Newsworthy Industry Hot Topics

Industry Hot Topics

Alberta expands Temporary Rent Assistance

Alberta’s Temporary Rent Assistance Benefit has expanded to include rural communities outside the province’s seven major cities. Initially launched in March 2021 as part of the province’s redesigned Rent Supplement Program, the Temporary Rent Assistance Benefit provides a subsidy of $100 per month (or more) to qualifying low-income working households or those in between jobs.

The total amount per recipient is determined by household size and location. Alberta residential tenants may be eligible for rent assistance if they are below the local income thresholds, are currently employed or have been employed in the last 24 months, and are not receiving social assistance. “Making the best use of rent supports is a key component to Stronger Foundations: Alberta’s 10 Year Affordable Housing Strategy,” said Josephine Pon, Minister of Seniors and Housing. “By expanding the Temporary Rent Assistance Benefit to over 80 communities, more support is available to Albertans in need helping make life more affordable during inflation.”

“Our agriculture, food and forestry sectors are largely based in rural communities, and we are looking to these regions of the province to help lead Alberta’s economic recovery,” added Nate Horner, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development. “I’m pleased that the Temporary Rent Assistance Benefit will be added to the list of actions we are taking to make life better for rural Albertans. This rent support will provide relief for families and communities struggling with rising inflation costs and promote sustainable growth in rural Alberta.”

Alberta’s redesigned Rent Supplement Program, which includes the temporary assistance benefit, now serves about 11,600 households – 3,800 more than were served under the original program.

“While today’s new legislation is a good step towards giving mayors a greater role in accelerating housing supply and cutting red tape and runaround, Ontario’s REALTORS would like to see these powers expanded to other urban areas,” he said. “More can still be done to address the existing housing affordability crisis, including ending exclusionary zoning in Ontario’s highest-demand urban neighborhoods, which would allow for the building of duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes on lots traditionally zoned for single-family housing.”

Certified Rental Building Program goes national

The Certified Rental Building Program (CRBP) announced it is now a national brand, known as the Canadian Certified Rental Building Program. Launched in 2008 by the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO), the first-of-its-kind program was designed to promote and acknowledge quality for Ontario rental housing consumers, and professionalism for multiresidential property managers and owners. In 2015, the program expanded into BC with help from local association, LandordBC.

“The benefits of this expansion are two-fold,” said Ted Whitehead, CCRBP Director of Certification. “This new program will cultivate a national community of CRB-approved apartment buildings to provide Canadian renters with peace of mind and a clear ‘quality assurance’ alternative when selecting their rental apartment home. The national program also provides apartment owners and managers with a unique grassroots ESG perspective that multi-res organizations can easily communicate with their staff and residents.”

At the heart of the Canadian Certified Rental Building Program are 54 standards of practice, and hundreds of requirements to which all organizations and buildings must adhere. Together these translate the concepts of environmental, social and governance into concrete ESG measures that will lead to enhanced corporate accountability.

In the competitive real estate marketplace, internationally recognized ESG benchmark programs like GRESB are taking on increased relevance and importance. According to Whitehead, not only can CRB certification help enhance an organization’s GRESB benchmarking score, but now, in line with its national expansion, the CRBP has moved from a recognized and approved green building certification program to officially becoming a GRSB Real Estate partner.

“With many of the REITs, institutional, and investor-driven members leading the multi-res industry’s transformation to an ESG discipline, it became imperative to undertake expansion of CRBP across the Canadian landscape to support their needs,” added Tony Irwin, FRPO President & CEO. “As all levels of government gain greater awareness of the ESG mantra across all industries, there is little doubt that they will soon be asking – or perhaps, demanding – what our industry is doing collectively on this front. Ours is the foremost ESG-focused accreditation program supporting the multi-residential industry.”

Currently, the multi-res industry provides apartment homes to one in three Canadians, or approximately 4.4 million people. Nearly 13 per cent of multi-res companies in Canada have adopted a formal ESG program to date, a number that’s expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

New clean building tax credit for B.C. owners

Anew tax credit will make energy retrofits for multi-unit residential and commercial buildings more affordable, saving owners 5 per cent on retrofits to help reduce their energy use.

The Clean Building Tax Credit supports the CleanBC commitment to reduce provincewide emissions by 40 per cent from 2007 levels and aligns with B.C.’s target to reduce emissions in buildings and communities by more than half by 2030.

“Building owners want to reduce the energy use of their home, office or retail space but the upfront costs of these retrofits can be a challenge for people,” said Selina Robinson, minister of finance. “This Clean Building Tax Credit will help owners of larger, often older and energy-inefficient buildings invest in cleaner energy retrofits by putting dollars back into their pockets.”

Buildings eligible for the Clean Buildings Tax Credit include residential buildings, commercial spaces and warehouses in the private sector. Examples include office spaces, food retail and purpose-built rentals.

“Our members want to be part of the climate change solution, but retrofits can be costly and do not always make financial sense,” said Damian Stathonikos, president of the Building Owners and Managers Association of B.C. “The tax credit helps reduce the retrofit cost for building owners and lowers energy expenses for tenants, while modernizing buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It benefits everyone involved, and the environment.”

The credit supports work involving building systems, such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning and building envelopes. A successful retrofit in the public sector is Vancouver’s Kitsilano Community Centre, which underwent heat-recovery improvements that nearly eliminated the need for natural gas to heat the facility. It also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 per cent. The Clean Buildings Tax Credit will support commercial and multi-unit residential buildings looking to complete similar retrofits.

To be eligible for the credit, building owners must work with a certified professional to determine that the energy use-intensity of their building has been reduced and is meeting made-in-B.C. targets through a qualifying retrofit before applying for certification with the Ministry of Finance. Qualified professionals include architects, a qualified energy adviser certified by Natural Resource Canada, and engineers.

The Clean Buildings Tax Credit is open and ends March 31, 2025.

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Ontario introduces Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act

The Ontario government has announced new legislative changes that, if passed, will give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa more power to advance provincial priorities that would bring more homes to market faster. According to Tim Hudak, CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association, the proposed act represents a good step forward in addressing the housing crisis in Ontario, as it would help cut red tape and speed up the local planning process by giving municipal leaders the ability to reduce timelines for development, standardize processes, and address local barriers to increasing housing supply.

Huduk added that the ‘Strong Mayors’ system would allow for the adjustment of development plans to create gentle density as needed, ensuring municipalities are not introducing policy or bylaw changes that directly contravene or work against provincial priorities—including the commitment to build 1.5 million homes over the next decade. Further changes that could help speed new housing supply include mayoral responsibility for budgets, the ability to appoint a CAO, and the ability to hire and replace department heads, including the Chief Planner.

“While today’s new legislation is a good step towards giving mayors a greater role in accelerating housing supply and cutting red tape and runaround, Ontario’s REALTORS would like to see these powers expanded to other urban areas,” he said. “More can still be done to address the existing housing affordability crisis, including ending exclusionary zoning in Ontario’s highestdemand urban neighborhoods, which would allow for the building of duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes on lots traditionally zoned for single-family housing.”

Ahmed Group shares plans for Mississauga rental development

The Ahmed Group has released plans for a new rental housing development located at 1000 and 1024 Dundas Street East in Mississauga. If approved, the two-tower project will bring 462 rental units to the area, which is lacking in much-needed supply.

Designed by WZMH Architects, the walkable, transit-oriented community will offer a mix of unit sizes, ample green space, improvements to the public realm, community space, an urban farm, and ground-level commercial space for retail and office-use. The Ahmed Group is currently involved in the development of over 1,500,000 square feet of new purpose-built rental construction across Ontario.

“Our city is richly diverse, inclusive, vibrant and growing. It is clear people want to live, work and play in Mississauga,” said Moe Ahmed, President and CEO of Ahmed Group. “My father came to this country as an immigrant to chase his dreams and raise his family here. I was born in Toronto, raised in Mississauga and have never left. My wife and I are proud to live in Mississauga with our families. We want more families, seniors, students and young professionals to have the opportunity to reside here.”

The Ahmed Group’s proposed development comes after the City of Mississauga, the Region of Peel, and the Province announced steps to guide future urban growth and intensification of the region. In June 2018, Mississauga City Council endorsed the Dundas Connects Master Plan to establish a vision for the Dundas Street Corridor, supporting major improvements to transportation, sustainable transit-supportive development, intensification, and the public realm along the 19.5-kilometre corridor of Dundas Street—a move that has since sparked considerable improvements.

“We are encouraged by the steps that the City, the Region of Peel, and the Province have taken to address the need for more residential housing, mixed-use transit-oriented developments, walkable communities and greenspace,” Ahmed said. “Ahmed Group is committed to creating projects that support the City and Region’s vision and serve as a catalyst for transformative change in Mississauga’s Dundas East community.”

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TECH SECTOR SPINOFFS EVOLVING RETAIL APPETITE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT TALENT ENTICEMENT TACTICS PROPERTY TAX DEFINING DEMAND Occupiers’ liability: A board meeting gone wrong

Anyone who has ever been to BY DAVID ELMALEH a board meeting (or a partners, AND GABRIELA CARACAS shareholders, town hall, or any similar type of meeting) can attest to

the tension that often arises. The law is clear that occupiers have a duty to maintain their premises reasonably safe for those who enter it. But what about when an individual commits assault while at one of these meetings? Should the occupier or organizer of the board meeting be liable for failing to ensure the safety and security of those lawfully on the premises?

In Omotayo v. Da Costa, 2018, the defendant occupier, Metro Toronto Condominium Corporation 1292 (MTCC 1292), was successful in dismissing the plaintiff’ s claim and the assailant’ s crossclaim when a member in attendance at a condominium board meeting struck another meeting attendee with a chair.

Justice Nishikawa found that the duty the condominium corporation owed to the plaintiff did not include preventing an assault that occurred during their condominium board meeting.

Facts of the case

The plaintif f, Jacqueline Omotayo, was a resident and former chair of the condominium corporation. The defendant, Jose Da Costa, was also a resident and former president of the condominium corporation. An emergency board meeting was held on Oct. 4, 2011, to discuss the future organization of the board as Ms. Omotayo had recently been removed from her position as chair and Mr. Da

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Costa advised that he no longer wished to occupy his role as president. The emergency meeting took place at the defendant’ s (MTCC 1292’ s) premises.

At the emergency meeting, the plaintiff and Mr. Da Costa entered into a heated argument, which led Mr. Da Costa to “lose it” and strike the plaintiff on the head with a chair. Mr. Da Costa was charged by the police and received a conditional discharge for assault with a weapon.

The plaintiff commenced a civil action against Mr. Da Costa for his use of force as well as MTCC 1292 for failing to ensure her safety and failing to employ security measures at board meetings. MTCC 1292 brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff’ s claim against it which was only opposed by Mr. Da Costa given his crossclaim against MTCC 1292 for contribution and indemnity.

Summary judgment motion

MTCC took the position that its duty under the law is confined to the physical condition of the premises and foreseeable risks, not the unforeseeable conduct of individuals in attendance. Meanwhile, Mr. Da Costa argued that MTCC 1292’ s duty extends to having rules of conduct for meetings, policies relating to abusive language, threats and intimidating behavior, and a duty to hire and supervise competent professionals to oversee its business (including, if appropriate, security personnel). Mr. Da Costa further argued that the assault was foreseeable given the quarrelsome nature of MTCC 1292’ s board meetings and a prior unrelated incident involving the plaintiff and another member of MTCC 1292 wherein the police was called.

In reaching her decision, Justice Nishikawa looked to Coleiro v. Premier Fitness Clubs where summary judgment was granted in favour of the defendant www.REMInetwork.com | June 2018 15

Want to stand out on social media? Don’t fake it By Steven Chester Let’s face it, we all want our businesses to be social media rock stars, and we know it ain’t easy. It’s becoming more prevalent that some of the most popular social media platforms have iff commen been infiltrated by those who game the system. Da Costa fo TCC 1292 fo This includes those that buy fake followers and “likes” in order to create the illusion that their n failing to social media profile is more popular than it is. oard m t These fake followers are predominantly bots – otion f r su accounts run by software designed to look and the pl intif ’ act like real people. nly opposed New services are also popping up that allow o sc ai ag authentic social media accounts to become nd inde part of the bot game. By signing up for the service, the user authorizes their account to automatically like, follow and randomly udgme m comment on other users’ posts, and in turn the positi they trade that fake engagement with other w is confine users. Sound harmless enough? The thing the prem is you have no say in in the message your account is spreading or where it ends up. e unforese in attendan Ask yourself this: What’s more important, a argued th having 50,000 cosmetic followers, or having 500 followers who are in your target market s o h ving that actually want to hear from you? s, policies re t d hrea du ts y a As a consumer, it’s even simpler, as deceptive tactics are easy to spot. If you’r using underhanded methods to promote e professional your business, this can be viewed as a luding, if ap reflection of your product or service. Your Mr. Da Cos integrity is at stake. ult was fore This is one of the more complex topics that nature of M can’t be fully covered in this space. As always, nd a prior u I invite you to stay social and continue the la nt f d conversation on Twitter where I’ll share a link to at @Chestergosocial the full article. 92 wherei ng her dec Steven Chester is the Digital Media Director of MediaEdge Communications. With 15 years’ experience oo to C in cross-platform communications, Steven helps s where sum companies expand their reach through social media and other digital initiatives. To contact him directly, email d in favour gosocial@mediaedge.ca. SERVING THE FACILIT Y CLEANING & MAINTENANCE INDUSTRY

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