Today we sent this letter to our MPP hoping for meaningful policy changes.
Dear Ms. Fife,
We are constituents in your riding and unit owners at 225 Harvard Place, writing to you both as concerned citizens and as successful parties in a series of legal proceedings that revealed significant and troubling weaknesses in Ontario’s condominium governance framework.
In June 2025, the Ontario Divisional Court unanimously upheld a 2024 decision from the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) in our favour against Waterloo North Condominium Corporation No. 37. Both rulings confirmed that the condo board failed to accommodate our verified service dog, engaged in discriminatory and retaliatory conduct, and acted in clear violation of both the Human Rights Code and the Condominium Act, 1998.
Despite these legal findings, the same directors remain in power. They have faced no personal accountability, continue to control all communications to the community, and have issued public statements that misrepresent the facts and falsely portray us as rule-breakers – even after the courts affirmed their own misconduct. These communications have escalated community hostility and caused lasting harm.
Unfortunately, our experience is not an anomaly. It is part of a broader and growing crisis in Ontario’s condominium sector – one that will only intensify if left unaddressed.
Condos Are Expanding – and So Is the Risk
Condominiums are one of the fastest-growing forms of housing in Ontario. Increasingly, they are not just investment properties or starter homes – they are permanent, long-term residences for people of all ages, including a disproportionate number of older Ontarians. Many condo communities – like ours – are largely composed of seniors, individuals living with disabilities, or others who may be more vulnerable to intimidation or governance abuse.
Despite this reality, the governance model remains essentially self-regulating, with minimal oversight, no enforceable accountability, and no consideration for the demographic vulnerabilities now common in condo living. In short, Ontario’s legislative framework has not kept pace with the scale or social reality of condominium life.
Systemic Failures: No Oversight, No Guardrails, No Accountability
Ontario’s condominium governance system contains serious structural deficiencies:
- Indefinite board tenure: Directors can serve without term limits or rotation, enabling the consolidation of power, suppression of dissent, and weaponization of rules to target perceived opponents.
- Director indemnity without limits: Even when misconduct or legal violations are established, directors face no personal liability. The corporation absorbs the legal consequences, shielding individual bad actors from accountability.
- No effective oversight mechanism: The Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) is limited in authority, reactive by design, and cost-prohibitive for many. It cannot impose personal consequences on directors or managers.
- Self-regulated property management industry: The Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario (CMRAO) oversees a small, tightly connected sector where many managers work in close alignment with entrenched boards. Despite appearing independent, oversight is often illusory, and conflicts of interest are routine.
- No required training: Condominium directors and property managers hold considerable authority over residents’ daily lives, yet there is no mandatory training in human rights, accessibility, or procedural fairness.
In our case, both the board and the management company acted in a coordinated, retaliatory manner, with no institutional check on their conduct. It took years of litigation and personal sacrifice (500 hours spent reviewing the Condominium Act, the Human Rights Code and relevant legal precedent) to obtain recognition of what should have been obvious: that condo residents are entitled to fairness, dignity, and protection from harassment – especially in their own homes.
What We Hope You Will Consider
Based on this experience and the systemic issues it revealed, we believe there is an opportunity to strengthen accountability, fairness, and transparency in Ontario’s condominium communities. You may wish to explore the following areas for potential legislative or policy reform:
- Introducing term limits or mandatory cooling-off periods for condominium directors to reduce long-term entrenchment and unchecked power;
- Clarifying and limiting the scope of director indemnity, especially where findings of bad faith, misconduct, or legal violations have been made;
- Requiring baseline training for all directors and property managers in human rights, accessibility, and governance best practices;
- Establishing an independent oversight mechanism with investigatory and disciplinary authority beyond the current mandates of CMRAO and CAT;
- Mandating regular, anonymous satisfaction surveys to take the pulse of the community and detect early signs of dysfunction, abuse, or harassment;
- Strengthening statutory protections against retaliation, including accessible, enforceable remedies for residents who assert their rights.
These reforms would not only modernize a dated system – but they would also go a long way in protecting the rights and well-being of seniors and vulnerable Ontarians (like us), who make up a growing portion of condo residents across the province.
We would be pleased to share documentation, rulings, or additional insights with you or your staff, and we welcome any opportunity to support broader policy discussions in this area.
Thank you for your time, your advocacy, and your attention to an issue that directly impacts the safety, dignity, and legal rights of some of your most vulnerable constituents.
Sincerely,
Antoaneta Claudia Baha, Joe Murphy
♿ July is Disability Pride Month – a reminder that accessibility, dignity, and inclusion must be built into every level of public policy, including housing
