Almost 2 years ago, two letters
reproduced below this article, were emailed to two key figures in The
Provincial Government. Both letters were treated with indifference. Changes
were made to “The Condominium Act”, but one thing remained unaltered; more than
1 million Condo owners in Ontario are still governed with an iron fist by “The Condo Industry”, always ready to
sacrifice the most sacred principles of our democracy to protect its vested
interests.
Sir Winston Churchill is known to
have said that the biggest threat to the freedoms we enjoy in a democracy, is
not the strength of those intent on destroying our institutions, but the
appeasers who are obsessed with peace even if it is purchased by trampling on
the fundamental rights of innocent victims. In several speeches he argued that "...the
appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile innocent victims, hoping it will eat him
last."
Politician in Queen’s Park have
been appeasing The Gods of corporate fanaticism one innocent Condominium owner at
a time hoping that our freedoms will somehow survive the greed that knows no
limit. I am absolutely convinced that we are making a tragic mistake.
Read the two letters and shape
your own conclusions. Please note that changes have been made to the original emails to protect the identity of the
writer and the identity of all the other parties involved.
================================================================
To: kwynne.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Subject: Letter To The Minister
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:53:15 -0400
Subject: Letter To The Minister
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:53:15 -0400
The
Honorable Kathleen Wynne,
Premier
of Ontario
795
Eglinton Ave E. S101
Toronto,
ON M4G 4E4
March 13,
2014
Dear Premier,
The following letter was emailed
to Minister Tracey McCharles, who is currently reviewing the Condominium Act
1998, in an attempt to strike a balance between individual rights and
collective well-being.
It seems that she is unaware that
the Province of Ontario has a government within the government that is more
powerful than the Federal Parliament, and can suspend the protection extended
by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to every Canadian, and not much can be
done to stop the damage this hidden government, made up of property management
corporations and Condominium Boards, is inflicting on our fundamental rights
and freedoms.
In a democracy like Canada, where
our children are taught from a young age that legislative power resides with
the elected representatives of the people, no corporations should be given the
privilege to undermine the Charter of Rights & Freedoms to protect
questionable vested interests, every time they are the subject of a scrutiny by
the freedom of opinion and the freedom of speech.
If Ontarians are unable to
enjoy the full protection of The Constitution and The Charter, because The Provincial
Legislature is powerless to stop the abuses of powerful private corporations,
perhaps we should seek the help of The House of Commons, and the intervention
of The Federal Government. And if Federal elected officials are willing to
tolerate the abuses of private corporations, then we should go to the court of
public opinion and remind our nation that, from 2002 to 2011 we sacrificed 158
men and women of our Armed Forces to save Afghanistan from the clutches of
religious fanaticism, and spread democracy to build a brighter future for that
nation, while ironically we allowed the growth, in our own midst, of a local
brand of corporate fanaticism that knows no boundary in its quest to safeguard
its greed.
Respectfully yours,
…………………………
================================================================
To: tmaccharles.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
CC: consumer@ontario.ca
Subject: Letter To The Minister
Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2014 12:27:23 -0400
CC: consumer@ontario.ca
Subject: Letter To The Minister
Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2014 12:27:23 -0400
Attn: Minister Tracey
MacCharles,
Ministry
of Consumer Services
6th
Floor, Mowat Block
900 Bay
Street
Toronto,
ON M7A 1L2
March 09,
2014
Dear Minister,
In many international forums and
political institutions, scholars, jurists, and academics proudly credit the
Canadian John Peters Humphrey, born on April 30, 1905 in Hampton, New Brunswick as the
architect who drafted “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”
adopted unanimously by The UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948,
based on the strong belief that without basic fundamental rights, humanity will
remain extremely vulnerable to tragedies imposed by totalitarian regimes who
destroyed more than 50 million lives during World War II.
John Humphrey was a firm believer
in the notion that without freedom of expression and unhindered dissemination
of views and opinions, democracies will remain vulnerable, and no progress can
be achieved in the realms of science, art, and the political discourse to build
a just society, without proper safeguards to protect freedom of expression. His
personal convictions were clearly integrated in Article 19 of The Universal
Declaration Of Human Rights, where he passionately insisted that “Everyone
has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom
to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
When our lawmakers forged The
Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms and made it an integral part
of The Constitution Act Of 1982, John Humphrey’s legacy and influence was clear
in the following fundamental freedom closely protected by the laws of the
realm: 2.(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and
expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.
To my knowledge the fundamental
rights of Canadians were suspended three times by elected members of the
Federal Parliament who invoked the “War Measures Act ” in WWI, WWII, and
The October Crisis of 1969/1970. No matter how closely you scrutinize our laws
(Federal, Provincial, Municipal), nowhere will you find an article that says
“A Condominium Corporation can suspend the fundamental right of freedom of
expression of a Canadian, if his views are detrimental to the vested interests
of The Board of Directors of the condominium”.
Unfortunately, all over the
Province of Ontario, Condominium Corporations suspend the fundamental right of
freedom of expression by using Corporate By-Laws and an army of “High End” Bay
Street lawyers to intimidate condo owners and silence their dissenting voices.
Yes Madam Minister, reality sounds stranger than fiction but allow me to
explain the context of the ordeal I have been facing for the last few weeks,
and then you will understand what kind of a monster The Condominium Act,
1998 has created.
I live in condominium building
under the control of a Board of Directors and a management company that
provides legal advice to The Board and runs the day-to-day affairs of the
building. Each year (in the month of March) elections are held during the
annual general meeting (AGM) of the corporation. Nominations are accepted in
the month of January, and those who fail for a number of reasons to register
their names, can nominate or be nominated by other owners during the AGM. Due
to a mysterious mishap that the management company failed to explain, I did not
receive my notice of election/nomination in January. I was forced to join the
election race late at the end of February. To reach other unit owners in the
building and inform them about my candidacy and the electoral issues that I
would pursue if successfully elected to The Board, I distributed printed election related materials on two
occasions, thinking that I live in a country where freedom of association and
freedom of expression are fundamental rights not subject to threats and
limitations imposed by a management corporation.
On February 24, 2014 I received a
letter from the management corporation advising me in a polite manner to “Cease and desist” from distributing
door-to-door printed election materials. The letter invoked the following
paragraph from The Corporation By-Law:
XII. Soliciting
“No business solicitation,
canvassing or distribution of flyers either by business or individual,
including Residents, is permitted on the property, without the specific
permission of the RSO (Resident Services Office).”
In a follow-up email I was
advised by the Senior Property Manager that in the future, before distributing
any printed material in the building, I have to submit a letter of intention to
The Board with the exact copy of what I plan to distribute to my fellow unit
owners, and wait until The Board reaches a decision. The Board holds meetings
once a month, thus it cannot guarantee any time frame for the response.
I am not a legal expert but in my
understanding the word “Business” means a transaction between two parties
involving a material gain in exchange for a service or a product. An election
campaign does not fall within the scope of the corporation By-Law XII, nor
should it be used to suspend the fundamental freedoms of speech and association
of a unit owner, simply because for several years he has been an outspoken
critic of The Board.
My story proves to Federal
lawmakers that members of a condominium’s Board of Directors, in their blind
totalitarian dedication to defend their personal interests, with the help of
“High End” lawyers have devised means and methods that outwit every single
safety net we have to protect our fundamental rights. The election incident
mentioned above was not the first time I had received letters from the
management company threatening legal action or letters from the law firm
retained by The Board to shut me up or face the dire consequences of a lawsuit.
Bay Street “High End” lawyers
call such lawsuits launched on behalf of Condo Boards "SLAPD”-Strategic
Lawsuits Against Public Participation. SLAPP court procedures are legal
actions launched for the primary purpose of shutting down criticism directed at
Condo Boards, and carry an extremely weak and highly questionable cause of
legal action. The plaintiff's goal in a SLAPP is not to win the lawsuit, but is
rather to silence a critic/defendant/condo owner by engaging him/her in a war
of attrition designed to instill fear of large legal costs tied to the
terrifying specter of losing a home in the process of resisting the onslaught
of a Board whose members, with a stroke of a pen, can replenish their
operational funds by imposing extra payments on top of existing monthly fees.
Despite their right to free speech, condo owners are frightened into silence
without any resistance, thus leaving the gates wide open for Board members to
engage in any form of abuse of power without any hindrances.
Dear Minister, unless you
introduce serious changes to curtail the power of Condo Boards to suspend the
fundamental rights of Canadians, as a society we will become the objects of
serious ridicules, when we preach to other countries or international
institutions, to respect “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”,
and especially freedoms of expression and association. Countries with dismal
records of human rights abuses will point to us that we will have to clean our
own backyard, before expecting others to adhere to Canadian or International
Human Rights Standards. After all, if private corporations can suspend
fundamental rights of Canadians, such as freedom of expression, it is the solid
evidence that there is something drastically wrong with the moral compass
guiding our society in general and our lawmakers in particular, and thus we
should refrain from preaching to others what we ourselves failed to protect.
I hope while you are currently
considering the overhaul of “The Condominium Act, 1998”, you will honor
the legacy of John Peters Humphrey, and The Supreme Court of
Canada, who on several occasions declared that:“In a truly free society, we
should prefer to accept the potential hurt free speech can cause for the sake
of safeguarding free speech. The regulation of free speech is worse than the
hurt it can cause.”
Respectfully Yours,
…………………………
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