Language issues

The City of Toronto wants residents to know they should always call 9-1-1 in an emergency situation even if they do not speak English. Toronto's emergency call receivers have instant access to interpreters through Language Line Services who are available to assist with calls in more than 150 languages 24 hours a day.
—City of Toronto Emergancy Services

We need to be able to talk to and listen to all of our fellow owners if we are going to be successful.

Building a political opposition to the incumbent board can be difficult in the best of times but living in a condominium community consisting of people from different nationalities and languages creates extra challenges.

Ethnic groups
In some condos, the owners may be split into two or more ethnic groups. There may be a large Chinese, Indian, Arab, Korean or Vietnamese population living in your condo. You need to be able to communicate with them if you want to prevail in your battle against the board.

Natural leaders
People who do not speak English or more common, have limited verbal and written English skills, tend to rely on trusted neighbours or relatives to help them understand what is being asked of them.

Your group needs to win the active support of at least one person that can speak and write in each minority language group that is represented in the condo or are absentee owners whenever these owners are uncomfortable speaking and listening in English.

You need this "natural leader" to talk to the owners in the language they understand and are comfortable with so they can understand why they should support your group.

It is ideal if all leaflets, handouts and posters that your group hands out can be written in the languages that are understood by the residents.

Your group is the weaker side so you need all the support that you can muster.

When we were organizing in a condo with a large Italian population, we printed our literature in both languages and we had supporters who talked to the elderly Italians explaining what we needed them to do and why.

One Chinese couple invited a friend and I over to their home so they would have a translator help them understand why I was asking for their support.

It is important to listen to their problems and issues. This could possibly be the first time anyone in the building asked them what their needs were and if so, you have a good chance of winning over owners that you need.

Printed material
When you print material use different coloured paper for the different languages. It makes it easier to give the owner the correct sheet. If you regularly use a colour-code for your leaflets, everyone will soon know which sheet is for them.

I helped the owners at one Scarborough condo over-throw their board and drive out a dreadful property management company. Having all of our written material translated into Chinese and distributed to the Chinese owners (who made up half of the resident-owners) and distributed simultaneously with the English written material gave us a huge advantage over the property management company.

It showed that we cared about them and that we would be different. This was the first time they had any information about their condo written in a language they could read.

Now all notices from the new board is bilingual. A new standard has been set that all future boards and management companies will need to follow.


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