Tony Gioventu
Province
Dear Condo Smarts:
Our strata council is having a serious dispute over the scheduling and conduct of meetings. We have six council members and three want a conference call every second month to save time, but the other three refuse.
Another problem is our secretary’s decision to write virtually every word into our minutes. Now our owners are hostile toward council because we are disclosing information they want kept private. So how do we decide? — JP
Dear JP:
If you have not adopted any rules of order into your bylaws, the answer is simple. The Act & Standard Bylaws only require that results of your motions are recorded.
This is frequently the most overlooked part of the minutes. Simply record what the motion was and then the voting result of the motion and whether it passed or failed.
Most rules of order simply require that what is recorded is what was done, not what was said. If there is pertinent information for the owners, you can also include that as special-notice information.
Now the tough part: What can you include and what is omitted? Basically, personal information, unless you have the consent of the person to publish it, is omitted. This is where the application of the Personal Information Protection Act is enforced. It controls everything from how you collect personal information to how it is stored to how it is disclosed. Whether it’s through financial transactions, bylaw enforcement, hearings, correspondence or agreements, the Personal Information Protection Act applies to strata corporations and strata meetings.
One irreconcilable problem with a conference call or online strata meetings is your inability to maintain confidential information and respect privacy laws.
You cannot prevent any of the parties from recording your meeting, including confidential items, nor can you prevent other individuals being present without your knowledge.
Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association. Contact CHOA at 604-584-2462 or toll-free at 1-877-353-2462, or e-mail [email protected].
© The Vancouver Province 2008