To eliminate proxy fraud, eliminate proxies
A Toronto Star article "Ontario to roll out new rules for condo boards" written by By Tess Kalinowski on 25 July 2017, describes the changes to Ontario's Condo Act starting on 01 November.
The last four paragraphs stand out as especially important.
More changes are coming, including
increased disclosure requirements for developers, new reserve fund
rules for condo corporations and a standardized proxy form.
The new rules won’t be enough to control proxy fraud, a major problem
in about 10% of condo buildings, said lawyer Mario Deo of Fine
& Deo.
There are rules around meetings but there aren’t any rules preventing
residents from going to their neighbours to sign a proxy vote form that
can effectively allow an individual or group to seize control of their
building.
“The way of eliminating proxy fraud is by eliminating proxies,” said
Deo. “No matter how many rules you pass, proxy fraud is something you
can’t eliminate.”
I do agree with Mr Deo. However I think he sees maybe half of the
problem. He doesn't mention the proxy fraud committed by the property
management companies and the directors.
This includes prime ballot positioning, making the president the proxy,
using corporation assets and records to canvas for proxies, threatening
owners who attempt to speak to the other owners, withholding the Record
of Owners, proxy and ballot stuffing and all the other tricks I expose
in this chapter.
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