In
early February, we had our annual general meeting (AGM 2017), elections were integrated
into the agenda of the meeting, and a speech from the President of The Board reassured
more than 190 unit owners that “The
State of The Union”/Condominium Corporation is in an enviable position, due
to the relentless efforts of 5 owners/volunteers who sit on The Board of
Directors , and with the help of a management company protect and shape a
glorious future for the republic that operates under the legal name of Metro
Toronto Condominium Corporation (MTCC) 000-Not the real number of the
corporation.
Like
previous elections, candidates belonged to two camps and since in the previous
paragraph we used the analogy of a country and a government”, based on the same
analogy we had 2 candidates from the ruling party (Board members) and 1
candidate from the opposition (Owners Alliance). All candidates had 2 minutes
to deliver a short speech, and in this article we will reproduce “ad verbatim”
a portion of The Alliance’s candidate speech, and then produce a “Forensic Analysis” of the key facts
that paved the way for an anonymous unit owner to express his anger through a
letter dropped at the door step of the Alliance’s candidate, a few days after
expressing his vision in the resume distributed with the AGM documents
delivered in the building.
Before
we proceed to providing the details of the speech, we would like to clarify to
our readers what the Alliance’s candidate mentioned in his election Resume/Bio:
“As a movement we
pursue the following three critical
goals:
-
An end to 100%
increases in maintenance fees every 10 years.
-
Confining annual
increases in maintenance fees to inflation figures released by “Statistics
Canada” (2, 2.5%).
-
An end to existing AGM
election rules that adhere to the “standards
of The Condo Industry”, but fail to meet the standards promoted by Elections Canada, an institution that
clearly advocates the full and unhindered disclosure of the total number of
votes obtained by each electoral candidate, and full access to documents used
to tally the scores of a winner or a loser.
I strongly
believe that with fiscal prudence, responsible governance, open dialogue, and
constructive criticism the previously mentioned goals can be reached. If you
share my vision and would like to
make any suggestions, you can reach me in writing at …”
In
a very angry tone the anonymous neighbour overwhelmed by fear wrote:
You
must be blind, stupid, and ignorant. After 4 elections you failed to see that
those who cast the vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide
everything. We don’t want your rotten ideas and visions in this building. Leave
us alone. Move Go and live somewhere else. Angry neighbor.
The
Alliance’s candidate after reading the letter during the election speech replied:
“I hope the author
of the letter is here tonight and listening carefully to my response. I do not like
your vulgar statements, but as a firm believer in freedom of expression, I will
sacrifice my life for your right to express them. I am also sorry for all the
psychological pain and suffering you had to go through during the last few
years because of my principles and visions.
I strongly suggest
that you seek medical help for anxiety, insomnia, and depression because I am
not moving anywhere, and as long as I am living in this building you will see
me again next year and the year after until the building is ruled by the
highest level of transparency that can be targeted and achieved.”
I
examined the original letter written on a unique type of paper that provides
several clues about the profile of the author.
[1]
The paper is a thick paper specifically used for typewriters. You hold it
against a source of strong light and you will see the name of the manufacturer
who no longer produces that type of paper.
[2]
The condo owner who wrote the letter (hand written) worked in an office
environment where typewriters were the norm not computers. By retirement age he
or she managed to bring home a significant amount of the paper that he/she
still uses decades after typewriters became defunct and considered relics from
the “Dinosaur Age” of technology.
[3]
The anonymous author is an avid supporter of “The Condo Industry” that has successfully peddled to condominium owners
all over the Province the argument that unless you spend an x amount of dollars
per Squ. Ft., supported by annual rates of 6 to 8% increases in maintenance
fees, your unit will lose value and your investment will bring an extremely
poor return the day you decide to sell it.
[4] It is obvious that the Alliance’s
candidate, by advocating in his vision the notion of “Confining annual increases in maintenance fees to inflation figures
released by “Statistics Canada” (2, 2.5%)”, sent his anonymous neighbour
into a panic mode. Facing the existential threat of losing value on his/her
most valuable asset, his/her condo unit, the angry neighbour instead of
attacking the argument and providing solid evidence that low maintenance fees undermine the value of a condominium, he/she
decided to attack the author of the vision.
[5] The anonymous author did not mention
that the statement “Those who cast the
vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything” is
attributed by many historians to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. But he/she is extremely serene with the fact that we
have an elite group of decision makers in the building, who fully and loyally
adhere to the dictates of “The Condo
Industry”, and with an iron fist make sure that no one who challenges the
edicts of the industry reaches the inner circle of power.
In conclusion, I would like to remind the
anonymous author that the only constant in life is CHANGE. Individuals, groups, and nations hate change because change
is disruptive even if it paves the road for very serious and meaningful
improvements. It is good that most visionaries in documented history were never
intimidated by the ruthless anger of those who feared change. Imagine if we
refused to change our understanding of how our solar system works, and stuck to
the notion that the sun revolves around planet earth and every person, who
insists that planet earth is not flat and the classical religious understanding
of planetary movements is wrong, should be the subject of an “Inquisition” and then burned at the
stake. Refusal to adopt change would have forced us to remain engulfed in the
stark realities of “The Dark Ages”
of the 10th century.
