Draft Reg#2 - Part 3

The draft regulations also address issues like notices of meeting, voting, quorum, board meetings by electronic means, and voting thresholds for by-laws. Notices of Meetings The regulations set out the detail for the preliminary notice that must be sent to owners before an owners' meeting. It details the type of information about candidates for director positions, candidates for auditors, and other material that owners want to be included (so long as 15% of the owners request it and it is not contrary to the Act or regulations). The preliminary notice will be a standardized form. One thorny issue will continue to be requisition meetings. Since the amendments to the requisition process will not be included in the first phase of amendments, but the changes to the notice of meeting sections will be, it means that the board only has 5 days to send a preliminary notice of meeting after it receives the requisition. For example, if the requisition is received on January 10, the preliminary notice must be sent by January 14, the notice of meeting by January 29, and the meeting held on February 13. There would be no margin for error in sending out the notices or the meeting would be held beyond the period required by the Act (35 days from the receipt of the requisition). It is intended that the regulations would come into force on July 1, 2017, but they would only apply to meetings held 40 days or more after the regulations come into force and for those where notice has not been sent. Voting & Quorum As you may know, quorum for meetings will be changed by the amendments to the Act. Quorum for owners meetings will be satisfied by: 1) 25% of the owners represented at the first and second attempts to hold the meeting; or 2) 15% of owners at subsequent attempts. The regulations also require every condominium to have a standard provision in its by-law that no person voting by ballot, proxy, or electronic means, would be required to identify his name or the unit in which the vote is cast. There will be mandatory proxy forms for owners' meetings instead of the optional forms used now. In addition, there will be a lower threshold for voting for certain by-laws (i.e. to change the content for information certificates and notices, to add extra disclosure obligations for directors). Instead of a majority of all owners, the threshold would be lower: a majority of votes cast at the meeting. These changes should be in force on July 1, 2017, but it would only apply to meetings held 40 days or more after the new quorum and voting sections of the Act come into force.