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Dear Strata Councils,

We hope this message finds you safe and healthy during the holiday season and that we have some clearer (if snowy) skies ahead soon. Please stay warm over the next few days.

As you are aware, the Provincial Health Officer (PHO) has introduced additional province-wide restrictions as of December 20^th and 22^nd, 2021 in an effort to keep BC safe and infection numbers down in light of the highly infectious Omicron variant. We have discussed the recent Order with other management companies and legal counsel to be able to offer the following regarding the latest announcements.  These comments are consistent with what other firms in our industry are recommending.  With that in mind, we offer the following guidance of a non-legal nature:

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The practice of charging renovation fees is becoming more prevalent within Strata Corporations, at least according to our observations within our own portfolio and our discussions with other brokerages.  We do not take a position on whether or not these charges are appropriate, each community is different and there are usually many variables at play when a Strata Council decides it is time to consider implementing fees.  These circumstances usually include a noticeable uptick in the number of renovations being performed (i.e. an aging property) along with longer renovations (causing more disruption) becoming more common.  Increases in both the number and duration of renovations inevitably result in more complaints being received by Councils, not to mention the additional wear and tear that they sometimes cause on common property (even with imperfect measures such as damage deposits being collected).

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The 2021 Federal Election season is now in full swing.  With that there are two common questions that often arise from Strata Councils during this period of sometimes fierce debate and partisan showmanship.

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Dear Strata Councils,

It has been an eventful few days with important developments in the fight against COVID-19.  We hope this message finds you safe and sound in this challenging summer season, which has seen multiple crises facing British Columbians and others around the world.

We understand that you all will have many questions about the new announcements from the Province, and would like to offer the following regarding the latest announcements:

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On Tuesday July 20^th, the Province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency to allocate additional resources in the fight against wildfires.  This is the third such state of emergency in the last 6 years, a truly unprecedented phenomenon.

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With heavy hearts, we have followed the news out of Surfside Florida after a condominium building partially collapsed, leading to many deaths.

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Dear Strata Councils,

We are now into Phase 2 of the Province’s Restart Plan.  We know that you are as excited as we are to see friends, family and to re-engage in activities we have all missed.  We’d like to help support your efforts by providing the latest updates we have on various matters impacting your Strata Corporation:

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Dear Strata Councils,

It has been a while since our last update as there have been few policy developments with respect to COVID-19 for a number of months. However, with reopening on the horizon (the Province is set to announce a Reopening Plan today, May 25) we wanted to update you on some of the changes to expect in the weeks and months to come, along with other important recommendations relating to COVID-19.

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Stratawest Management is a proud member of the Strata Property Agents of BC (SPABC) and the Professional Association of Managing Agents (PAMA) with principals of the company sitting on both Boards for nearly 10 years, volunteering time and energy to better our industry and improve the quality of strata management in the Province. From time to time, the Board of SPABC requests our colleagues on the legal side of the strata industry to dive deeper into specific topics and give broader context and opinion to topics such as recent Court decisions, issues in the media and matters addressed by the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT). We are pleased to provide access here to an article from Lisa Mackie of Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP on Shen v. The Owners, Strata Plan EPS3177, 2020 BCCRT 1157 in regards to the use of Restricted Proxies at General Meetings.

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Dear Strata Councils,

As we post our 19^th Covid-19 update there are many reasons for wider optimism regarding the pandemic and we are all thrilled for some better news coming in. That said, there are obviously still reasons to be concerned about the next few months and beyond.  Delays with vaccine delivery, variants and more suggest that we will need to continue to remain vigilant and cautious as we move through 2021. Business as usual, it seems, is still not yet close to reality.

With that in mind, we’d like to update you and provide some suggestions on the following items relating to COVID-19 and it’s impact on our operations and your Strata Corporation:

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