With a new week comes a few updates related to the COVID-19 situation, as well as many things that remain the same. While the current circumstances are by no means normal, they have become our new normal for the time being. When these updates began, we promised that we would communicate information on a weekly basis for as long as the situation continued. While we are still in the midst of dealing with COVID-19, there is not as much new information or as many changes to operations as previously. Therefore, we have decided to send updates once every two weeks, rather than on a weekly basis. If something significant occurs that impacts our client operations, we will of course update you on that. Otherwise, you can expect to see an email in your inbox every other Monday. Thanks for sharing your time with us, and we hope that you will continue to find the information we share helpful and supportive.
As noted previously, there were a few items to mention this week.
General Meetings – A ministerial order was released on April 15th that allows strata corporations to conduct general meetings electronically. Despite the order, challenges remain with registration, owner participation and voting that we need to discuss and contemplate as a team prior to exploring this option with clients. The information accompanying the ministerial order speaks to restricted proxy meetings continuing as an option, with the strata council deciding the best option for its community. We are moving forward with internal discussions regarding this information and will share specific process developments with councils once they are determined.
Fortis BC – FortisBC has introduced a Customer Recovery Fund to help minimize the monthly billing impacts to those natural gas, propane and electric residential and small business customers who have been affected by COVID-19. Residential customers can have their bills deferred from April 1 to June 30, 2020 and be entered into a repayment plan that will be spread out over the next 12 months. For more information, go to Fortis BC’s Customer Recovery Fund page.
Benefits Hub – For anyone looking for clarity on the governmental support programs that might apply to them, CBC has created a handy page to help. It provides a hub of benefits that the federal government, provinces and territories are offering to people financially affected by the coronavirus, and lets you select the province and situations that relate to you, for ease of navigation.
As always, thank you for your continued support and please take care of yourselves and each other!
Your Proline Management Team