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 Almost 500 delegates, alternates, staff and observers gathered for the 2004 Ontario Region annual meeting in Quebec City on June 13. Invited guest speaker, the Honourable John Gerretsen, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, was unable to attend but sent a letter of greeting (pdf) to delegates. In the letter, read to the meeting by Ontario Council President Lori-Anne McDonald, he said, “The CHF model is to be admired and I assure you that this government wants to see housing co‑operatives continue to succeed as member-controlled communities that play an important role in providing Ontarians affordable housing.” Resolutions Delegates passed three resolutions that set the focus for the work of the Ontario Region in the year ahead. Resolution R1, Eviction Law Reform, sets out the next steps in changing the law on co‑op housing evictions so that it works better for co‑ops and members. The second resolution, Fair Property Taxes for Housing Co‑op, asks the Ontario Region to look into ways to reduce property taxes for housing co‑ops. The final resolution, Time for Action on Co‑op Housing, sets the direction for a campaign of all Ontario housing co‑ops to convince the new provincial government that it’s time for action on the two key issues of concern to Ontario co‑ops:
Ontario Council elections Delegates elected three at-large Council members, Lori-Anne McDonald, Amanda Yetman and Charles Ng. Staff associations elected David Roy as their representative. David Spackman was acclaimed as the Northern Ontario member at a meeting held in Sudbury on May 5. Honouring special contributions to co‑op housing
Bruce Lewis, the Ontario Region’s legal advisor, received the first ever Ontario Region Lifetime Achievement Award. Bruce has made a remarkable contribution to our movement through his work shaping the legal system for co‑ops in Ontario. Bruce developed the model by-laws used by hundreds of co‑ops across the province. His commitment to writing legal documents in plain language has allowed co‑op members to easily understand their by-laws. He was also the legal mind behind the changes the co‑op sector negotiated to the Ontario Co‑operative Corporations Act and the current work on reforming the eviction system. He has done much of his work at reduced cost and, on several occasions, without charging a fee. In addition to his work for sector organizations, he has represented many individual housing co‑ops. Co‑op housing staff were once again recognized for long-term service to housing co‑ops in Ontario. This year, 64 individuals were presented long-term service awards for working five, ten, 15, 20 or 25 years as staff in housing co‑ops. On-line and downloadable documents
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