Accommodating addiction-related disabilities a must for employers

Accommodating addiction-related disabilities a must for employers

December 31, 2007

For condominium directors, the balancing act between running a not-for-profit corporation and sustaining a community for families is not easy — but there is hope that the proposed reforms of Bill 106 will rectify some of the weaknesses of the present Condominium Act, write Toronto lawyers Armand Conant and Joel Berkovitz in a recent issue of Condo Voice magazine.

As Conant, partner and head of Shibley Righton LLP’s condominium law department, and Berkovitz, associate in the law firm’s condominium law department, explain, the biggest issue that condos face is the lack of knowledge or education about condos by everyone in the industry, including purchasers, owners and directors.

“Both the changes proposed for Ontario in respect of consumer protection and the establishment of the proposed Condo Authority will deal with education and increasing knowledge about condos. For directors, there will be specific requirements designed to increase their knowledge of condos and improve their governance skill set. The reforms propose to expand the qualifications for directors to bring them in line with the requirements of other corporate law statutes.”

The changes will also require directors to undergo mandatory education, to be set up by the new Condo Authority.

Other proposed amendments, Conant and Berkovitz explain, include amending s. 97 of the current act to broaden the scope of changes which can be made without notice to unit owners, which will give condo boards more authority to undertake work that needs to be done.

It will also be easier to pass new rules.

“Under the present Condominium Act, after a condominium corporation has given notice of a rule, if unit owners requisitioned a meeting to vote on the rule, it would not be effective until it was approved by unit owners. This set up a grey area where meetings were requisitioned but quorum was not achieved, leading many to question whether or not the rule was valid and effective or whether the condominium corporation must keep calling and holding the meeting until quorum is achieved and the rule approved. Under the proposed changes, if there is a requisition then the rule is deemed effective if quorum is not achieved at the requisition meeting,” write Conant and Berkovitz.

For the first time, there will also be a statutory right to quiet enjoyment.

“Bill 106 will prohibit anyone from creating unreasonable noise that is a nuisance, annoyance or disruption to other residents. In addition, the regulations can add to the list of prohibited nuisances."

As Conant and Berkovitz note, the new legislation and its regulations will also set out the types of documents and records that condominium corporations must maintain, as well as their retention period. Condominium corporations will be able to modify the list and retention periods via a bylaw.

Ultimately, Conant and Berkovitz write that Bill 106 will not solve all condominium-related issues, but overall, they say, “it is a big step forward for the evolution of the province’s condominium industry — buying and living in condos and for every condominium community.”