A headline in an Ontario publication caught my eye and I wondered if this could happen in Manitoba:

"I am closing on my new home in December, and my builder has notified me of a significant price increase to complete the project. I must confirm my interest and sign the new agreement in 5 days, or my original agreement is automatically terminated, is this allowed?"

We are continuing to receive suggestions to improve the Provincial condo Act (The Act) and we thank you wholeheartedly for your efforts.

Regulations for short term rentals (STRs) were on the agenda for Winnipeg's Executive Policy Committee (EPC) during their December 7th meeting. The minutes, recording and written submissions are available on the City Clerk's Office Decision Making Information System (DMIS) https://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/DMIS/ViewDoc.asp?DocId=22794&SectionId=&InitUrl=

By now most of you will have heard or seen media reports of the shooting of condo directors and unit owners in December at an Ontario condominium. CCI National posted condolences on its LinedIn feed https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7010693343491874816/

Continuing with recent articles about condominium living with the goal of building community and environmentally sensitive living, we have written about electric cars and native plants. This article offers thoughts about organic food waste and composting.

The Canadian Condominium Institute held its National Leaders Forum this past November in Kingston, Ontario. Although I’ve attended previous forums virtually, this is the first one I attended in person. Was it worth it? Short answer - Yes!

Now that we are well into January, Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us.  No doubt many loved ones will be receiving cards and flowers as part of that special occasion.  2022 was a ‘special occasion’ with respect to condo sales, not that I am suggesting you send a card for this!  In 2022, condo was the one property type which proved to be the most resilient during a very challenging year, and while not as spectacular as the record shattering 2021, was still worthy of recognition (if not a card).

So much has been lost due to the pandemic and certainly CCI along with our members have felt the loss. I think the biggest loss was networking. We as condominium owners and Board members didn’t have the opportunity to meet at Lunch and Learns and President’s Forums to connect and talk about issues, share information and find solutions. Now that the world is trying to return to some kind of normal, it is difficult to recreate the past.

The conversation seems to be muted lately with no new submissions since the prior edition of the Condominium News and Views.  That said, two items from the prior edition, Mandatory Director Training and Benchmarking Data have updates. For the prior article https://cci-manitoba.ca/cci-manitoba-magazine/article/95. If you want to contribute to the discussion, you can make a submission to cci-manitoba.ca/resources/condo-conversation-corner.

In the Fall 2021 newsletter editions (Field Notes from a Condo Corpo Treasurer https://cci-manitoba.ca/cci-manitoba-magazine/article/18, page 12) Alan Forbes wrote about a Manitoba Hydro Rebate Program for eligible customers. It was discussed again in the Condo Conversation Corner feature of the Winter 2022 edition and included details on eligibility (Check your Manitoba Hydro Bill, page 20 https://cci-manitoba.ca/cci-manitoba-magazine/article/1). If you pay your own Hydro bill you are likely eligible for a reduction of taxes applied to your hydro account and rebate of taxes paid at the higher rate. Who doesn’t love rebates and lower taxes?