Hello Calgary –Bow,
February has arrived and most of us have returned to our working and academic schedules. I would like to thank everyone that came out to my New Year Open House early in January. I will highlight some of the updates we discussed for you here:
The continuance of tuition and fee freeze at Alberta’s public post-secondary institutions, and providing backfill payments to post-secondary institutions to compensate for lost tuition revenue and to maintain programs and spaces for students. All while continuing to provide stable and constituent costs for an estimated 250,000 full and part-time students and apprentices. University and college tuition in Alberta is now lower than the national average.
The Alberta Government is preparing for the Budget 2018/19, an important step on the path to balance. The government is reviewing salaries, bonuses and perks for executives, freezing management (non-union) salaries since 2016 and extending the freeze to September 2019. Also reducing travel and discretionary spending, all helping us meet the deficit target from Budget 2017.
The Condominium Property Amendment Act brings into force a number of updated protections for condo owners as of January 2018. Some highlights include:
- Broadening of the information developers must disclose to elected boards when the boards take over control of the corporation, such as technical documents and financial information.
- Expanding the agreements that can be terminated by the first elected board of a condo to better protect condo owners from being stuck with a poorly negotiated agreement. The new laws allow for the inclusion of almost any agreement that may be in place during development, including landscaping agreements and maintenance agreements.
- Formally recognizing ways in which an owner may call special meetings of the corporation.
Some aspects of the condo legislation coming into effect on April 1, 2018 include:
- Requiring developers to provide more information to condo buyers, including occupancy dates, materials to be used to finish the condo, and other fees that the developer will charge the purchaser.
- Increasing protection for purchasers’ trust money by requiring it to be held by a lawyer instead of the developer and creating specific rules about how it’s handled.
I am back in my office Monday – Friday and look forward to connecting with you soon!
