Owners Participation in Council Meetings

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ATTENDING AND SPEAKING AT A COUNCIL MEETING?

Every Strata must have a Strata Council that exercise the powers of the Strata through Council Meetings. Many owners are interested in what happens during council meetings and occasionally ask whether they have the right to attend or participate in council discussions. This may be more important to Owners when a Council has delegated a significant amount of its authority and will be receiving updates from those people.

These are two different questions. The first is whether owners may attend council meetings as observers. The second is whether they have the right to actively participate in council discussions and decision-making.

Understanding the distinction helps set appropriate expectations for both owners and council members.

IS THERE A RIGHT TO ATTEND A COUNCIL MEETING?

The Strata Property Act does not specifically address whether Owners may attend council meetings as observers. Instead, the matter is governed by the

Strata's bylaws. Therefore, strictly speaking Owners do not have a right to attend council meetings.

The Standard Bylaws permit owners to attend council meetings as observers but exclude attendance during certain portions of meetings, including bylaw contravention hearings, rental restriction exemption hearings, and matters where privacy concerns would be unreasonably affected.

The Morley Hanson Model Bylaws contain similar provisions but expand the list of exceptions to include human resource matters, issues involving solicitor-client privilege, adjudicative decisions, and other matters involving privacy concerns.

The balance that these two forms of bylaws attempt to achieve is providing Owner's with transparency while protecting confidential and sensitive information.

DOES ATTENDING A COUNCIL MEETING MEAN AN OWNER HAS THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE?

Attending a council meeting as an observer does not automatically give an Owner the right to participate in the discussion.

Council meetings are meetings of the elected council, and Council Members are responsible for conducting the business of the Strata. While Councils may choose to invite comments or hear from owners on particular matters, Owners should generally expect that their role is to observe rather than actively participate.

There may be situations where Council believes Owner input would be beneficial. For example, Owners may have information regarding a maintenance project, a community initiative, or another issue under consideration.

At the same time, Council may decide that active participation would interfere with the efficient conduct of the meeting or make it difficult to complete the agenda.

WHEN SHOULD COUNCIL ALLOW PARTICIPATION?

Every Strata Community is different, and there is no single approach that works for every council meeting. The Morley Hanson Model Bylaws include the ability for the Chair of the Council Meeting to determine whether an observer can participate.

Council may wish to consider allowing owner participation when:

• Additional information would assist decision-making.

• Community feedback would be valuable.

• The issue affects a significant portion of the ownership.

• Brief discussion could help avoid misunderstandings.

  
  

At the same time, Council should ensure that owner participation does not prevent Council from efficiently conducting its business or compromise confidential matters.

Clear expectations regarding attendance and participation can help meetings remain productive while encouraging owner engagement.

TRANSPARENCY SUPPORTS OWNER'S ATTENDING COUNCIL MEETINGS WHILE EFFICIENCY SUPPORTS OWNER'S NOT PARTICIPATING

Owners and Council Members should understand that attending a council meeting and participating in a council meeting are different concepts. While bylaws often permit owners to attend as observers, active participation is generally at the discretion of council and should be managed in a way that balances transparency, owner engagement, and effective governance.