Vintage social media (aka news briefs) - Fall 2025

Article from Volume 12, Issue Number 4, 2025

Vintage social media (aka news briefs) - Fall 2025

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes | Regular Column

Here are a few recently published articles of interest:

Petition advocating for financial support for condominium corporations moves forward
What is reasonable in the context of condominium living?
Canada Revenue Agency reporting requirements
Guidance for condo corporations that rely on artificial intelligence

Please email us if you have an article or news story that might interest CCI Manitoba and our members.

Petition advocating for financial support for condominium corporations moves forward

CCI Manitoba lent its support to Petition e-6709, drafted by Dustin Dilts of Vancouver and sponsored in Parliament by Leah Gazan, member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre. We are happy to report that we have surpassed the minimum number of required signatures to advance the petition to the next phase in the process.

The petition calls on the federal government to:

Allow condominium corporations to apply for low-interest government loans for major repairs.
Create support programs — such as grants and low-interest loans — for condo owners facing large special assessments.
Ensure that federal housing programs fairly include condominiums as part of Canada’s diverse housing stock.

The drafter of the petition had the goal of reaching at least 500 signatures by Oct. 7, 2025. Thanks to CCI Manitoba and sponsoring MP Gazan, when the petition closed for signatures, there were 881 from across the country, of which 741 were from Manitoba.

What is reasonable in the context of condominium living?

The Manitoba Condominium Act contains the word “reasonable” 61 times. But what is reasonable in the condominium setting you live in? This CondoBusiness article written by James Davidson and Nancy Houle discusses some Ontario tribunal rulings dealing with what is reasonable with regards to noise and odors in condos. The tribunal says:

“The question of what is and is not reasonable is an objective standard. This means that reasonableness is determined from the perspective of a typically prudent person dealing with a similar situation. As well, what is reasonable in a condominium is what one would normally expect in a community with similar structures and similar governing documents.”

While Ontario rulings are not directly applicable to Manitoba, they do provide a perspective on what is reasonable. Do you agree with the article's conclusions?

Canada Revenue Agency reporting requirements

The Canada Revenue Agency is looking to better monitor non-profit organizations (NPOs), such as condo corporations, by requiring more of them to file information returns. Currently, an information return is required if the NPO has more than $10,000 in investment income or assets in excess of $200,000. The proposed changes would require NPOs with gross revenue in excess of $50,000 to file. This change would require many more small condo corporations to report.

The proposed change was highlighted in a recent CondoBusiness article written by Barbara Carss. This change could result in more paperwork and duplication of some information, depending on the condo corporation and the province in which it exists.

Here is an excerpt for Canada’s Department of Finance website:

New filing requirement for small NPOs

The 2024 Fall Economic Statement also proposes to amend the Income Tax Act to require NPOs that do not meet the thresholds for filing the annual NPO information return to file a new, short-form return that contains basic information about the organization, including:

its business number or trust number;
the name of the organization and its mailing address;
the names and addresses of the directors, officers, trustees or similar officials;
a description of the organization's activities, including whether it conducts activities outside Canada;
the organization's total assets and liabilities and annual revenues; and,

other prescribed information.

Coming into force

These measures would apply to the 2026 and subsequent taxation years.

The article also mentions some concerns that condo corporation revenue not derived from monthly fees, such as renting out common elements, may lose their tax-exempt status. As always, it is best for condo corporations to seek professional advice.

Guidance for condo corporations that rely on artificial intelligence

An article by Salim Dharssi in CondoBusiness provides guidance for condo corporations that use artificial intelligence (AI) in their business and includes a draft policy. You can avoid your use of AI from exposing confidential and proprietary information by reading this article.

Another article published by CondoBusiness and written by Valeriia Dolgova discusses how AI can be used responsibly by a condo corporation for tasks such as responding to resident inquiries, preparing meeting agendas, recording minutes and helping with communication (newsletters, notices).

Alan Forbes owns and lives in a condo and is a director of his condo corporation. He also volunteers with CCI Manitoba.

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