MANTRA

I am not on a subsidy
I am not on a subsidy
I am NOT on a subsidy
I am NOT on a subsidy
I am not on a subsidy

There - that's better

It worked! 

Introducing Molly!

Molly's Repose

Molly is a new and loving addition to our family. Like most cats, she sleeps much of the time always with her paw covering her eyes. I'd like to think it is because she is shy or trying to block the light from her eyes, but I suppose it's just a Cat Thing. In any case, it makes for the sweetest fairy tale sight imaginable.

At this time I would like to thank a member who has fed and sheltered various cats over the years which have been abandoned by co-op members upon move out. It is unfathomable how people can sit on the Board of Members, be revered for their benevolence to society, and then merrily toss their pets into the garbage heap. Unfortunately, the trend continues ...

The Retreat

Kids have been rather inventive lately building this outhouse-style shack out on the trails. Upon closer inspection it is rather ingenious. The front curved door is hinged, there is a hanging lantern-style bottle with a candle inside. The ceiling is a flat piece of plywood to protect against the elements, but alas the walls are rather breezy. The hut is furnished with a table and a tree stump. There is a cooking pot out front, although there is no evidence of people having had a family dinner together. An electrical wire in the back of the structure winds around the side, ladened down with scraps of heavy metal to keep it in place. Where it really goes and what it does, I do not know.

All-in-all it's a very tidy construction and shows true entrepreneurial grit. In essence, it is a rather welcoming sight.

Decisions

There is no prerequisite for a Board of Directors member, other than being in good standing in the co-op. Directors need not be apprised of the co-op's by-laws, or in fact, have any common sense whatsoever. We presently have a Director who has been on the Board for 3 years and I have yet to see him at an All Members Meeting. Directors who slink into the background are favoured, because they can be manipulated at will and used for their vote. Friends of friends get on the Board of Directors and partake in the perks of the trade. These include new windows and doors, while neighbours' windows rot.

Motives for running for the Board of Directors are not often noble, most are for personal gain. Once elected to the lofty position of a Director, the view is rather rewarding. There are no consequences for Directors, even if they violate the co-op's by-laws, because they are the decision makers. Decisions handed down by the Board of Directors can be completely biased, simply based on a Director's dislike of a person.

And that's how the job gets done - in the co-op.

Drifitng

There's an uneasiness in the co-op, a silence which is hard to define. At first it seemed like things were on track. We stepped out of our 3-year Insolvency By-law, elected an internal Board of Directors and now have an on-site Property Manager. The co-op is open for business, but where are we going?

We've received several notifications from the office about how things are going to be run. And then - that was that! Members, who have now been conditioned to be told what to do, are in limbo.

What's going on behind the scenes?

Sunday Subsidy Tidbit

I briefly compared the new subsidy renewal form to information contained in our By-laws. Because the format of the new form is broken down into more financial increments, it will take some time (and experience) to see how valid it is. What is not stated is how the subsidies will be calculated. For instance, the shelter component is used to determine housing charges for people on OW/ODSP, not their earnings, as they are already taken into account by OW/ODSP. If one receives CPP, alimony, etc., those figures are also deducted by OW/ODSP and should not be included as income by the co-op. When members receive their subsidy confirmations from the co-op, a breakdown of the calculations should be provided to the members.

A list of exemptions and the statute in law which the co-op is using should also be provided to members.

Skeletons

Housing charge subsidies have not been calculated since April, 2010 due to co-op management problems. I was recently informed by the office that CMHC had asked the co-op to devise new subsidy application forms as they were 15 years out of date. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada ruled in our favour in April, 2011 that the co-op's demand for submission of an ODSP/OW drug card had nothing whatsoever to do with the calculation of one's subsidy. This would have been the catalyst for the revision of the subsidy application forms.

We just received the revised forms and I must say that the form must have been copied and pasted from a rather obscure form on the web, because there is a request to divulge the amount of one's Civil War Pension. Canada has never had a civil war. The American Civil War ended in 1865. There are no survivors!

Are these forms not vetted by CMHC? The co-op has gone from violating the Privacy Act to the most bizarre level of incompetence imaginable.

More to follow ...