Review of leaky condo crisis dropped
The government has decided not to follow through on its election platform promise to review the leaky condo crisis in the lower mainland and CMHCs involvement and responsibility in said crisis. This story from todays Vancouver Sun:
“The Conservative government has shelved its election promise to conduct a review into a federal agency’s role and potential culpability in B.C.’s $1.5-billion leaky condo crisis, according to a letter sent by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley to a homeowners’ group.”
The promise to review CMHCs responsibility in Vancouvers leaky condo crisis was made by Stephen Harper when he visited Victoria in December. They now claim that promise can not be fulfilled because of court actions launched against CMHC.
According to internal documents CMHC was aware in the early 1980s that new federal building regulations could lead to severe damage to homes in coastal areas
“As I’m sure you can appreciate, it would not be appropriate for me to comment or to consider initiating a review into leaky condo issues while these matters are before the courts,” Finley wrote to Consumer Advocacy and Support for Homeowners (CASH), a consumer advocacy group that is seeking compensation for the thousands of B.C. residents whose homes and property values were devastated by moisture damage.
CASH president Carmen Maretic, in a letter sent Wednesday to Harper and Finley, said the Tories “knew or should have known” at the time of the campaign promise about a lawsuit filed against CMHC in B.C. on Dec. 6, 2005.
Critics have also noted that CMHC has been named in more than 30 other lawsuits. Former Liberal housing minister Joe Fontana and former Liberal industry minister David Emerson, now Tory trade minister, stated publicly in mid-2005 that the government couldn’t comment on CMHC’s role in the crisis because the issue was before the courts.
That didn’t stop Harper from including a promise to “review CMHC’s handling of construction regulations and ‘leaky condos.’” in his “Stand up for B.C.” election speech on Dec. 17th.
A press release accompanying the platform boasted that Conservative MPs “understand and have advanced the interests in British Columbia” on several fronts, such as pressing CMHC “to investigate how it failed to warn homeowners about potential problems with ‘leaky condos.’”
In an exclusive interview with The Vancouver Sun after the announcement, Harper said he’d consider compensation for condo owners following the review.
Here’s the full story.
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September 14th, 2006 at 9:44 am
September 14th, 2006 at 9:49 am
Cummins (Delta-Richmond East), who was travelling to Ottawa Wednesday and couldn’t be reached, has alleged that the Liberal government under Pierre Elliott Trudeau, by establishing energy-conservation building standards to prevent heat and moisture from entering or escaping homes, planted the seeds of the leaky condo crisis that emerged in the 1990s.
Cummins had earlier asked the Library of Parliament to research options for the Harper government to fulfil the “review” promise. The subsequent report, released in April, said a formal public inquiry would be the “best choice” to look into CMHC’s “possible role” in the condo crisis.
Ah the time-honored tradition of blame-laying without accountability. And now we can’t do a formal public inquiry because of another lawsuit? Thats a pretty lame excuse.
September 14th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
September 14th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
September 15th, 2006 at 7:13 am
I sold ‘cos it was too noisy next to Atlantis and walked away with $100,000 profit in just over a year. Probably should have held but when they started the work (just after I sold) they tore the walls off the building and it was very dusty and noisy. I think they are still working on the building, must be the third and final stage now.
September 15th, 2006 at 10:07 am
September 15th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
September 15th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Does anyone know what the average repair cost per unit is in Vancouver? I have a friend that was able to sell their leaky condo and repairs for that one was estimated at around $55k. Crazy people actually bid up her asking price knowing it was a leaky condo, but this was more than a year ago.
September 15th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
http://tinyurl.com/z7cmc
Vancouver Courier had an article in 2004 Dec 22 on leaky twin towers Pacific Point at Pacific/Homer. The “estimated” costs were tagged at $10.5 million.
The cost ranges from $58,000 to more than $100,000 per unit.
That was in 2004.
September 15th, 2006 at 7:04 pm