Think we've given up on fighting for condo owners? Not a chance! Here's an update ..

Hello everyone: Recently the NDP Gov't gave a grant of eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000.00) to the Chinook Park/Kelvin Grove/Eagle Ridge community association in Calgary. This is the 464th grant the NDP Government has given out. I don't begrudge this grant, or any other grant given to worthy initiatives, however, my concern is that I hope there is money available when we need it to set up the long-overdue, desperately needed, Condominium Conflict Tribunal. As a result of this grant, I wrote the following letter to many Alberta major newspapers. “I realize the Community Facility Enhancement Program assists many deserving groups. If the Program’s goal is to “build stronger, healthier and more inclusive communities” we have the perfect environment to fast-track. After the glow of the granite wears off, most condo owners realize no one has the backs of approximately one million Alberta condominium owners when we face questionable condo board/condo manager governance, condo conflict, massive cash calls, and other ownership distresses. As an Alberta condominium owner advocate volunteer who, along with my valued team of condo owners, anxiously await the establishment of the long overdue, critically necessary, Condominium Dispute Tribunal we sure hope the money doesn’t run out before we have our turn. So far, 464 grants have been given out. What do we have to do to be number 465?” In addition to the above, I also wrote to Service Alberta regarding what I, and core members of the ACAT team, see as Service Alberta broken promises: one of which was fast tracking the RECA condominium manager licensing, education, and regulatory program: a program we, as condo owners, will end up paying for through increased condo fees once condo managers have to pay the RECA imposed licensing and education fees. Remember, the real kicker here is that RECA recommends condo owners route their condo manager complaints through their condo board – a board the owner might not like, trust, or believe to be competent OR a condo board who might be behaving badly with the condo manager! Further, why should a condo owner (who is paying the bills) have their privacy violated and potentially subject themselves to gossip, bullying, intimidation, misrepresentation, etc., from a group of condo board volunteers? RECA will, when pressed on this issue, state they will accept direct condo owner – condo manager complaints – when the condo owner identifies the violated “standards of practice” and violated current legislation (as if we are all going to have that information at our fingertips!). We believe it’s RECA’s job to directly hear our concerns and help us establish potential wrong doing. What do you think? You might want to write something similar to what I wrote to your local paper. As an update, the chief bureaucrat at Service Alberta, the former Deputy Minister, Tim Grant, was seconded to the University of Alberta, School of Business, shortly after Service Alberta released their April 19, 2017 update. If you don’t have a copy of that update let me know at info@albertacondominiums.ca and I’ll forward a copy. Now, Service Alberta Minister Stephanie McLean continues to be the ultimate decision maker responsible for condominium legislation and her new Deputy Minister is David Morhart. Assistant Deputy Minister (Consumers) Colin Lloyd and your MLA should also receive any letters you write on condo issues. I hope you do write your concerns because letters matter to Government as each letter is said to translate to the views of a potential five hundred (500) voters. In closing, we are working on two large initiatives that will be announced later so please stay tuned. In the meantime, please have your family and friends sign this petition so that hopefully we will be heard differently in the future than we have been in the past. It’s not looking pretty for condo owners with this legislation so every letter, every voice, every signature, counts. June A. Donaldson