers when presenting financials state ments are related to budget vs. actual

A:

and why a certain line item is so much higher or lower than budget so it’s im portant to ensure that each line item is accurate.

Q:nDo loans and special assess ments impact the audit preparation and how?

loan commences, management should send the auditor a copy of the lending agreement as well as a copy of the Cor poration’s borrowing by-law.

records makes the audit process more ef ficient.

A:

n There is really no impact to audit preparation when it comes to special assessments. Management how ever should provide the auditor with a copy of the notice of special assessment as well as a per unit breakdown of the special assessment. When it comes to loans, part of the audit process is to ob tain confirmation from the lender that confirms the loan balance at the year end date. The auditor should send this confir mation to the lender as soon after the year end date as possible in order to pre vent delays in the audit. As soon as the

Q:nAre there any tips or tricks that Management or the Boards can adhere to in order to make the audit process more efficient?

Justin Wareham is a CPA at Millards Chartered Accountants in Brantford, Ontario with 7+ years experience in auditing condominium corporations. He is also a condominium owner and board member, so he has an understanding of the unique challenges that owners and boards face.

A:

n It is important for management and boards to be in communi cation with the auditor throughout the year, especially when complex financial issues arise. Dealing with those issues at the time makes the audit process far more efficient than first learning of those issues during the audit. Preparing de tailed board meeting minutes that sum marize major financial decisions can also greatly assist the auditor. In general, pro viding organized and well documented

Ron Gizzie, B.A.Sc. Honours Mechanical Engineering, P. Eng. Cion Corp.

Energy Audits Mean Savings and that Just Makes Sense

Intoday’s construction environment, commercial, and especially institutional buildings using public funds are being built to lofty standards of energy usage. These buildings are constructed to the tightest tolerances of energy usage such as Passive House, LEED Gold and Platinum, and the now ascendant NetZero standard. But there is one type of building that often lags behind – condominiums.

In the hyper-competitive real estate development market, builders are not competing to build the best building for the environment, or the best building for future residents, but they are certainly building them fast. The market is just starting to cool off, but what is not cooling down are the buildings. How then can condominium corporations keep up with public buildings who are dominating the world of energy efficiency with their near-unlimited public tax dollars, and why should they even bother to get into the race? The answer is that ‘it just makes sense,’ dollars and cents.

Condominium towers and even low-rise buildings are practically built to waste energy. They are tall and covered in balconies which radiate heat into the atmosphere or absorb it with their near 100% coverage in glass windows. And worse, the mechanical systems in stalled in such buildings are not exactly built with conservation in mind. But there is a ray of hope in all of this; there is room for improvement. And that’s where Cion comes in.

An energy audit is the perfect starting place to determine what your condominium build ing can do to save on energy. These savings not only translate into a reduction in waste heat, and therefore less overall fuel consumption both at the building and through the power grid, but they translate into lower bills for the consumers as well. That means you,

and that means the residents of your building. What, then, is the cost of such a process? The answer is, not much.

Energy audits have been standardized by the American Society of Heating, Re frigeration and Air Conditioning Engi neers (ASHRAE) into a format that evaluates a building’s overall electricity and gas consumption. It breaks this con sumption down based on systems: light ing, hot water, and air conditioning systems, to name a few. Then the engi neer develops as many ideas as one can think up – practical or not – to reduce said energy consumption.

These ideas are then boiled down to a shortlist of the best, and those are then evaluated both scientifically and in terms of cost. Finally, that cost of each energy efficiency measure (EEM, for short) is evaluated in terms of its payback period.

As in, how long until you, the consumer, see savings from the work to be per formed. Depending on how long the

Board of Directors is willing to wait for the investment to pay off, some or all of these EEMs can be implemented to im prove the building.

For condominiums, this means that an energy audit is a modest and probably very worthwhile investment into what could be very beneficial to a building. Not only does the Condominium Corporation get to promote this sustainability to their residents, but the reduction in energy usage means that there is a tangible ben efit to this altruistic work.

Insurance companies are now broad ening their scope of evaluation for build ings to include social and environmental stewardship. Who knows why that is al lowed? But, it’s certainly something that corporations can take advantage of fol lowing a simple and practical energy audit. In Cion’s experience, the scope of insurance reviews also includes waste and water audits. These are geared to wards reduction in water usage (a big

problem) and waste to landfills, respec tively.

The time of standards allowing certain energy hogging building systems to re main is coming swiftly to a close. With Cion we hope that you will consider an energy audit in the future as these, and even stricter standards, come into force. It just makes sense cents

Ron Gizzie (B.A.Sc. Honours Mechanical Engineering, P. Eng.) has a decade of mechanical engineering experience including rehabilitation, building assessment and new construction projects. Ron heads up the mechanical department for Cion - Engineers & Building Scientists. His areas of expertise include HVAC and plumbing design, project management, energy analysis, mechanical investigations, condition assessments and energy audits. Ron hopes to utilize his expansive knowledge to revolutionize how owners think about and operate their buildings, beyond simple environmental governance into true smart stewardship.

Gail Cote, RCM, OLCM-G Property Management Guild

Getting Ready for Winter…

Asa member of a Condo Board, I am under no obligation to tell residents how to prepare their residences for winter. However as a proactive member of the Board I am compelled to remind residents how to prepare for the winter onslaught, BE CAUSE, issues that come up over the winter are much harder to deal with than during Spring, Summer and Fall.

Here is the list our Condo Board sends out every Fall:

Bill Clark

Condo Board of Director, WCC439

1) Turn off your outside water taps and leave them in an open position. I would also sug gest that you purchase some pipe insulation and wrap the outside faucets and at least 8 to 10 inches of the piping inside your resident. There is nothing worse than having a pipe burst on the coldest day of the year, AND, the water leak could affect your next door neighbor or the residences below you. Depending on the cause for some condo miniums, unit owners could be held responsible for damages. Buildings may want to set a “due date” for this each year, rather than play “roulette” with the weather. When the cold snap does settle in quickly as it has been known to do, you want the water off long before this happens. Ensure you effectively communicate this to all owners, re gardless of your condominium type, to ensure those that use them are aware, and those that need to shut them off have a reminder.

2) If you go south or even take a few weeks vacation during the winter, ask or hire someone to check your resi dence once a day. This is both for peace of mind and insurance pur poses. I know of a situation where the residence was only checked once a week and just after the once a week check, the line busted on the toilet, sending water cascading down through the floor and onto a baby grand piano in the room below.

3) Propane tanks should be emptied and wrapped in a blanket and stored in your garage or on your balcony . I would suggest that you use up your propane by cleaning your BBQ. Make sure you comply with any restrictions your Condominium may have in stor ing these type of items, as often there are Rules surrounding these.

4) Patio furniture should be stored and or wrapped securely so it doesn’t blow away, perhaps breaking a win dow. If a building, perhaps a re minder to all residents to secure items on the balconies as those high winter winds can carry belongings far away. As fall settles in balcony items may be the last thing on owners minds, so a quick reminder is always beneficial.

5) Notify residents what the procedures are for snow plowing. E.g. the roads are cleared first, then the driveways

then the steps. Residents need to un derstand that personal schedules cannot always be accommodated when clearing.

6) Have your furnace checked. A furnace break-down during the winter could cause more than just a cold resi dence.

7) Keep a bag of de-icer in your garage, trunk or unit for your own personal use.

8) Do not leave out treats for stray ani mals, they might take up residence in your patio furniture or under your patio, or in attracting wildlife, result in expensive repairs to the exterior of the structure, resulting in unbudgeted expenses for the Condominium – of which you pay into.

9) Finally, remind residents about the earliest they can put up their Christ mas lights and when they have to come down. A reminder in January would also be appropriate. Winterizing can be very easy and fairly quick, not winterizing could be very, very expensive and more importantly situa tions can ruin friendships as well as deal ing with insurance companies can be a long and painful process.

From a management perspective, there are multiple components that Cor porations should look at in order to “win terize” the site outside of the residents immediate exclusive use common ele

ments and unit areas as well as the cor poration common elements. Here are some of the basics to help you along the way:

Irrigation – has the main system been shut off, blown out and a report of any issues noted received to be diarized for repair in the spring? This should occur in mid to late September, to ensure the sys tem is properly maintained and damages do not occur. Many times corporations try to get the “maximum benefit” of water ing and avoiding having the system shut down in an orderly fashion leaves them vulnerable to quickly fluctuating fall weather that can happen from time to time.

Eaves Troughs – has the eaves clean ing been scheduled to ensure all debris is removed. A good rule of thumb is to pay that little bit extra to have the down spouts disconnected, checked for block age and reinstalled. This will ensure a proper flow in the winter months and re duce the potential for back-ups along the lines.

Heat change over – this is primarily a building item. There are some town homes that have common space that this could apply to as well. Has the date for the heat turnover been scheduled, in ad vance and owners notified. While we can all agree that the weather certainly fluc tuates from year to year each and every season – it is extremely important to choose a turnover date and stick to this to assist your contractor in planning for

this endeavour. They are not always read ily available to attend on short notice, which could leave your residents a little cool until this process can occur. If your system operates of an MUA (Make up Air unit) – have your contractor change the filters early and trouble shoot for any start up issues. This will ensure that you have heat when you really need it.

Ramp Heaters – many ramps have an automatic sensor, however many still don’t. Have the ramp heaters checked, the sensor checked and ensure function ing BEFORE the first snow fall. You don’t want to find your condominium facing a potential claim if something goes wrong.

Some buildings have heaters designed to keep other components warm during the winter months, such as fire sprinkler lines, drains that run through the slabs, etc. Heaters and heat trace cables, should all be checked long before the cold snap happens. This will ensure that property is not damaged, and repairs can

be made well in advance of the cold weather. These could be for components in the garage, or somewhat exposed to the elements. I have buildings that re quire heat turned on for the elevator shaft to ensure they function properly otherwise the cold air will seep into the shaft areas likely to cause expensive re pairs to the elevator system.

Exterior lighting – should always be fully visually reviewed as fall approaches. With less daylight it is imperative that any deficiencies in lighting be addressed as soon as possible to mitigate the chance of anyone falling due to poor lighting.

Asphalt review – are there any visible areas with holes that should be patched? I have had boards in the past decline to repair them as the “plow will only take it out”. While I agree this is a valid concern, not fixing the hole can create a much more liable situation for the condo minium. A quick, cheap cold patch will

help ensure no one slips and falls, or an ice rink situation is not created.

Winters can be good or bad for Condo owners and their Boards, You can add to the list above , no matter though, BE PREPARED.

Gail Cote, RCM, OLCM-G is a Condominium Manager at Property Management Guild. She enjoys providing professional Property Management services to her clients since 1999 and has achieved her RCM designation. Gail enjoys participating on the CCI-GHC Board of Directors as well as actively volunteering on the CCI-GHC Professional Business Partners and Communication Committees. Gail has participated as a speaker at CCI events including the CCI-GHC Annual Conference, as well as having written articles for the Condo News publication.

Bill Clark Condo Board of Director WCC439

The Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute would like to give your Condominium $500.

Tell us why your Condominium is worthy of winning the “Condo of the Year” award? We are all proud of our homes, you just need to highlight the following points in your article that describes your condominium:

l What are the qualities and features of your Condominium?

l What are the accomplishments achieved by your Condominium Corporation?

l What is the overall environment like in the Condominium?

l What makes residents proud to live there?

Each entry will be featured in one of the upcoming issues of the “Condo News” magazine. There are four issues per year:

Spring Article deadline March 1st Summer Article deadline June 1st

Fall Article deadline September 1st Winter Article deadline December 1st

You can either send an article or we can interview you via phone and write an article about your condo for you! Don’t forget to include photos of your condominium.

Interested applicants should submit their articles or contact information for an interview to:

by mail OR by email

CCI-Golden Horseshoe Chapter, admin@cci-ghc.ca PO Box 37 Burlington, ON L7R 3X8

The Condominium will be selected by the GHC-CCI Communications Committee and will be announced at the Annual General Meeting in the fall.

APPLICATIONS FOR THE LCCI DESIGNATION ARE NOW OPEN

CCI’s new designation, to recognize its members from any profession or trade who have and continue to contribute knowledge and expertise to CCI and the condominium industry.

Apply now!

LCCI Designation

The LCCI designation is open to any CCI member who provides goods and/or services, through annual employment time and volunteer time, to or within the condominium/strata/copropriété industry. The designation is open to any particular profession or trade.

LCCI Application Process

Step 1 – Apply: Gather the information for the registration form (eligibility criteria):

A. An individual or professional member of CCI in good standing;

B. Minimum of three (3) years as an individual or professional member of CCI immediately prior to the date of application;

C. Minimum of three (3) years’ service to the condominium industry immediately prior to the date of appli cation. This criterion will be satisfied where an individual shows that they have provided goods and/or services, through annual employment time and volunteer time to or within the condominium industry;

D. Provide at least two (2) letters of reference/endorsement from a CCI member having at least five (5) years of membership in CCI; and

E. Provide an executed declaration that the candidate will comply with the CCI Code of Ethics.

Are you still stressing over holding your Annual General Meeting virtually?

Can’t find a service provider to host your meeting?

Are you a member of Golden Horseshoe Chapter –Canadian Condominium Institute?

THEN WE CAN HELP!!

The GHC-CCI will offer our technical expertise and the use of our Zoom platform to host your AGM. You will still be required to prepare everything needed for your AGM:

• Powerpoint

Script

Host

Collection of proxies

Minute taker

Polling/voting questions and choice of answers

Distribution of your AGM package

Provide GH with name/emails of partici pants

Golden Horseshoe Chapter will supply the following:

• Zoom Pro platform (including polling through Zoom)

• Conference call number for those not able to connect through zoom

• Any confidential voting requirements through an online survey link

• A technician to run the event in the background who will: set Up link and any recording requirements set Up polls launch Polls and surveys provide tech help/troubleshooting

This service is available for smaller condo’s as follows:

Units - $250 + HST

– 49 Units - $350 + HST

– 80 Units - $450 + HST

This service is only being offered to small condominium units that are members of GHC-CCI and is on a first come, first served basis.

If you are interested in using our services please email us at admin@ghc-cci.ca with the date and time of your AGM, and we will get back to you with our availability.

Thank you for being a member of GHC-CCI!

Do you have an article for the Condo News?