The board and democracy

There is a built-in dilemma with democracy.

Politicians need sufficient distance and independence from the voters to make unpopular decisions. In Canadian politics, this is achieved by making it next to impossible to recall politicians during their four to five-year term.



However in condo politics, the politicians—and that is what board members are—do not have that lengthy distance separating them from the voters. There is an election every year. So after every election, or at the most two, the majority of the board can change.

What's more, if provoked, furious owners can throw the whole board out of office at will.

In some cases this reality prevents the board from raising revenues to sufficiently fund the corporation's needs. It may also stop the board from enforcing certain provisions of the declaration, by-laws and rules.

The outcome can be cheap and dirty politics in which the board worries more about getting re-elected than in doing what's right for the corporation.

In extreme cases, a board may make an application to the courts to have a court-appointed administrator assume the board's powers so that required decisions can be made against the majority of the owner's wishes.


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