REMI

Michelle Ervin

CondoBusiness

Inside the public hearings on Bill 106

Emotional pleas and sharp criticisms occasionally pierced through positive feedback and suggested amendments at public hearings on Ontario’s proposed Bill 106.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

The mental health link to workplace productivity

Organizations could reduce workplace productivity losses by nearly half if they addressed the three types of barriers employees face in accessing mental health care, finds a CAMH study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

Kitchener Public Library gets digital reboot

Kitchener Public Library’s $40-million renovation and expansion, completed in September 2014, responded to a new digital reality.

CondoBusiness

Condo Act reform bill clears second reading

The Ontario government unanimously passed the Protecting Condominium Owners Act yesterday in its second of three readings, with the qualified support of the opposition parties.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

Toronto pilots office modernization program

In a bid to optimize its real estate portfolio, the City of Toronto has kicked off a pilot office modernization program with a target of 10 to 15-per-cent cost savings.

CondoBusiness

GTA condo developers feeling bullish: report

Condo developers in the GTA are feeling bullish in the face of record completions and warnings of potential overbuilding, according to a new report.

CondoBusiness

Baby boomers driving luxury condo sales: report

Downsizing baby boomers are driving year-over-year gains in luxury condo sales in Toronto and Vancouver, according to a report released yesterday.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

Match Marketing forgoes move for office reno

The recent renovation of Match Marketing’s Mississauga offices delivered a cafe and patio — both features that have become must-haves for ad agencies.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

ASHRAE rebuts new thermal comfort research

ASHRAE says new research suggesting its thermal comfort standard relies on a gender-biased model is an incorrect interpretation.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

MacOdrum Library’s novel redesign wins award

Diamond Schmitt Architects' dramatic $27-million redesign of Carleton University’s MacOdrum Library earned a 2015 Library Building Award on July 7.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

Toronto puts energy reporting proposal on pause

An energy reporting requirement for large buildings is likely coming to Toronto. The only question is: Will it come from the city or from the province?

CondoBusiness

City Builders back boulevard in Gardiner debate

A group called the City Builders is urging Toronto City Council to support the boulevard option in the Gardiner Expressway East debate this week.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

Case study: Capital planning at CFB Esquimalt

VFA Canada's Susan Anson recently shared how CFB Esquimalt, Canada's west coast navy base, developed a mission-centred capital planning model.

CondoBusiness

Province reveals proposed Condo Act reforms

Today stakeholders got a first glimpse of proposed legislation that would reform the Condo Act, as the legislation was introduced at Queen's Park.

Canadian Facility Management & Design

Expanding the frontiers of universal design

Universal design encompasses much more than physical accessibility, as three Interior Designers of Canada members recently explained in a panel discussion.

CondoBusiness

Communication tips for condo communities

Owners often accuse boards of directors of being too secretive. Two property management professionals share their communication tips for condo communities.

CondoBusiness

Five ways to curb utility costs in condominiums

Coming changes in Ontario are cause for condo corporations to curb their utility costs. An expert shares how, pointing to five energy efficiency retrofits.