Ontario’s leading condo associations are requesting the federal government to amend the Criminal Code of Canada and impose stricter sentencing measures on individuals who commit or attempt to engage in violent assaults against condo directors, officers, managers, and related support staff.
A recently submitted letter from the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario, the Toronto and Area and Eastern Ontario Chapters of the Canadian Condominium Institute, and the Canadian Chapter of the Community Associations Institute is the fourth in a series of recommendations regarding safety and security in Ontario condominiums.
The associations launched a joint initiative early last year to propose legislative reforms and develop resources following the mass shooting at Bellaria Residences in Vaughan on December 18, 2022. Since that incident, they’ve observed that current safeguards concerning violence against staff are insufficient.
“It is alarming to see a rise in incidents where condominium directors, condominium managers and related support staff are subjected to physical assault while carrying out their responsibilities,” they state. “Actual, attempted or threatened violence not only jeopardizes their well-being but also undermines their ability to effectively fulfill their duties.
“A growing number of directors, the majority of whom are unpaid volunteers, are stepping down, declining re-election, or hesitating to enforce condominium regulations due to concerns for their personal safety from abusive residents. Encouraging owners to volunteer for board positions is more difficult under these circumstances. Many condominium managers feel equally unsafe and are leaving the profession.”
What they propose is amending Section 269.01 of the Criminal Code of Canada to extend protections that include condominium directors, condominium managers and/or agents of the condominium or strata corporation. Currently, s. 269.01 states that an assault on a public transit operator is an “aggravating circumstance” when considering the appropriate sentence.
“The purpose of this provision is to provide an additional deterrent to protect transit operators while performing their duties,” the associations state. “This same rationale applies to those who are fulfilling their duties under various forms of condominium legislation across the country.”
More than two million Canadian households live in condos. ACMO, CCI-T and CAI-C want to send a “clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated” and that Canada’s criminal justice system takes violent offenses against directors, managers and support staff seriously.
“These persons have a duty to enforce provincial condominium legislation and the governing documents of the condominium corporation that they serve,” they urge. “A person who, through violence, interferes or attempts to interfere with someone who is discharging their duties in this regard should face an increased criminal penalty.”
