June 2021
“Fixing the Condominium Authority Tribunal” failed to live up to its headline as it seemed incapable of either identifying the specific problem with it or the solution to it. It merely made general statements of questionable validity.
More curious however is your article “Declining Influence of Lawyers” which quickly became another article about the CAT containing general statements of question. Most curious are the last two sentences, the first one referring to the resignations of last April but the second somehow indicating that those resignations were a good thing. Really? If that’s really the message you’re trying to put out I can only draw either of two conclusions: (1) you know nothing about what happened with those resignations, or (2) you do not have the independence from that situation that one would assume you would have as a journalist.
There is a story to be told about the CAT/CAO which I’m sure readers of both your publication and more “mainstream media” will be interested in. Given my two conclusions above I’ll keep my expectations low for seeing such a story in yours.
D. Z.
Response from Toronto Condo News
Your comments are appreciated and well-considered. As a reader you are welcome to “keep your expectations low” although this is easier to do when not trying to understand and balance competing opinions. It is also unfair in that you have set an impossible standard then seek to fault Toronto Condo News for not meeting it. No other publication in our space addresses these topics and we work with information available to us while creating a magazine and online resource widely read and utilized.
As a relatively new subscriber, you may not have been following our series of articles on CAO and CAT since their inception. We certainly view them as a secretive organization operating with an undisclosed agenda based on their actions. I urge you to read our articles in the Condo Archives for more information under Condo Governance.
Fixing the Condominium Authority Tribunal is focused on identifying solutions. Specifics you suggest, such as “who” is advocating for elimination of CAT, is something we choose not to publish unless pertinent to the point. We feel the identified solution is presented clearly in the final sentence of the article.
In Declining Influence of Lawyers, you can decide for yourself if the resignations are a good thing. At least some appointed directors financially benefited from selling their services to the condo community. Their conflict of interest is without question and attempts to hide this information were unsuccessful. Trust and transparency have been eroded and other concerns now appear more credible.
Regardless of your low opinion of Toronto Condo News, we are the only publication delving into these topics. Our focus on the interests of condo residents and management is unique among other publications in Canada. When it comes to controversial topics in the condominium and high-rise space, we publish and discuss what others choose to ignore.
