CPM/GTA October 2021

F O R B U I L D I N G O W N E R S , A S S E T A N D P R O P E RT Y M A N A G E R S

VOL. 36 NO. 4 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

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Editor-in-Chief Barbara Carss barbc@mediaedge.ca Publisher Sean Foley seanf@mediaedge.ca Contributors Marty Ahrens, Paul Amendola, Laura Gurr, Jennifer Jeffrey, Kristin Ley, Andrew MacDougall, Birgitte Messerschmidt, John Valley Art Director Annette Carlucci annettec@mediaedge.ca Graphic Designer

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editor’snote DURING MY FIRST reporting job, my editor (a.k.a. boss) smoked in the darkroom while making prints. Answers to the inevitable questions — What’s a darkroom? What’s making prints? and What...you could smoke in the workplace?? — are: Obsolete space; A bygone ritual of newspaper production; and, Yes. Although certainly not so long ago that people were unaware of the health and ignition perils of smoking, it was an era before entrenched social consensus that the freedom to enjoy a legal lifestyle habit does not supersede the right to avoid hazardous and unnecessary exposure to risk. Today, even the majority of smokers accept that premise.

As Birgitte Messerschmidt and Marty Ahrens report in their recent comprehensive overview of fire safety trends since the 1980s, there are far fewer smokers now and a significant percentage of them choose to go outside before they light up. That has been influential in the evolving tableau of fire risks in multiresidential buildings. We summarize some of Messerschmidt and Ahrens’ findings in this issue.

Risk abatement in general relies on the same kind of social buy-in that has made indoor smoking prohibitions the unquestioned status quo. It also depends on a large measure of good faith on the part of those expected to comply with rules and conditions for keeping people safe and the environment unharmed. In a vast number of situations, inspectors or enforcement agents don’t arrive on the scene until after something bad has happened.

Like so much else over the past 20 months, COVID-19 brings a timely focus to those intertwined aspects of acknowledgement of risk, willingness to modify behaviour in the interest of others and fulfillment of often unpoliced obligations. Commercial tenants’ demands for vaccination attestations now put landlords in the uneasy position of certifying that their employees and their contractors’ employees have done all of the above, but it’s not necessarily a radical add-on to the sweeping responsibility they already legally carry under an occupier’s duty of care.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) may have somewhat more imposing clout to set conditions for landlords providing space for federal government employees, but companies big and small are making similar requests. In Ottawa, where dozens of members of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) accommodate federal government departments, foreign consulate offices and/or one of the host of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) headquartered in the city, they’re approaching it as another due diligence exercise.

“It’s just another piece of paperwork that they didn’t have to do before March 2020, but they do have to do now, and they are working within those new parameters,” observes Dean Karakasis, Executive Director of BOMA Ottawa.

We look at those efforts in this issue, and also explore more longstanding due diligence exercises related to life safety and environmental liability.

Barbara Carss barbc@mediaedge.ca @BarbaraCarss

Canadian Property Management | October/November 2021 3

contents

Focus: Risk Management 8 Personal Environmental Liability: Individuals are increasingly being named in civil proceedings and regulatory orders and prosecutions.

12 Vaccination Attestations: Major tenants are asking commercial landlords to vouch for the status of their workforces and contracted service providers.

16 Inspection Organizer: Digital tracking can streamline compliance administration.

20 Multi-residential fire safety: Evolving technologies and societal habits have altered the risk profile since the 1980s.

Articles: 6 Advancing Accessibility: Removing barriers in buildings expected to improve opportunities for commercial real estate.

26 Post-CERS Relief: Two new 28-week programs are geared to a smaller cohort of businesses still struggling with pandemic-related revenue loss.

28 Parity Progress: Public real estate companies above average for women’s representation on boards and in executive offices.

31 Climate Action Dividends: CREST Awards in sync with UNEP strategies.

33 Energy Briefs: Ontario to open up Green Button access and demonstrate community net metering.

34 Pandemic Recovery Support: Toronto introduces two 3 Editor’s note new grant programs for upgrades to street front commercial properties.

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ADVANCING ACCESSIBILITY Barrier-Free Routes to Market Opportunity

By Barbara Carss THE PREMISE of accessibility is the simple right to equal opportunity. From that impetus, many commercial real estate operators are making the simple business case for buildings that are functional for all potential users.

It’s a quest that can begin with simple investigations, simple low-cost measures and simple mindfulness, whether at the design stage of new developments or in r e - eva lu a t i ng r o u t i n e p r o p e r t y ma nagement practices. A recent REALPAC-sponsored webinar exploring efforts to identify and alleviate barriers in the built environment touched on all those themes.

“Since 80% of disabilities are acquired between the age of 16 and 64, it’s important to remember that anyone can become a person with a disability at any time,” noted Kris Kolenc, REALPAC’s

Research and Sustainability Manager.

“As commercial real estate owners and managers, we have a unique and crucial role to play in supporting accessibility w it h i n o u r b u i ld i ng s a n d o u r organizations, both for our employees and for our customers.”

Discussion focused on strategies for assuming that role and some of the resources available to help facilitate it. In the latter category, Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) is emerging as an industry standard for gauging how buildings perform for users with mobility, vision or hea r ing impairments, while Pedesting is a navigational app that guides users to their destinations along the most convenient possible barrier-free pedestrian routes and, as a by-product, delivers telling analytics to property managers.

6 October/November 2021 | Canadian Property Management

FILLING INFORMATIONAL GAPS “You can start to see where the barriers and problems are. In a shopping mall, for instance, maybe there’s a whole wing where people with disabilities are not going.

There must be a reason why,” advised Erin Shilliday, a Calgary-based architect and Co-founder of Pedesting. “We can rate the pedestrian experience through their spaces, of what is working and what’s not. That is fantastic information for a building owner.”

His business colleague, Pedesting Co-founder Nabeel Ramji, who relies on a power wheelchair for mobility, tallied the many daily challenges he encounters in urban spaces and buildings, and the degree of advance planning that entails. It all infringes on the independence and impromptu experiences that able-bodied people unthinkingly enjoy.

accessibility “As a result of this lack of independence, sometimes I feel isolated or having missed out on opportunity that change may offer,” Ramji said.

The navigational app is principally a tool to provide users with some certainty in terrain that remains fraught with inadvertent or purposeful obstacles. Similarly, QuadReal Property Group sought the informed insight of RHFAC professionals in an effort to fill some gaps in the company’s stated agenda to embrace responsibility and reflect excellence.

“We identified that we didn’t know much about accessibility in our portfolio,” recounted Meirav Even-Har, QuadReal’s National Manager, Wellness and Healthy Buildings. “We know we follow code, but how much universal design do we integrate into our existing stock? And how do we future-proof buildings in order to make sure, that as a company that also values inclusivity, our buildings are inclusive for everyone?”

LOW-PRESSURE LEARNING EXPERIENCE To begin, 19 buildings, including multifamily high-rise, office towers and a shopping centre, were registered for RHFAC assessments. They’re now enrolled in the Buildings Without Barriers Challenge — a joint initiative of the Rick Hansen Foundation and the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada, which encourages commercial real estate operators to undertake RHFAC assessments in at least three buildings — in addition to serving as a pilot for the rollout of accessibility improvements throughout the portfolio.

Even-Har commended the RHFAC assessment process for its ease, particularly at a time when building managers are taxed with pandemic response obligations, and for the revelatory perspective she gained.

Credentialed RHFAC professionals evaluate building performance in eight different aspects of built space — vehicular access; exterior approach and entrance; interior circulation; interior services and environment; sanitary facilities; signage, wayfinding and communications; emergency systems; and additional use of space — to derive a score for meaningful accessibility.

That’s meant to give an indication of how people with a range of mobility, vision and hearing abilities might be expected to navigate, interact with structural and design features, and comprehend and respond to emergency signals and evacuation

procedures in a building and its related site.

RHFAC professionals also explain their scoring decisions while touring the property with management staff and provide recommendations for improvement.

“In this industry we are just so accustomed to certification programs that feel like you are cramming for a horrible exam. It’s nerve wracking; there are consultants involved; it’s a huge thing. With this (RHFAC) process, there was no pressure,” Even-Har observed. “Going through the process was actually a really pleasant surprise because of what we’ve been conditioned to and because of the wonderful learning experience of participating on the tour.”

All 19 properties have attained RHFAC Accessibility Certified status, meaning they scored in the 60 to 79% range. Beyond this, QuadReal has re-engaged the RHFAC professionals for follow-up virtual meetings with property management teams to discuss their findings and view photos from the assessment process, as well as for on-site tours with select team members to help them set priorities for required work DOABLE IMPROVEMENTS “There’s lots to learn, but it has been absolutely fascinating because you rediscover your buildings. You realize there is so much to do, and a lot of it is things that are doable, that can go into operational budgets,” Even-Har said.

“Very often we tend to think about the built environment in terms of fixing, designing and making changes to it, but it can be something as easy as standardized training for building staff,” concurred Kevin Ng, Acting Director, Accessibility Certification, with the Rick Hansen Foundation.

That said, the program does focus on the development stage with a target that all new construction should ultimately be RHFAC Accessibility Certified Gold, indicating it has achieved a score of at least 80%. Toward that end, the pre-construction rating stream is aimed at finding and correcting design issues before they are committed to less easily reversible forms.

“It can help avoid creating any new barriers. It helps you reduce the need for costly retrofits in the future,” Ng said.

Meanwhile, Shilliday, who is also a certified RHFAC professional, enumerated a fairly modest premium for getting it right in the first place.

“If it’s thought through early in the design, the delta in the construction cost is 1 or 2%. It’s not a money thing. It just needs to

be thought through in the beginning,” he maintained.

INDUSTRY AGENDA The still embryonic stage of the federal Accessible Canada Act, which was adopted in 2019, and long timelines for compliance in various provincial accessibility statutes have largely ceded the way for self-directed leadership in commercial real estate.

Accessibility champions look to parallels with the green building and climate action movements as a model for how to proceed, suggesting that momentum could build in the same way through collaborative learning, competitive drive and growing recognition of the paybacks.

Webinar sponsor, REALPAC, counts many of Canada’s largest commercial real estate companies and investment managers among its membership, and prominent companies that have been leaders in green cer t if icat ion a nd envi ron ment a l performance benchmarking exercises like LEED, BOMA BEST and GRESB are already signed on to the Barrier-free Buildings Challenge. They brought a total of 61 properties to vie for the 2021 awards, which were recently announced at BOMA Canada’s online annual conference, BOMEX Virtual.

“ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager peaked in Canada in part through industry associations like REALPAC really having helped push the agenda. So let’s make this our agenda,” Even-Har urged. “I have been so inspired by some of the work that we’ve been doing as an industry when it comes to sustainability. I really think we can get together and create a way to push ourselves and share some learning, share some best practices.”

Shilliday underscored the potential returns in market share and human capital. Both have been a tangible reality for him through his product and his alliance with Ramji.

“You are missing out on 20% of the market ostensibly by not having accessibility,” he said. “I am wondering how many Nabeels we’re missing out on. Would we not be a better, stronger, more interesting society if all those people, who I know are out there, are represented and part of our everyday lives?” zz For more information about Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification, see the website at: www.rickhansen.com/becomeaccessible/rating-certification. For more information about Pedesting, see the website at: https://pedesting.com.

Canadian Property Management | October/November 2021 7

riskmanagement

BEYOND CORPORATE

CONSEQUENCES Personal Environmental Liability Figuring in Civil and Regulatory Legal Actions

By Barbara Carss PERSONAL L I A B I L I T Y i s a mounting possibility for directors, officers and supervisors of orga n i z at ion s t hat r u n a fou l of environmental regulators or are on the losing side of civil litigation.

Du r i ng a re cent on l i ne sem i na r add ressing l iabil it y a nd r isk m a nagement , p r a ct it ione r s w it h

Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers outlined some scenarios in which individuals could be tagged to share responsibility for a corporate failing or even solely ca r r y the blame for environmental mishaps if organizations can prove their own due diligence.

This is occurring with more frequency in both civil actions involving disputes

8 October/November 2021 | Canadian Property Management

between private parties and in regulatory orders a nd prosecutions seek ing compliance and recompense under public statutes. Some environmental legislation also includes avenues for offending parties to be found civilly liable, presenting a potential doublew h a m my o f c o n s e q u e n c e s fo r transgressors.

riskmanagement “In the regulatory sphere, if there’s a spill, the corporation may be charged, but so too may be the people with management control. We’re seeing, for example, contractors, consultants and mine managers brought into an order or into a prosecution.

Sometimes that’s the regulator looking for deeper pockets or looking for leverage,” observed Richard Butler, a partner and litigator at Willms & Shier. “We’re starting to see the same thing in civil liability with the person in charge of the corporation being drawn into a lawsuit.”

ACTIONABLE INCIDENTS Environmental orders are the first instrument that provincial or federal officials deploy to enforce rules, halt environmentally damaging activity and compel any necessary remediation. From there, regulators can turn to prosecutions to address non-compliance or pursue punitive measures.

Joanna Vince, a Willms & Shier partner and a certified specialist in environmental law, stressed that although orders can be appealed, they are mandatory unless they are formally stayed, and recipients will likely be inviting grief upon themselves should they ignore them. This is also when individuals will get notice if they have been personally implicated.

“Companies and corporate directors, officers, owners and those with management and control over a property, business or undertaking, as well as municipalities, can all be named in environmental regulator y orders.

Regulators’ ability to issue orders is very broad. That includes who can be ordered as well as the content of the order,” Vince noted. “We’ve seen situations where environmental orders were issued to flow-through property owners who were not the source of contamination, to former corporate directors and officers, and even to an accountant who had power of attorney on a contaminated property.”

Looking to the civil arena, Jacquelyn Stevens, a partner at Willms & Shier and a certified specialist in environmental law, summarized the causes — nuisance, strict liability, trespass to land, breach of contract and negligence — commonly at the centre of private disputes, all of which could potentially involve the naming of individuals. Breach of contract, for example, underscores the many players that can be involved in commercial real estate transactions, leasing, management and maintenance agreements.

“The disputes we see often relate to situations where contamination is found after a deal has been completed.”

“Where it often arises is where there are representations or warranties in agreements of purchase and sale that require compliance with the laws, or the requirement to not use hazardous substances, or there may be remediation obligations,” Stevens said. “The disputes we see often relate to situations where contamination is found after a deal has been completed. The purchaser may sue the vendor pursuant to the terms of that agreement of purchase and sale, or the purchaser may sue their consultant under their contract for failing to identify the contamination prior to the sale.”

CIVIL AND REGULATORY CROSSOVER She also pointed to provisions in some provincial statutes that allow for civil action against regulatory transgressors. For example, offenders who have been found responsible for contamination under British Columbia’s Environmental Management Act can also be civilly sued for recovery of remediation costs. That would be in addition to any fines owing for the regulatory violation.

“Section 47 [of the Act] provides the mechanism that says a person who is responsible for remediation is liable to any person or governmental body for reasonably incurred costs of the remediation of that site.” Stevens advised. “This could be a current or former owner or operator.”

These general principles also hold sway in Ontario, where Butler identifies a 2015 Court of Appeal decision as the impetus for a subsequent new approach to awarding damages. Section 99 of the provincial Environmental Protection Act, dealing with compensation for spills, states that transgressors are liable to whomever will have to pay for the cleanup.

“That’s a crossover of civil and regulatory liability,” Butler reiterated.

Under earlier interpretations, violators were typically required to pay reparations equivalent to the diminution of property value that the spill and resulting contamination caused. However, in this

case, t he Cou r t of Appea l t ied compensation to the cost of remediating the contamination and also found the company owner personally liable.

“That’s piercing the corporate veil, going through the corporation and looking at the language in the statute that says ‘the person having control over the pollutant’, which was determined to be the owner because he controlled the corporation on such a day-to-day level,” Butler explained.

MAKING THE CASE Legal formalities differ in civil actions and regulatory prosecutions, but there are many key similarities in how prosecutors and plaintiffs must prove their case and how defendants can refute accusations. Unless a case reaches the Supreme Court of Canada, decisions made in one jurisdiction don’t establish rigid precedents further afield.

“Case law in Canada doesn’t necessarily apply from province to province. It’s not binding on the judges in a different province, but it is persuasive,” Stevens said.

In the civil arena, plaintiffs have to prove defendants’ liability and their own damages.

There is also a limited period to make the claim, which begins counting from the time it’s deemed plaintiffs became aware of contamination. “If you discover an issue, you have two years in Ontario,” Butler said.

The Crown carries the burden of proof in regulatory prosecutions and defendants have a number of strategies to prove they are not guilty of contravening an environmental law. Of these, due diligence is commonly dubbed the “big defence”, but other recognized valid arguments include: • officially induced error: if the defendant relied on a regulator’s flawed advice or authorization, which then unwittingly brought about the prosecution; • necessity: if the defendant can show that an environmental incident was triggered to avoid imminent danger; • de minimis: if the defendant can show t h a t t h e c on s e que nc e s of a n environmental incident are trivial and do not merit a finding of guilt; or Canadian Property Management | October/November 2021 9

riskmanagement • improper gathering or sharing of evidence on the regulator’s part.

For the first three defences, Vince empha si z e d t he i mp or t a nc e of documentation and demonstrating a conscientious approach to management, operations and decision-making.

“It’s important to know, with de minimis: What was the impact to the environment?

What steps could you take to minimize it?

With officially induced error, when a regulator tells you something, make sure you document that. With necessity, show that you weighed your options, that you looked at the potential impacts and you made a choice out of necessity,” she instructed.

DEMONSTRATING DUE DILIGENCE Those steps are also aligned with the cornerstone of proving due diligence — environmental management systems. Due diligence, which was verified as a full defence against an environmental offence in a 1978 Supreme Court of Canada decision, is premised on two possible scenarios: that

“Regulators’ ability to issue orders is very broad. That includes who can be ordered as well as the content of the order.” the defendant took all reasonable steps to prevent the offence from occurring, or; the defendant had a reasonable belief in a mistaken set of facts.

“For the first branch, you do not have to exercise superhuman efforts, but you must exercise reasonable care. What this means is a high standard of awareness and decisive, prompt, continuing action,” explained John Georgakopoulos, a Willms & Shier partner and certified specialist in environmental law. “Under the second branch, mistaken fact, you have to have reasonably believed in a set of facts, which, if true, would render the act or omission innocent.”

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An environmental management system, such as those aligned with the widely employed ISO 14000 standard, provides the framework for organizations to demonstrate that high standard and serious intent.

Georgakopoulos cited the example of a company that avoided conviction because it successfully proved its employee’s action in triggering a spill was contrary to policies, procedures, training and consistent messaging in the workplace.

More importantly, environmental management system can help instill procedural rigour that leads to better overall environmental vigilance.

“Although due diligence can be a complete defence to a prosecution, it’s not a defence to a civil claim. However, many of the elements of due diligence can be good evidence for defendants in a civil claim and can also help to avoid environmental incidents that give rise to civil claims,” Georgakopoulos added.

To effectively mitigate liability risks, he urged organizations to first gain a full understanding of the environmental impact of their operations and the potential vulnerabilities in their control systems.

From there, they should undertake due diligence to address those vulnerabilities and also consider liability protection.

The latter might include indemnities in contractual agreements, making use of regulatory liability protection such as Ontario’s records of site condition or Alberta’s remediation certificate, and environmental insurance.

“Director and officer insurance usually excludes environmental matters so if you are a corporate director or officer, it is beneficial to explore the potential benefits of environmental liability insurance given the common exclusions that we see in D&O policies,” Georgakopoulos said. zz For more information about the Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers webinar s e r i e s , s e e w w w . w i l l m s s h i e r. c o m / resources/webinar-series

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PANDEMIC PAPERWORK Vaccination Attestations Becoming a Common Demand

By Barbara Carss PANDEMIC PAPERWORK is b e com i ng more volu m i nous for commercial landlords as a growing list of influential tenants ask for proof that building personnel have two valid COVID-19 vaccinations, but industry insiders suggest it’s in line with health and safety obligations that are already well understood. Building owners/ managers should be acutely aware of their duty of care for occupants, visitors and even trespassers on their properties,

and have due diligence in place to ensure contractors and sub-contractors know the rules and their responsibilities.

“Most office owners that I know have required all of their on-site management and maintenance staff such as janitorial, security and other external contractors to be fully vaccinated,” observes Michael Brooks, Chief Executive Officer of REALPAC, which counts many of Canada’s largest commercial real estate companies and investment managers

12 October/November 2021 | Canadian Property Management

among its membership. “It’s not a surprise that tenants are calling on landlords to confirm this, and the anticipation of this [tenants’ demands] is why so many building owners are pre-emptively requiring it of their staff and suppliers.”

The Canadian government is one of those tenants. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has instructed the landlords of all buildings where it holds leases to submit attestations

by October 29 certifying that all building

riskmanagement personnel, including contractors and subcontractors, entering into federally leased premises will be properly vaccinated.

That’s ahead of the November 15 enforcement date for the vaccination mandate in the federal public service.

OTTAWA LANDLORDS AFFECTED The directive is prompting something of a cascade of attestations in Ottawa’s commercial real estate market as landlords look in turn to their service providers for proof they can meet the government’s conditions. At least 50 corporate members of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Ottawa accommodate public service tenants, while various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) based in the city and consular officials of foreign governments are setting similar policies.

“Our members, in good faith, are just trying to comply. They’re going to get attestations from their contractors and provide attestations to PSPC as required, and do the best they can,” says Dean Karakasis, Executive Director of BOMA Ottawa. “It’s just another piece of paperwork that they didn’t have to do before March 2020, but they do have to do now, and they are working within those new parameters.”

A recent survey revealed that upwards of two-thirds of BOMA Ottawa corporate members already required proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 tests from their own staff and contractors coming into their buildings, while supplier members faced the same requirements from many clients, particularly in the health care and education sectors. An absence of feedback on PSPC’s announcement has Karakasis concluding that the membership is largely unruffled at the prospect.

While PSPC’s advisory states “landlords who do not provide the required attestation, or who are subsequently discovered to have provided a false attestation, may be subject to additional measures”, few landlords are issuing warnings of their own.

“None of our members are talking in terms of firing people who are not vaccinated at this point, but policies could change,” Karakasis acknowledges. “We’ll all adapt as things go forward.”

NOT TAMPER-PROOF Compliance experts caution that some of the current frailties in proof-of-vaccination protocol could prove challenging for those now propelled into watchdog

CONSIDERATIONS FOR MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS

By Kristin Ley and Laura Gurr COVID-19 vaccination requirements are not mandated for the use of indoor common space in apartment buildings and condominiums. However, landlords or condominium boards of directors can choose to implement policies. They are advised to consider a number of factors when making that decision, including: • liability for failing to take steps; • financial considerations; • logistics of enforcing the rule (e.g. self-reporting, controlled access system, etc.); and, • the physical aspects of their particular buildings.

It is strongly recommended that any vaccination policy for indoor spaces clearly distinguish between essential indoor spaces, such as garbage/recycle rooms, the mailroom and laundry facilities, versus non-essential indoor spaces like a pool, gym, or lounge area. Landlords should also consider how they will accommodate individuals who cannot get vaccinated on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination, such as a disability or a religious objection to vaccination.

It is critical to recognize that any vaccination policy must comply with applicable privacy laws.

Privacy considerations should be explicitly included in each policy by providing information about how someone’s vaccination status will be collected and used, and how long the information will be retained. Generally, organizations should consider ways to limit the information that they collect and how long that information is retained.

Multifamily landlords and condo boards may also choose to implement vaccination policies for building staff and contractors. Choosing to implement a policy will better protect building occupants and all workers on-site and could also reduce liability risks. Again, these policies must comply with privacy laws, human rights codes and occupational health and safety regulations.

Kristin Ley and Laura Gurr are Partners with Cohen Highley LLP in London, Ontario, a specialist in representing providers of multifamily housing and condominium corporations.

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riskmanagement positions. Notably, it’s easy to forge the PDF-based receipts that provincial health agencies issued widely as records of vaccination which, in some cases, are still being accepted in lieu of scannable QR codes.

“Anybody who has Adobe Acrobat can take a vaccination receipt, make some changes and they’ve got a piece of paper that says they’ve been double-vaccinated,” advises Eric Hartley Gordon, Chief Executive Officer of Entuitive Compliance Inc., a provider of software-based monitoring and management of credentials and regulatory documentation.

It can also be problematic to verify vaccination QR codes outside the jurisdictions where they’ve been issued since there is limited ability to transfer information among various systems in Canadian provinces or U.S. states.

Gordon anticipates increasing interest in and demand for the COVID-19 modules that his company and similar service providers have added to their offerings. Those modules could help streamline monitoring and recordkeeping, support consistent tracking and transparency for national portfolios and,

“It’s just another piece of paperwork that they didn’t have to do before March 2020, but they do have to do now.” perhaps most importantly, quickly flag workers who haven’t provided proof of vaccination.

“In the bigger picture, it’s about liability if something should happen and there’s a lawsuit or an insurance claim or an environment that’s not safe for the workforce,” Gordon asserts.

GETTING BACK TO NORMAL The next couple of months could be opportune to sort out the logistics before office buildings are once again back at full occupancy. That’s particularly the case in Ottawa where many government departments will still be in work-fromhome mode until 2022.

For now, Karakasis reports landlords are maintaining health and safety

14 October/November 2021 | Canadian Property Management

protocols and communicating with tenants about evolving pandem ic responses. Regardless of the extra administrative tasks the vaccination m a n d a t e m ay e n g e n d e r, m a ny commercial landlords are taking heart that it’s a closer step to getting people back into their buildings.

“We’re in constant contact with PSPC. They are trying to let landlords know through us (BOM A O t t awa) a nd directly, as much as possible, the fluidity of their own changes, and we’re mindful and respectful of that.”

K a r a k a sis says. “ R ig ht now t he industry is preparing for the return of office workers and we don’t have a percentage on that, but we’ll prepare as if everybody’s coming back.” zz

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HVAC MAINTENANCE:

KEEPING TENANTS SAFE & COMFORTABLE It’s critical to execute on your building’s mechanical system’s upgrade before the next heating season to make sure you’re providing tenants with fresh, filtered air and a reliable supply of hot water before it’s too late. No doubt, it takes time to plan, order, and install commercial equipment, particularly in light of the current supply chain constraints, and planning replacements in advance of a breakdown will help you manage those risks while ensuring occupants have a safe and reliable heating system in the midst of a global pandemic.

“The last thing property stakeholders want to do is wait until it gets cold to turn on your heater and find out it’s not working,” notes Scott Beneteau, General Manager of Commercial Services at Enercare. “Not only do you risk running against tenant guidelines for providing heat if nothing is working come September, but you could also find yourself vying for a repair appointment time, among other properties.”

By waiting until heating season, he adds, property managers and landlords will need to work swiftly to complete projects to keep the systems safe and reliable throughout the winter season.

A proactive partnership There are many reasons why it’s critical to stay one step ahead of HVAC repairs and replacements. At the same time, there are reasons why property management teams may lack the time, manpower, or expertise to do so effectively. Delegating HVAC maintenance to a trusted and experienced HVAC maintenance partner can help avoid costly and constant system repairs.

This is the thinking behind Enercare’s preventative maintenance program. After working with clients to select a maintenance program that fits, Enercare’s fully-licensed technicians carry out a broad range of inspections and services throughout the year to ensure virtually all heating, cooling, and other HVAC components are operating at peak condition. What’s more, the program grants property teams access to Enercare’s 24/7 Support Centre to handle more timely concerns and emergencies.

In a recent article from The New York Times, over 500 epidemiologists and infectious disease experts suggested that more than 70% of those surveyed had someone in their household who was at high risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19.

This further highlights the need to provide occupants with clean, reliable fresh air.

For more information, please visit: enercare.ca/commercial commercialservices@enercare.ca | 1 855-321-1508

riskmanagement

COMPLIANCE

PROMPT

Digital Tracking for Inspection Details

By Paul Amendola FOR THE PURPOSES of inspection, fire protection is divided into two categories: fire equipment and fire emergency systems.

Fire equipment refers to tools like extinguishers that are on-hand for building occupants and emergency response personnel in the event of a fire. Fire emergency systems are built-in lines of defence, which are designed and engineered to prevent a fire from spreading, and to alert occupants and enable timely evacuation.

A Fire Watch program is imperative to protecting the facility and limiting liability.

Developing and implementing effective procedures to ensure compliance and emergency preparedness will help building/ facility managers oversee the many different elements of fire protection.

ATTENTION-GETTERS Obstructions marring sightlines to fire extinguishers and hoses are one of the most common non-compliance issues related to fire equipment. Fire extinguishers can be overlooked altogether during inspections, particularly if inspectors do not have an inventory to refer to as they make their rounds.

Fire emergency systems typically draw close scrutiny during inspections due to the often complicated rules governing how these systems should function and be maintained.

Larger buildings, particularly high-rises, will typically have many critical systems, which must be able to perform as expected and often in tandem with each other.

Fire inspectors are tasked with ensuring: that firefighters can control and operate elevators with a keyed switch; that egress routes and ventilation are unobstructed; and

that alarm systems and emergency power are operational. They’ll likely pay close attention to areas and/or systems with a high rate of non-compliance such as fire doors and sprinkler valves.

Fire-rated doors are integral to providing passive fire protection, containing and compa r t ment a l i z i ng a f i re a nd safeguarding the path of egress for occupants. The door, frame, hinges, hardware, glazing, glass kit and glass beads must all be intact, secured and in good working order with no missing parts.

Signage must be present and affixed securely, labels must be clearly visible and easy to read, and the doors must be unobstructed.

Inspectors will check sprinkler valves for signs of physical damage or leaks, and will need to ensure that the water pressure is sufficient to extinguish a fire. Building staff need to be particularly vigilant when there is construction work in progress because sprinkler valves may be shut off to enable the work. In that case, extra checks must be performed to maintain safeguards especially if hot work is occurring in the facility.

ORGANIZATIONAL TOOL Digital tracking and coordination of fire protection can streamline logbooks into a more manageable platform and leverage technology to help meet and stay current with regulatory requirements. Near-field communications can ensure that each piece of equipment is visited (reducing false reporting) and system integrations can provide alerts of near-due, overdue and deficient inspection items in an easy way to help ensure compliance.

16 October/November 2021 | Canadian Property Management

With fire equipment, for example, a digital solution can help keep track of the inspection status for each fire hose cabinet (FHC), including remaining inspections, and take the place of inspection paperwork. Building/facility management teams are informed through automated email notifications with daily, weekly and/or monthly summaries outlining if any FHCs were missed or have deficiencies.

Digital solutions also streamline inspectors’ tasks. The digital application can alert them about required follow-up inspections. It also allows them to include photos and notes, look up manufacturing information, upcoming service dates, and instructions and information specific to the equipment they’re inspecting.

The same possibilities apply for fire doors, sprinkler valves and other fire emergency system inspections. Dynamic questions, fields and instructions can be customized according to individual components and inspection needs for each item.

Digitized inspection documents produce building/facility data in an exportable and packaged format that is secure, easily accessible and meets code retention requirements. Inspection data can be collected to generate analytics to forecast future inspection needs and associated costs, and review team performance. zz Paul Amendola is Chief Executive Officer of Tap Report, a Toronto-based firm that specializes in digital inspection documents.

For more information, see the website at: https://tapreport.io/home/

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OUTSOURCING PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING The benefits of trusting your back office to a third-party specialist

I

f managing your back office is bringing you stress, rest assured that you aren't alone. As the property management sector grows in volume and complexity, building teams across the industry are working overtime to manage day-today financial and tenant management tasks.

Not that property management has ever been easy. As any professional in the industry can attest, keeping owners and tenants happy, maintaining asset value, and navigating evershifting rules and regulations has always required a large degree of time, talent and resources.

So what’s different today? In addition to traditional challenges, property managers are being stretched thin in their efforts to keep pace with heightened pandemic measures, tougher economic conditions, growing competition, and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) mandates. Moreover, many are (fortunately) seeing their portfolios grow, requiring more from their back office.

It’s a common challenge in property management. Consider, for example, the tale of “Property Biz,” a hypothetical company that has expanded its business by adding to its portfolio over the last years. This is undoubtedly good news, but that growth

has left Property Biz’s back-office teams struggling to handle the added work and pressures. They’re overwhelmed, understaffed, and at risk of burning out or falling behind while managing critical financial tasks. Moreover, their everincreasing portfolio is increasing demand for people and resources they may not have available.

In short, Property Biz is growing, but it needs support.

Akan T. Rajah, Managing Partner with Assetsoft, has seen this story play out numerous times within the property management community.

"Clients come to us because they are looking for a trusted partner to take some of that back-office load,” he says. “The good news is that there are ways to offload that back office burden so the team can focus on their core business and generating value for their occupants and stakeholders."

OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING With property teams' now asked to divide their focus and talents across an increasing number of responsibilities, keeping the back office in order can be a challenge.

Herein, says Rajah, there is value in pursuing an outsourced

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solution: "We can take all that back-office work off our clients' hands by providing a dedicated and industry-trained team on our end who will handle all their accounting tasks."

And there is no shortage of tasks that Rajah and his team are trained to handle. AssetSoft's third-party accounting services include: • Rent collection & management: Handling the collection and processing of tenant rent cheques, including managing deposits into the client's bank and updating the enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems (e.g., Yardi) accordingly.

Similarly, Assetsoft can take appropriate actions on behalf of its clients when rents are late (e.g., fees, notices, system updates, etc.).

• Vendor management: Collecting vendor invoices, updating ERP systems, and notifying clients when they need to be approved and paid.

• Reconciliations: Managing all reconciliation activities with the bank and other partners as needed.

• Lease audit/abstraction: Conducting third-party audits to confirm that the expenses clients are charging for (e.g., rent, utilities, etc.) are the same as what was agreed upon from the start, and to identify any irregularities or red flags that might save even more costs that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

• Bookkeeping: Ensuring all systems are updated and no accounting information is falling between the cracks.

• Reporting: Creating owner reports to indicate how the building is performing over a period of time.

These are just some of the tasks that can be offloaded to a

trusted third-party accounting specialist. And the keyword, says Rajah, is trust: “Accounting deals with a lot of sensitive information, and it can be hard to pass those off to a third party. That's why the first part of providing relief for our clients is providing them with peace of mind knowing our team is well trained and experienced to take on their accounting tasks with the highest integrity.”

It may take time to establish that trust, he adds. Still, once clients see how the outsourcing process works, and the transparency within, they are happy to let Assetsoft's team do what they do best: "Our offshoring model leverages the strength of conventional outsourcing, but ensures the client has direct control on their business outcomes. Because of this, clients can establish their very own team without worrying about all legal, human resource, and technical requirements."

AN UPSCALING ADVANTAGE The industry is expanding. Demands are mounting. Portfolios are growing. Herein, an additional benefit of outsourcing is the ability to tackle heightened accounting requirements without the need to hire staff.

For example, Rajah says, "When one of our clients buys new buildings, they don't have to worry about finding new staff. All they do is tell us and we expand our team with more people who are fully-trained in back-office accounting and management."

Indeed, outsourcing allows property management teams to offload time-consuming HR tasks, such as staff onboarding, training, and upskilling.

Moreover, adds Rajah, "The costs of bringing new staff on are all absorbed on our end. That includes wages, healthcare plans, insurance, and managing all related tax and labour laws."

BY THE NUMBERS Adding up the advantages, it’s easy to see how outsourcing property management accounting can bring real, long-term value to one’s operations. And today, any extra support goes a long way.

"It's about making lives easier for commercial property management talent," adds Rajah. "Managing a property is much more complex and cost-consuming than it used to be, but like many other modern-day operations, the right partners and technologies can make a huge difference."

The Assetsoft team encourages any questions and inquiries. Email them at learnmore@assetsoftbiz or visit their website at www.Assetsoft.biz.

EVOLVING FIRE RISK FACTORS Technologies and Habits Figure in 40-year Safety Profile of Multifamily Buildings THE ADVENT of sprinklers and dropoff in smokers are two of the most influential fire risk factors in multifamily buildings over the past 40 years. A recently released study of U.S. statistics and trends from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) concludes that the combination of improved suppression and ignition source depletion has reduced the likelihood of fire-related fatalities within residential high-rises, and all dwellings in general, since 1980.

However, analysts highlight other emerging concerns over the same period, tied to an aging population and new types of household furnishings.

“The NFPA Fire & Life Safety analysis shows that the most successful recipe for fire safety in the built environment is the implementation of fire safety technologies through mandated codes and standards,”

assert the study’s authors, Marty Ahrens and Birgitte Messerschmidt. “Most of the common causes of fire are related to human actions or lack thereof. One of the ways to tackle this issue is with continued public education alerting people to the potential dangers of fire and how to prevent them. Another method is reducing the ignition risk by utilizing fire safety standards specific to the products involved.”

The latter tact includes product standards related to cigarette ignition, the ease of operability of disposable lighters, and the ignition point, f la me height and uprightness of candles. Notably, annual deaths in the U.S. attributable to playing with fire dropped from 410 in 1994, at the time consumer protection standards for disposable lighters were introduced, to 50 in 2018.

20 October/November 2021 | Canadian Property Management

In addition, new technologies, energy efficiency directives and evolving consumer preferences have brought LED lighting to replace the incandescent and ha logen bulbs t hat ca n become hazardously hot, and to carve out a growing market share for artificial candles. Although not applicable to multifamily buildings, the study’s authors also credit the surging popularity of gas fireplaces for fewer fires due to castoff burning embers or creosote buildup in chimneys of wood-burning fireplaces.

SPRINKLERS BOLSTER SURVIVAL The data shows impressive life safety performance for sprinklers. Overall, Ahrens and Messerschmidt calculate firerelated death rates in the 2014-2018 period were 86% lower in homes with sprinklers, and high-rise dwellers were

lifesafety particular beneficiaries of that trend.

While just 7% of all U.S. homes reporting fires had sprinklers or some other form of automated extinguishing system (AES), they were present in 48% of the reported fires in multifamily buildings, seven storeys or higher.

The report compares four-year periods in three decades — the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s — and finds a relatively steep drop in the number of high-rise fires between the ‘80s and ‘90s, falling from roughly 10,400 per year to 8,700 per year. The number of fires dipped more moderately over the next 20 years, easing down to an annual average of 8,600 by the 2010s.

However, there was a more marked difference in the average death rate during the three periods, from a high of 6 fatalities per 1,000 fires in an average year in the ‘80s, to an average of 5.1 annually in the ‘90s and to 3.4 per annually in the 2010s.

In multifamily buildings with sprinklers or AES, 89% of deaths during 2014-2018 occurred in the room where the fire originated. Looking across the entire universe of multifamily buildings, deaths

outside the room of origin accounted for 30% of all fire-related fatalities in 20142018 compared to 49% in 1994-1998.

“The decrease in fire deaths in high-rise buildings follows the increase in the use of sprinklers in these buildings,” Ahrens and Messersch m idt state. “W h ile compartmentation is clearly successful in limiting the spread of fire outside the room of origin, adding the additional safety layer of sprinklers can confine even more fires to the object or room of origin.”

WORKING SMOKE ALARMS Multi-family buildings are also less likely to lack fire safety basics. Ahrens and Messerschmidt cite findings of the American Healthy Home Survey conducted in 2018-2019, which revealed that, among respondents, 8.2% of single-family homes and 2% of multifamily dwellings had no smoke alarms present.

More disconcerting, 20.5% of singlefamily homes and 9.4% of multifamily homes did not have working devices.

Looking at reported home fires in 2018, roughly 57% of single-family homes and 28% of multi-family buildings relied on

battery-operated smoke alarms, which operated as intended 82% of the time.

“These differences mean that roughly two of every five reported one- or twofamily home fires had no operating smoke alarms compared to less than onequarter of the reported apartment fires,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt observe. “In 1980, working smoke alarms were only four percentage points more likely to have been present in reported apartment fires than in fires in one- or two-family homes. The difference has grown wider over time. This is one of the main factors contributing to the sharper decline in apartment fire deaths than deaths in oneor two-family homes.”

VULNERABLE OCCUPANCIES Demographic shifts could be bringing new fire safety vulnerabilities to multifamily buildings. Ahrens and Messersch m idt foresee potentia l heightened risk in the increasing numbers of people living alone, particularly if they are seniors and/or have disabilities.

Typically, people have a higher survival rate in fire situations if someone else is

Canadian Property Management | October/November 2021 21

lifesafety also on the scene to alert them to danger, help them evacuate or control the fire.

Death rates due to home fires, measured as the number of fatalities per 1 million people, declined significantly across all age groups between 1980 and 2018. The most improved results were recorded for children under the age of 10, while the lowest overall rate, at just two per million, was registered for youths aged 10 to 19.

At the other end of the scale, the death rate surpassed 10 per million in age cohorts above 50 — at 16 per million for people aged 65 to 74, and topping out at 25 per million in for the 75+ bracket. At the same time, stats from the American Housing Survey show that increasing numbers of people 89+ are living alone, often because a spouse has died or moved to a long-term care home.

“In 2014-2018, 17% of fatal fire victims who were 80 or older were unable to act at the time of the fire. Nearly one-third (31%) had some type of disability,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt report.

The flammability of home furnishings is another major cause of concern.

Statistics show that kitchens were less risky places to be during a fire in the

2010s than in the 1980s, while bedrooms and living rooms were much more dangerous. Synthetic fabrics and polyurethane foam padding burn more quickly than the natural materials, such as cotton and wool, that predominated in the 20th century. Research indicates that flashovers can occur in as little as five minutes when some more recently manufactured furnishings ignite.

“Upholstered furniture and mattresses or bedding accounted for 1 and 2% of the reported fires in 2014-2018, but 17% and 12% of the home fire deaths, respectively,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt note. “These are relatively low-frequency, highconsequence fires. On average, one of every 12 upholstered furniture fires and one of every 26 mattress or bedding fires in 2014-2018 resulted in death.”

The prospect of ignition due to smoking is considerably lower now than it was in the 1980s, although smoking remains a major cause of home fires and fire-related fatalities.

Ahrens and Messerschmidt chart a 77% decline in fires attributed to smoking in the years from 1980 to 2018 and a 62% decrease in fatalities.

In 1980, smoking caused approximately 70,800 fires in U.S. homes versus an estimated 16,100 in 2018.

Total fatalities fell from 1,820 in 1980 to 680 in 2018. However, that translates into a significantly higher death rate in 2018, at 42 per 1,000 fires, compared to 26 per 1,000 fires in 1980.

“Although these fires have become less common, when such a fire has been reported in recent years, it was more likely to be deadly,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt affirm.

In the good news department, it’s estimated that just 17% of the U.S. adult population smokes, compared to 33% in 1980. Today’s smokers also typically smoke fewer cigarettes than smokers of earlier generations, while more smokers habitually step outside their homes before they light up. zz The complete report, Fire Safety in the United States Since 1980, Through the Lens of NFPA Fire and Life Safety Ecosystem, can be found at www.nfpa. org/News-and-Research/Data-researchand-tools/US-Fire-Problem/Fire-Safety-inthe-United-States.

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RBC DELIVERS MODERNIZED PAYMENT SOLUTIONS FOR FASTER, DIGITALLY-ENABLED EXPERIENCE

I

t takes digital solutions to move at the speed of business.

And for a growing number of public and private organizations, that means beginning (or continuing) the path to payment modernization. In an industry where business cheques still represent 98 per cent of the overall cheque value in Canada1, faster, more powerful transactions are crucial to adapting to the digital economy.

To meet this demand, RBC has embraced the journey of modernizing its payments process by implementing innovative new solutions, and was one of the first to market in Canada to offer real-time payment capabilities to its business banking clients.

“Payments modernization is about giving organizations the digital tools and data insights to improve their payment experience and free up time to spend on the things that really matter to them, like growing their business,” says Michelle Brick, Senior Director, Real-Time Payments Digital Integration, RBC. MAKING PAYMENTS CLICK Payments modernization is a future-ready response to contemporary business demands. For years, businesses have relied on manual, batch and paper-based processes, which can be prone to delays and human error. In contrast, payments modernization is about using digital tools and infrastructure to automate the payment process and facilitate simple, reliable transactions.

“With modernized solutions like Interac e-Transfer® for Business or Interac e-Transfer Bulk Receivables, for example, key data, such as invoice details, sender messages, and other information, now travel with each payment,” adds Brick.

“That alone is a major time-saving feature that allows companies to simplify their payment reconciliation process and avoid investigative work that’s often manual and time-intensive for many businesses. When we pair that with the ability to safely exchange payments in real-time, we’re providing businesses with a powerful and efficient new way to move and access funds at a speed that matches their business needs.”

Certainly, one of the biggest promises of payment modernization is the use of data to bring greater transparency, accountability, and automation to the payments process.

“The benefits are huge for businesses in that it improves the passive nature of the whole invoicing process,” adds Gino Di Paolo, Senior Manager, Product Development & Initiatives at RBC. “Data insights and payment confirmation notifications allow clients to know that the recipient has received their funds and outstanding invoices are being Source: Payments Canada, Canadian Payments: Methods & Trends 2020

1

dealt with so that they can continue to focus on other aspects of their business.”

Timing is also a factor. Typically, processing windows were beholden to physical banking hours, and the only way to issue emergency payments outside of brick-andmortar operating hours was with physical cash. In contrast, payment modernization comes with the promise of being able to make payments digitally at any hour, on any day.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2.0 The property management community is ripe for payment innovation. To that end, payment modernization offers more reliable, data-driven solutions in lieu of time-consuming and error-prone manual processes.

According to Rod Hunt, RBC Commercial Banking’s Managing Director for Real Estate Lending, the property management sector is still very reliant on manual processes, and at the end of the day, the idea of modernizing payments is about simplifying things for both their vendors and back-office teams.

Granted, embracing payment modernization comes with an upfront investment, but as Hunt notes, “Most companies would find that the payback period is extremely short and quite often the investments end up having a higher return than they could get elsewhere.”

MAKING SECURITY THE PRIORITY Going digital has its advantages. However, data, security and fraud prevention remain hot topics when it comes to adopting new technologies and solutions in an increasingly digitized world. Brick says securing digital payments is the utmost priority for RBC as it champions the adoption of payment modernization solutions in Canada.

“Modernizing payments requires a very high degree of trust and confidence, and we take those expectations very seriously,” she adds. “RBC is committed to helping clients protect their hard-earned capital and mitigate the risk of fraud by offering effective, industry-leading solutions without compromising the reliability and security of what clients expect.”

USER-FRIENDLY The most cutting-edge systems and reliable digital networks are only effective if they’re embraced by everyday Canadians. To that end, the key to getting businesses on board with payments modernization is making the user experience as seamless as possible.

“There are always nuances to consider with each business, but the overriding goal is to make this digital

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process as easy to use as possible,” adds Brick.

It also helps that embedding automated processes and digital payment capabilities ensures business continuity. With manual and paper-based processes, the loss of an employee can leave their colleagues or replacements scrambling to learn their processes and pick up where they left off.

“In a lot of cases, there are people who are responsible for manual processes and approach those tasks in their own way. The challenge is that when they leave, it can take time to figure out that process and get back on track, whereas automated processes take that key risk out of the organization,” explains Hunt.

MAKING THE LEAP RBC is confident that momentum for payment modernization will continue as businesses embrace this new way to pay.

“It’s a big change for the payments industry, as well as the businesses who are making the leap to embrace new, modernized processes and solutions. But it’s an important shift,” says Brick. “We’re operating in an increasingly globalized and ‘always-on’ economy where speed, simplicity and data insights will provide a critical competitive advantage. Embracing digital, real-time payment solutions and adopting new ways of operating will help leading organizations quickly capitalize on new market opportunities and leverage more advanced technologies in the future.” *Interac e-Transfer is a registered Trade-mark of Interac Corp. Used under license.

CHAMPIONING BANKING INNOVATION

RBC is no stranger to upgrading the banking experience. The financial services leader was the first in Canada to launch Interac e-Transfer Bulk Receivables, and more recently, launched the latest file format for digital transfers that includes ISO-20022 data.

The bank also offers RBC PayEdge™ - the first payments platform offered by a Canadian bank that allows businesses to connect multiple Canadian bank and credit union accounts to easily pay suppliers, contractors and employees. The digital solution allows businesses to pay with multiple payment method options and move funds internationally across more than 130 countries.

RBC was recognized as the winner of the 2021 Celent Model Bank Award for Payments Transformation for its market-leading efforts to deliver such payment innovations and digital banking solutions.

SELECT SUBSIDIES Fewer Recipients to Qualify for Post-CERS Relief

By Barbara Carss A NEW ITERATION of property expense relief will be more bountiful for many recipients than recent payouts of the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS). However, fewer commercial tenants or owner-occupiers will qualify for the 28-week post-CERS programs, launched on October 24.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland a n nou nc e d t wo new st r e a m s of targeted support measures just days before CERS expired. Lockdown support, equivalent to 25% of eligible property expenses for the affected period, will also remain available for bu si n e ss e s wh e r e publ ic h e a lt h restrictions result in a minimum 25% erosion of revenue.

Relief will be offered until May 7, 2022, with potential for a further eight-week extension to July 2.

“We are announcing what we very much hope and believe is the final pivot

in delivering the support needed to ensure a robust recovery,” Freeland remarked. “Our economy is rebounding and we are winning the fight against COVID. It is also true, though, that the recovery is uneven and the health measures that are saving lives continue to restrict some economic activity.”

The government has established what it terms “two-key” eligibility for the new programs, which requires applicants to demonstrate a loss of revenue during a protracted period of the pandemic, as well as an ongoing struggle to catch up.

This is meant to target a smaller number of beneficiaries with the most profound need at a time when many former CECRA and/or CERS recipients have regained momentum.

“We had appealed to the government to implement some kind of extension, and we think this is a good approach,” says Brooks Barnett, Director of

26 October/November 2021 | Canadian Property Management

Government Relations and Policy with REALPAC. “There are some businesses that obviously have need for that extra support. Restaurants, in particular, are still trying to recover and they’ve faced some regionally based challenges with some provinces having been in lockdown longer than others.”

For exa mple, Dea n Ka ra kasis, Executive Director of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Ottawa notes that many of the city’s restaurateurs and retailers continue to suffer as they wait for federal government departments to lift workfrom-home directives that have been in place for more than 19 months. “Although it’s not a lockdown, it has the same effect,” he says.

TARGETED PROGRAMS The new Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program will subsidize wages

pandemicresponse

“Restaurants, in particular, are still trying to recover and they’ve faced some regionally based challenges with some provinces having been in lockdown longer than others.” million beginning Oct. 24. That’s in keeping with recommendations that a coalition of commercial real estate associations — including REALPAC, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and the real estate development organization, NA IOP — subm it ted to Deput y Prime Minister Freeland earlier this year.

“The overall coverage point for multi-locational tenants was too low to provide sufficient support for those with a number of locations. Raising that to $1 million is a lot more in line with true costs,” Barnett maintains.

CONCERN ABOUT EXCLUSIONS Meanwhile, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) is expressing concern for businesses that have been excluded. It’s calling for less onerous revenue-based criteria for admittance and a broader definition of what constit utes a tou r ism a nd hospitality operator.

“Gyms, recreation facilities like b owl i ng a l leys, d a nc e st ud ios, drycleaners all continue to suffer massive COVID-related losses, but may be ineligible for the higher levels of support,” says Dan Kelly, the CFIB’s president. zz

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and property expenses for businesses that have suffered both a minimum 40% decline in revenue in the 12-month period from March 2020 to February 2021 and a minimum 40% decline in the months pertinent to their applications.

Until March 13, 2022, qualifying businesses — which might include hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and tour operators — can receive subsidies on par with the level of revenue loss, up to a maximum of 75% of eligible costs. That will be reduced by half for the remaining eight weeks, taking subsidies down to the range of 20 to 37.5% of eligible costs.

Other types of enterprises that experienced revenue drops of at least 50% during the March 2020 to February 2021 reference period and also record 50% declines relative to pre-pandemic times in the months between now and May 7 are eligible for the new Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program. Funding is more modest than allocations for the tourism and hospitality sector, with a formula that provides subsidies to cover 10 to 50% of qualifying wage and property expenses during the first 20 weeks of the program, and 5 to 25% for the period after March 13.

The diminishing subsidies follow a pattern seen in CERS, which pushed down maximum coverage thresholds over the final four months of the program. Those dipped from the original 65% to 60% on July 4, then to 40% on August 1 and finally to 20% on September 26.

“On a per business basis, the new programs are more robust than under CERS. There will be fewer entrants to the programs overall, but they will be well compensated for revenue losses,” Barnett says. “We think this is a fair levelling off of the support.”

He also commends the decision to i ncrease t he ceil i ng for el igible property expenses for applicants with more than one business location.

Un d e r C E R S , it t o p p e d o ut a t $300,000, but it will be elevated to $1

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PLODDING PARITY PROGRESS

Diversity Disclosure Tracks Evolving Hierarchies in Public Companies WOMEN A R E s om ewh a t mo r e conspicuous i n com mercia l rea l e s t a t e’s e x e c u t i v e s u i t e s a n d boardrooms than is the average for Canadian companies that disclose such information to regulators and unit/ shareholders. A recently released report on diversity disclosure practices in public companies, from Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP, draws findings from 629 companies that revealed the gender breakdowns of their boards and 575 companies that enumerated women executive officers as of July 31, 2021.

Results show that women are gaining presence in these top echelons, but are still very much the minority.

“The Canadian public company boards continue to add more women directors at a steady pace. The rate at which women are being appointed this year reached its highest level yet, with women filling 39.1% of the newly created or vacated board seats, a significant increase compared to a rate of 35% last year,” observe the report’s authors, Andrew MacDougall, John Valley and Jennifer Jeffrey. “Women are making very little progress at the executive officer level. The

28 October/November 2021 | Canadian Property Management

proportion of women executive officers increased slightly to 18.2% from 17% last year, but is largely unchanged since 2015 (when it was 15%), and only 10.7% of TSX-listed companies have targets for women executive officers (largely unchanged from last year).”

This is the seventh year that TSX-listed companies have provided numbers aligned with the “comply or explain” rule. It requires venture issuers to report whether they have written policies, procedures and targets for bringing women onto boards and into executive officer roles or to explain why they do not.

humanresources ACUTE ABSENCES Additionally, beginning in 2020, amendments to the Canada Business Corporation Act (CBCA) expanded the field of designated disclosers to cover all distributing corporations — i.e. to include those that trade on other exchanges inside or outside of Canada — with requirements for separate reports related to visible minorities, Indigenous peoples and people with disabilities. For the first seven months of this year, 318 companies offered data that indicates the modest to miniscule presence of these three additional groups within their top leadership.

Visible minorities filled 6.8% of disclosed board positions, while Indigenous peoples and people with disabilities each accounted for 0.5%. Visible minorities hold executive officer positions at 71 companies, while just eight companies count people with disabilities in their executive offices and a mere two companies have Indigenous executive officers.

The analysis reveals greater evidence of stated intent. More than one third of disclosing companies report that they have written policies committed to expanding the diversity of boards, while “a substantial portion” confirms that diversity is one of the decision-making factors for executive officer appointments. However, for now, companies are more likely to have stated policies pertaining only to women.

“In order to make progress on diversity beyond gender, public company boards will need to change their approach to the identification and appointment of directors from these designated groups,” MacDougall, Valley and Jeffrey conclude.

“While we acknowledge that issuers must generally rely on executive officers to self-identify as being a member of any of the prescribed designated groups, the low numbers reflected above indicate that there is nonetheless significant room for improvement.”

REAL ESTATE Real estate ranks fourth among 13 identified sectors for the percentage of women holding executive officer positions. That’s pegged at an average of 2.06 women per disclosing real estate company or 24% of executive officer positions versus an average of 1.69 women per company or 18.2% of executive officer positions across all disclosing companies.

The report cautions that differing approaches to leadership structure and the size of executive ranks can skew sector-to-sector comparisons. “This explains why in the real estate industry, for example, the average number of executive officers is close to the overall average, but women represent a relatively high percentage of the executive officers,” it notes.

Accordingly, 3.19 female executive officers per company translates to 23% of such roles in the financial services industry, while 1.72 female executive officers per company translates to 11% of such positions in the energy services sector.

Real estate ranks fifth, tied with consumer products and services, for the 25% female component of disclosing companies’ boards of directors. That breaks down to an average of 1.91 women directors per board. Meanwhile, women fill 22.1% of board positions across all disclosing companies, equating to an average of 1.83 women per board.

Real estate companies are also highlighted in the report’s best practices section. Artis Real Estate Investment Trust, Dream Impact Trust and Dream Unlimited Corp. are among 10 companies cited for boards of directors with at least 50% female representation.

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humanresources SALARY INCREASES REVERT TO PRE-PANDEMIC INCREMENTS Real estate and construction employers are generally budgeting for salary increases in the range of 2.8 to 3% for 2022. A survey of 829 Canadian companies — which the human resources consulting firm, LifeWorks, conducted in the summer of 2021 — indicates the two sectors will offer slightly more generous top-ups to non-unionized workers’ wages than the projected national average across 21 industry sectors.

The LifeWorks analysis also finds a substantial majority of employers expect to convey annual incremental increases in 2022 after two years when pandemic-related freezes were prevalent. More than a third of survey respondents imposed salary freezes in 2020 and 12% kept freezes in place for 2021, while just 3.3% definitively plan to do so next year. Although another 18% are undecided and leaving the possibility of salary freezes open, the report notes that 46% of respondents identified themselves as undecided heading into 2021.

“Our analysis reveals that the overall average base salary increase will be 2.7% excluding salary freezes and 2.5% including salary freezes. These figures are more in line to pay increases experienced in past years [prior to the pandemic], suggesting a more optimistic sense of pay restoration,” the report states.

When factoring in the large percentage of salary freezes in 2020, the average base salary rose just 1.6% for the year, compared to 2.4% in 2019 and 2.5% in 2018. In practice, 64% of workers received an average salary increase of 2.2% last year, while 36% stayed at the same level as their previous year’s earnings.

In 2021, employees across the 49 construction firms participating in the survey saw gains of 2.3% on their base salaries. However, the workers who actually received increases (i.e. excluding companies with freezes in place) got an average 2.6% bump up in earnings. Next year, they can look forward to a projected 3% increase.

Surveyed construction employers are based in four provinces — British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec — although many of them are national firms with projects and workers across Canada.

Employers in the real estate, rental and leasing sector were more likely to impose salary freezes in 2021. Across 16 surveyed companies, the base salary rose an average of 2.%, but the workers who actually received raises did much better. The average salary increase jumps to 2.7% when wage freezes are eliminated from the calculation. Next year, a further 2.8% top-up is projected.

The 16 surveyed companies are based in six provinces — British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia — but some have national portfolios and employees throughout the country.

For more information about the LifeWorks 2022 Salary Projection Survey, see https:// lifeworks.com/en/resource/2022-salary-projection-survey-report.

Real estate ranks fourth among 13 identified sectors for the percentage of women holding executive officer positions.

Corp., MCAN Mortgage Corporation., Chartwell Retirement Residences, Melcor Developments Ltd., Melcor Real Estate Investment Trust and Dream Impact Trust are among 22 companies flagged for executive officer contingents of at least 50% women.

SOME EXPLANATIONS MISSING The percentage of public companies that lack diversity policies and practices continues to shrink, but remains a stubborn to sizeable fraction. As of mid-year 2021, about 67% of disclosing companies have written policies specifically tied to

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identifying and nominating women board candidates and about 32% have set targets for female board membership.

Nearly 83% of companies confirm they take female representation into account when identifying and appointing executive officers, but fewer than 11% have set targets.

Despite the disclosure rule’s moniker, MacDougall, Valley and Jeffrey note that a significant minority of companies do not explain their inaction. For example, more than 40 of the 209 companies disclosing that they do not have written policies pertaining to the diversity of their boards were silent on the reasons.

The majority that do not set targets for women on boards or in executive positions most commonly cite misgivings about how targets could affect selection processes perceived to be based on merit. “Other reasons included the concerns that targets are ineffective and/or arbitrary or are inappropriate when considering the small number of directors on the board,” the report summarizes.

Generally, larger companies in the TSX-60 index appear to more proactively pursuing gender balance. For example, 98% report at least two women on their boards and 31.5% have at least five women directors. The number of women executive officers — an average of 3.3 per company, filling 21.6% of disclosed executive officer positions — surpasses the overall average, while 20% of TSX60 companies have set targets for increasing women’s representation.

As with other environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, MacDougall, Valley and Jeffrey hypothesize that institutional investors are helping to push the agenda forward.

“Only two companies in the S&P/TSX Composite Index that reported the number of women on their boards had allmale boards, perhaps ref lecting a response to ISS’ (Institutional Shareholders Services) decision that, starting in 2022, it would recommend withhold votes on the chair of the nominating committee of such companies if women make up less than 30% of the board and the board has not adopted a 30% target,” they state. zz The complete report, 2021 Diversity Disclosure Practices: Diversity and leadership at Canadian public companies, can be found online at www.osler.com/en/resources/governance.

REAPING CLIMATE ACTION DIVIDENDS CREST Awards Merge with Net-zero Emissions Pathway

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he global urgency for climate action has an upside companion in global opportunities for strategic investment that could improve people’s lives and yield sustainable returns. Delivering the keynote address during the recent online commercial real estate sustainability trailblazers (CREST) awards, Dr. Richard Munang, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) climate change coordinator for Africa, underscored how the pursuit of net-zero emissions could open up new markets, create jobs and richly reward investors who move in advance of regulatory mandates.

“Not everybody who chased the zebra caught it, but he who caught it, chased it. This African proverb describes a critical asset that precedes success and it is summed up in two words: Taking chances,” Munang submitted.

“Environmental sector players regularly need to take chances and seize opportunities.”

While the landlord-tenant teams participating in the race2reduce — a climate action initiative of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Greater Toronto

aimed at finding energy and water savings and curbing solid waste output within commercial buildings — might not define themselves as direct environmental sector players, they fit into Munang’s broader philosophy of moving key economic sectors onto what he terms the net-zero emissions pathway.

Real estate, he maintains, is particularly well positioned to realize the “economic, social and environmental dividends” of operational savings, enhanced asset value, market influence and emerging new investment asset classes such as energy retrofit and affordable housing.

Citing the findings of the recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the physical factors of climate change, he reiterated that real estate’s current quotient of 40% of total global emissions also gives it the weight to lead the transition to netzero status. Projections for a required USD $4.7 trillion global investment in green buildings over the next eight years represent critical leverage.

“The real question that all of us need to ask today, and also need to answer, is how

the process of reducing these emissions can actually unlock more investment opportunities for the real estate industry as we drive inclusive economic growth,” Munang asserted. “Real estate can enhance the chances of realizing and attracting capital in green developments. This comes with a reorientation where focus shifts from ordinary markets and investments to niche markets and investments that place a premium on green sustainability.”

Along with the tangible reduction achievements gained through low-emission technologies, passive design principles and renewable energy options, he credits “soft” attributes such as passion, inspiration and boldness for generating interest, drawing participation, bolstering commitment and helping to overcome obstacles. That’s also central to the race2reduce and CREST strategy, which harnesses friendly rivalry while creating a context for collaborative efforts toward a larger shared goal.

As Munang affirmed, that shared goal is a momentous one: “In the cycles of life, it happens that big challenges befall one generation which must www.REMInetwork.com

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AWARDS

be solved to guarantee the existence of future generations,” he said. “Climate change is the challenge of our generation. And we have all of 10 to 30 years with which to change the cause and narrative for present and future generations.”

• 100,000 to 500,000 square feet: 1, 3 & 4 Robert Speck Parkway, Mississauga; owned and managed by Colliers International • >500,000 square feet: 100 Wellington Street West, Toronto; owned and managed by The Cadillac Fairview Corporation

The 2021 CREST winners are: Performance Leadership, Electricity • <100,000 square feet: 15 Toronto Street, Toronto; owned by 15 Toronto Holdings Limited; managed by Madison Properties Inc. • 100,000 to 500,000 square feet: 40 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto; owned and managed

by Colliers International • >500,000 square feet: 100 Wellington Street West, Toronto; owned and managed by The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Performance Leadership, Gas • <100,000 square feet: 480 Progress Avenue, Toronto; owned by CIBC; managed by BGIS • 100,000 to 500,000 square feet: 95 Moatfield Drive Toronto; owned and managed by Colliers International • >500,000 square feet: 3381/3389 Steeles Avenue, Toronto; owned and managed by CentreCorp Performance Leadership, Water • <100,000 square feet: 154 University Avenue, Toronto; owned and managed by Colliers International

Performance Leadership, Waste • <100,000 square feet: 154 University Avenue, Toronto; owned and managed by Colliers International • 100,000 to 500,000 square feet: 390 Bay Street, Toronto; owned by Munich Reinsurance Company of Canada; managed

by Avison Young Real Estate Management Services • >500,000 square feet: RioCan portfolio; owned and managed by RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Performance Leadership, Landmark Buildings • Greater Toronto Airports Authority portfolio; owned and managed by Greater Toronto Airports Authority Climate Champion • 100,000 to 500,000 square feet: 90 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto; owned and managed

by Crown Property Management Inc.

• >500,000 square feet: 25 York Street; owned

by Menkes Developments; managed by Menkes Property Management Services Collaborative Excellence, Landlord • <500,000 square feet: 390 Bay Street, Toronto; owned by Munich Reinsurance Company of Canada; managed by Avison Young Real Estate Management Services • >500,000 square feet: 1800 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto; owned and managed

by The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Collaborative Excellence, Tenant • <500,000 square feet: 250 The Esplanade, Toronto; Tenant, Energy@Work; Owner, Berkeley Castle Investments Innovative Excellence • <100,000 square feet: 15 Toronto Street, Toronto; owned by 15 Toronto Holdings Limited; managed by Madison Properties Inc. • 100,000 to 500,000 square feet: 4711 Yonge Street, Toronto: owned by Menkes Developments & Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP); managed by Menkes Property Management Services • >500,000 square feet: 999 Upper Wentworth Street, Hamilton; owned and managed by The Cadillac Fairview Corporation ■

_________________________________________________________________________________________ FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE RACE2REDUCE AND CREST AWARDS, SEE THE WEBSITE AT HTTPS://RACE2REDUCE.BOMATORONTO.ORG/.

CANADIAN BUILDINGS ATOP TOBY INTERNATIONAL FIELD Canadian buildings have topped the international field in seven of 17 categories of The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) awards for 2021. The honours were conferred earlier this fall at the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International annual conference and expo in Boston.

“Canada’s commercial real estate industry continues to set new industry benchmarks, building on their growing reputation as industry leaders,” says Benjamin Shinewald, President and Chief Executive Officer of BOMA Canada.

Northam Realty Advisors captured International TOBYs in two categories. Queens Quay Terminal in Toronto was the winning historical building, while the SouthCreek Corporate Centre in Markham, Ontario, was named best mid-rise suburban office park. Northam manages both facilities, which its Canadian commercial property funds own.

Five other commercial real estate companies are represented among the remaining Canadian winners. These include: • Medical office building, 1128 Hornby, Vancouver, B.C., owned and managed by Wesgroup Properties; • Enclosed Retail, 10 Dundas East, Toronto, owned by 10 Dundas Street Ltd., managed by BentallGreenOak;

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• Open-air Retail, Shops of Oakville South, Oakville, Ontario, owned by Shops of Oakville South Inc., managed by FCR Management Services; • Low-Rise Suburban Office Park, 1-8 Prologis Blvd., Mississauga, Ontario, owned by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) Realty, managed by Triovest Realty Advisors; and • Office 250,000 to 499,999 square feet, 745 Thurlow, Vancouver, owned by 2748355 Canada Inc. and 45 Thurlow Street Holdings Inc., managed by QuadReal Property Group.

The International TOBYs are the third stage of accolades for the seven Canadian winners, which received 2020 BOMA Canada national awards after first capturing regional TOBYs. “BOMA Canada could not be more proud of all those who worked so hard and dedicated so much time to their buildings,” Shinewald says.

Along with the TOBY presentations, Anne Marie Guèvremont, Senior Property Manager with Realterm Logistics based in Dorval, Quebec, was officially inducted as a BOMA Fellow at this year’s BOMA International conference.

That honour, placing her among just 58 BOMA members worldwide to have attained the designation during the past decade, was announced earlier this year.

ENERGY BRIEFS

ENLISTING UTILITIES Data directive and pilot project tap energy distributors to respond GREEN BUTTON TO BE AVAILABLE BY NOVEMBER 2023 Electricity and gas distributors in Ontario must be ready to provide customers with their energy-use data by November 2023, based on a new regulation setting out the rules for the province-wide rollout of the Green Button program. That will ensure the vast majority of electricity and natural gas account holders can get access to, at minimum, hourly consumption data for a period of up to 24-months.

The regulation instructs designated electricity and gas utilities to comply with the North American standards for the program, which were developed jointly by the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) and the non-governmental organization, Green Button Alliance. The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) is currently conducting a consultation on Green Button implementation and will be providing further guidance.

Green Button was launched in 2011 when the United States Whitehouse policy office challenged that country’s utilities to come up with a web-based tool through which consumers could find their energy-use data. It’s estimated that about 60 million U.S. households now have access to their data via Green Button, as do approximately three million Canadian customers of utilities that have voluntarily adopted the program.

“Rolling out the Green Button protocol province-wide is a critical step in enabling customers to take actions to improve building

performance and facilitate our transition to a low-carbon economy,” says Bala Gnanam, Vice President, Sustainability, Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada. “Accurate and timely access to data is fundamental to everything BOMA stands for in the area of operational excellence — energy efficiency, energy literacy, energy management, innovation, compliance and overall building performance.”

Under Ontario’s new rules, account holders will be able to directly request their energy-use information or authorize other parties to do so on their behalf. Energy providers will be expected to establish policies and procedures for access, authorization of third parties and protection of privacy, and to comply with other requirements the OEB may impose.

A handful of electricity utilities, mostly in northern Ontario, are exempted from the requirements. The regulation also provides for potential extensions to the November 2023 deadline for compliance “on the basis of technical or operational reasons that cannot be addressed at a reasonable cost” or if utilities face undue delays related to NAESB scheduling.

The previous Ontario government initially adopted the enabling legislation for the Green Button mandate as part of the former Green Energy Act. The current government transferred the section to the Electricity Act when it invoked the Green Energy Repeal Act in 2018. ■

COMMUNITY NET METERING DEMO PROJECT SELECTED A 70-acre mixed-use development project in London, Ontario, will be a test site for an electricity generation and sharing model known as community net metering. Sifton Properties’ West 5 — now nearing buildout of approximately 2.5 million square feet of commercial and residential space in an array of low-rise to high-rise buildings targeting net-zero energy and water consumption — has been selected to demonstrate the possibilities, working in consort with London Hydro and with the backing of the Ontario government.

“This model is very important in the future of net-zero communities,” says Richard Sifton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sifton Properties.

The concept is an expansion of Ontario’s net metering program, which was enabled through a 2005 provincial regulation. More than 2,000 individual hydro account holders have agreements to generate on-site renewable power to meet part or all of their household/facility demand requirements, and are also connected to the electricity grid so they can pull or dispatch supply as necessary.

Net metered customers receive credits on their hydro bills for the power they send to the grid. However, until the Ontario government enacted a regulation earlier this year to authorize community net

metering demonstration projects, there was no option to allocate those credits to other hydro accounts. The West 5 development will be the first to do so.

“Community net metering allows us to overproduce solar energy on one building, then use that energy in other buildings at West 5,” Sifton explains. “It allows us to continue exploring future opportunities from a community level, not building level. It opens the doors for micro grids, battery storage, high speed bus or car charging.”

As Ontario’s first demonstration project, West 5 is expected to be a learning opportunity for electricity utilities that will also derive insight and data on the environmental and economic impact of renewable energy collectives.

“London Hydro will develop innovative new tools and technology as well as gain valuable experience in installing and operating a microgrid,” predicts Vinay Sharma, the utility’s Chief Executive Officer.

“Net metering innovation harnesses clean, green technology to save taxpayers money — a combination that we all can get behind,” says David Piccini, Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. “I look forward to seeing the results of this demonstration and what net metering can mean for more projects that support a sustainable future.” ■ www.REMInetwork.com

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REBOOT & RECOVER

FRONTLINE IMPROVEMENTS Toronto Offers New Grants for Street-level Commercial Properties

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oronto street front businesses will have access to new grants for commercial property improvements.

City council has approved plans to channel federal COVID-19 relief funds into two separate programs for interior renovations/ retrofits and exterior site upgrades, and has also authorized expanded eligibility for the city’s existing grants for improvements to commercial building facades.

The new Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Program will provide up to $20,000 to cover 50% of the cost of a range of renovation/ retrofit measures including: structural and fire safety upgrades; plumbing, electrical and HVAC upgrades; energy and water-use reduction; flooring, ceiling and wall finishing; installation of affixed furnishings such as counters, shelving and interior signage; and up to $2,000 in design fees. Qualifying applicants can additionally receive up

to $4,000 to cover 50% of the cost of accessibility upgrades.

Grant recipients must be owners or business tenants of street-level commercial premises, and business tenants must also obtain written permission from their landlords to undertake the improvements. Projects must encompass at least three of the eligible upgrades and have a budget of at least $5,000. Owners of multi-unit properties such as plazas and strip malls may qualify for up to $4,000 per unit for other upgrades within that property, to a maximum of $20,000.

The new Commercial and Industrial Property Improvement Grant Program will cover up to 50% of the cost of site improvements, patio installations or outdoor fixtures related to the CaféTO program to a maximum of $5,000. In this case, owners or business tenants of industrial properties are also eligible if the upgrades meet with

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program parameters. All improvements must be visible from a public street or laneway, or a private laneway with public access.

Grants are available for lighting, fencing, ground-mounted signage and permanent landscaping features, but furniture and plant material is excluded. Project costs must tally at least $2,000 to qualify for the program.

Businesses are also eligible for up to $2,500 in additional funding to cover up to 50% of the cost of accessibility upgrades.

Funding for the two new grant programs comes from federal support for Toronto’s pandemic recovery efforts, which was announced in July 2021. From the $18 million bestowed through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, the city has allocated $6 million for the Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Program and $1 million for the Commercial and Industrial Property Improvement Grant Program, to be disbursed over a 30-month period ending in the spring of 2024.

Meanwhile, City Council has decided to lift the previous locational restrictions that made the Commercial Façade Improvement Program available only within business improvement areas (BIAs). Now, owners and business tenants of streetlevel commercial properties anywhere in the city can apply for grants of up to $12,500 to cover up to 50% of the cost of building façade upgrades, including replacement of windows and doors. They can also qualify for an additional grant of up $2,500 for accessibility improvements, and owners of multiunit properties can qualify for an additional $2,500 per unit for work elsewhere on the complex, to a maximum of $12,500.

The city of Toronto will continue to fund this program. In addition to opening it up for citywide applicants, the previous requirement to be free from property tax arrears has also been withdrawn.

Toronto’s economic development and culture division will administer all three grant programs.

As stated in the enabling by-law, which Toronto council adopted on October 1, the programs will be opened for applications on an annual cycle and applications will be considered on a firstcome-first-served basis in order of submission date. Grant recipients will be required to have formal approval before the improvement work begins. ■

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