Expiry Date of Temporary Virtual Meeting Provisions

TIME IS UP

On September 30, 2022, the ability to hold unit owner meetings electronically and vote at those meeting electronically will end.

As a result of the pandemic, legislation suspending the operation of 50(2) came into force.:

5 The operation of subsection 50 (2) of the Act is temporarily suspended and the following replacement provisions are in effect during the temporary suspension period only:

(2) To count towards the quorum, an owner must be entitled to vote at a meeting and shall be present at the meeting or represented by proxy.

(2.1) Despite any by-law, a meeting of owners may be held by telephonic or electronic means, as defined in subsection 52 (1.1), and an owner or a mortgagee who, personally or by proxy, through those means, votes at the meeting or establishes a communications link to the meeting shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be present at the meeting or represented by proxy, as the case may be.

This provision currently allows for condominium corporations to hold meetings and accept votes virtually, as well as to send meeting-related documents to owners and mortgagees by electronic means.

Although the declared emergency has been terminated since June 9, 2021, the temporary suspension period has since been extended three times.  With the expiration date approaching quickly it would be wise for your condominium to prepare for the changes to come, specifically an appropriate bylaw should be presented to those unit owners for approval.  Hopefully you were proactive during the pandemic.  If not, there is still time to get the bylaw on the agenda.

With that said, make sure that your Corporation’s bylaw is robust and meets more than the bare minimum and creatively anticipates a future with potentially COVID locking us down again or alternatively, the hybrid meeting, which has arrived whether we like it or not.  Especially since COVID-19 is possibly here to stay, it’s time to consider a long-term solution.

We recommend speaking to our team about reviewing your Electronic Meeting and Voting bylaw to ensure that it still meets the needs of your condominium community

Meeting of Directors

When the suspension is lifted it will still be possible to send an electronic notice of meeting of directors, but only if your condominium’s by-laws do not specify otherwise.  The meeting of directors may also continue to be held

by teleconference or by another form of communications system on the condition that all directors consent to the means chosen.

Meeting of Owners

Depending on your condominium’s by-laws, it might be time to return to in-person meetings, while still allowing for electronic participation.  Welcome to the hybrid meeting. CHECK OUT our CONDOWISE LEARNING Session on AGM:  To Host or Not to Host: ; where we talk about the pros and cons of three types of meetings: In Person, Virtual and Hybrid  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGVQRYRIO-g&t=71s

Service

Starting October 1, 2022, any documents related to a meeting under the Act may only be sent electronically when an owner or mortgagee consents.  This statement of consent must be maintained in the record of the condominium corporation and applies to documents such as a notice of meeting, form, and any other matters or materials that must be distributed for meetings.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact anyone on our team:

All of the information contained in this article is of a general nature for informational purposes only, and is not intended to represent the definitive opinion of the firm of Elia Associates on any particular matter. Although every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this article is accurate and up-to-date, the reader should not act upon it without obtaining appropriate professional advice and assistance.