Ali Arlani will become CEO and registrar of the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario (CMRAO) on Jan. 15. Arlani comes to the position from the Ministry of the Attorney General’s agency and tribunal relations division, where, for more than five years, he has served as assistant deputy attorney general.
“With over 20 years of executive leadership in the public sector, Ali is known for his results-oriented work ethic and commitment to modernization, having provided oversight to three provincial tribunals,” Aubrey LeBlanc, board chair of the CMRAO, said in a news release announcing Arlani’s appointment.
“We are confident that he will be a valuable leader to the CMRAO, as it begins its commitment to strengthen the condo management profession and provide condo owners with confidence in those who manage their important investment.”
The CMRAO was recently established under new legislation designed to regulate the condo management sector.
Arlani steps into the positions of CEO and registrar just ahead of the Jan. 29 deadline for condo managers to apply for a licence, which is now mandatory to continue practicing in the profession. He also arrives weeks before regulations detailing a code of ethics for condo managers, as well as complaints and discipline procedures, are intended to take effect Feb. 1.
As proposed, the regulations empower the registrar to use a range of enforcement tools to ensure condo managers comply with industry standards, from issuing a warning to revoking a licence.
Arlani, who has a Ph.D. in engineering and a bachelor’s degree in commerce, has previously overseen the organizational realignment of tribunals and the roll out of service standards as CEO of Environment and Land Tribunals Ontario. (ELTO, as it is also known, is a cluster of tribunals that includes the Ontario Municipal Board, which adjudicates land use planning appeals.) He has been recognized with a service excellence award, among other accolades.
Arlani takes the reins of the CMRAO from Robin Dafoe, who got the administrative authority up and running as its interim executive director and registrar. Dafoe was recently named CEO and registrar of the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO), which was created to improve condo living by educating directors, informing owners and helping resolve common disputes, and for which she also served as interim executive director and registrar.
“She provided strategic leadership to successfully launch the authority and oversee the implementation of Ontario’s first online dispute resolution service, the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT),” Tom Wright, board chair of the CAO, said in a news release announcing Dafoe’s appointment. “We are confident that through Robin’s leadership, the authority and the tribunal will continue to provide valuable services and resources as the CAO focuses on service excellence, innovation and new approaches to addressing the needs of condo communities.”
Dafoe, who holds an MBA as well as a master’s degree in law, is a veteran of the Ontario public service. Her more than 20 years of experience working for the province includes a stint helping to advance modernization goals as former director of corporate policy and tribunal relations at the Ministry of the Attorney General. She previously served as implementation director at the province’s apprenticeship and trades certification regulator, the Ontario College of Trades.
