Inequities

There is a rationale behind my blogs, albeit a frustrating one. There is nowhere for members to turn to for help, so I write. Our community legal clinic won't represent members, because co-ops are supposedly democratic entities and any problems incurred should, therefore, be dealt with by our Boards of Directors. Legal Aid only funds criminal, immigration and family law - no civil suits. With new eviction legislation coming on stream in the co-op sector, members' rights will be non-existent. I've coined this 'Turnstile Evictions' - it will just be a case of rubber stamping eviction notices. No need for appeals by members, no costly legal suits for co-ops to contend with. When I write my blog, I use my own personal experiences, but in essence, my blog also conveys what other people are going through in this co-op.

Most particularly grating is the fact that some subsidized members are paying over 50% of their income for their housing charges and that doesn't include utilities. It doesn't matter how outrageously wrong a subsidy has been calculated, the Board of Directors is always right. A Board of Directors will never admit that it has erred or has acted inappropriately, there's no need to, because there is no accountability requirement to do so.

Our co-op used to be the bedroom community for the co-op sector's movers and shakers; that is until they earned enough money to buy their own homes. The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF) and their ilk have very secure funding with virtually no oversight. CMHC has downloaded Federal co-ops in PEI, Ontario, Alberta and B.C. to The Agency for Co-operative Housing (The Agency). These employees take care of each other, often moving from branch to branch. Office Co-ordinators are rarely fired, they are merely transferred to other co-ops, so they too are very secure in their jobs. The co-op movement is a pyramid-type arrangement - those at the top of the heap set their lucrative salaries and then there are the very well paid Office Co-ordinators, (now elevated to the status of Property Managers). 'Property Managers' and the term 'Good Governance' are synonymous with each other. The co-op sector proclaims that they only hire the best and this establishes the sector as being credible at the local, provincial and federal levels of government. It's a rather incestuous affair to say the least - and virtually impenetrable.

The Board of Directors is the next level down. Board members very often receive special perks, such as unit modifications or transfers, with subsidies, to other co-ops. If you are on a Board of Directors, you are safe from persecution. If you are not on the Board, you are extremely vulnerable. Board members, without conscience, have attempted to evict members for the same reasons they themselves once contested.

Members are at the bottom of the heap. I once read Dr. Seuss' Yertle The Turtle to Board Members. Here's an extract from the Wikipedia article:

The titular story revolves around a Yertle the Turtle, the king of the pond. Unsatisfied with the stone that serves as his throne, he commands the other turtles to stack themselves beneath him so that he can see further and expand his kingdom. However, the stacked turtles are in pain and Mack, the turtle at the very bottom of the pile, is suffering the most. Mack asks Yertle for a respite, but Yertle just tells him to shut up. Then Yertle decides to expand his kingdom and commands more and more turtles to add to his throne. Mack makes a second request for a respite because the increased weight is now causing extreme pain to the turtles at the bottom of the pile. Again Yertle yells at Mack to shut up. Then Yertle notices the moon rising above him as the night approaches. Furious that something "dares to be higher than Yertle the King", he decides to call for even more turtles in an attempt to rise above it. However, before he can give the command, Mack decides he has had enough. He burps, shaking the stack of turtles and tossing Yertle off into the mud, leaving him "King of the Mud" and freeing the others.

Members are the peons, without power and most often, without a voice, even though they are co-owners of their co-ops. It's how you play the game in co-op living that is the reality. And that is not democratic, nor is it equitable.