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Annual Report 2023
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CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT October 20, 2023
This year our colleague and past chair Liz Marshall prepared a research paper that addressed the ability of municipalities to fine or tax property owners who have rental units that are left vacant. Her paper is archived on the CJRB website in the “Reports” section.
Ou colleague Al Rosen published a number of articles including “Why Faulty IFRS cannot be repaired” and “IFRS without warnings”, both of which have been archived at the following link:?https://canadianjusticereviewboard.ca/reports-papers/why-faulty-ifrs-cannot-be-repaired?
Our colleague Jim MacDonald authored an open letter to the Rotaman Alumii Award nominations committee in which he urged the committee to adopt higher standards. His letter has also been archived at the following link:
https://canadianjusticereviewboard.ca/reports-papers/open-letter
Liz Marshall recommend that 'Threats to The Security of Canada'?authored by?Asher Honickman?from 'Advocates For The Rule Of Law'?be added to the CJRB website’s articles. It is archived at ?https://canadianjusticereviewboard.ca/reports-papers/%E2%80%9Cthreats-to-the-security-of-canada%E2%80%9D-the-case-for-a-single-stringent-standard?
Al Rosen published his latest book titled?Avoiding Swindlers. His CJRB webpage has been updated to include it, and it can especially be noted that it received acclaim in “Reader Views”https://readerviewsarchives.wordpress.com/2022/11/07/meet-the-author-rosen/
On October 28th?our colleague Jim MacDonald?announced that he had directed that some of the proceeds from his successful class action to go to Windsor U's law school.
Our colleague David Franklin was congratulated for his successful push for an RCMP & OPP fraud investigation of Fortress Real Developments Inc. David’s summary of that matter was posted on Facebook where it received the highest circulation and approval this year.
Over the past nine months, I answered requests from the Toronto Star seeking information about the property assessment process and data used by the Municipal Property Assessment process (MPAC). I shared with the Toronto Star an assessment evaluation that I did in 2007 on multi-residential assessments. That study showed that new buildings were 30% under assessed and older ones 30% over assessed. MPAC published a report indicating their assessments were accurate based on a percentage of the overall average assessments. While this was mathematically true, it did not expose the great variance in assessments between older vs newer buildings. Owners of older buildings were subsidizing owners of newer buildings by millions of dollars. The Star's investigation showed the same flaw in residential properties. MPAC would not share their data with the Star, citing agreements with Teranet as the reason. Here are some of the links to the articles so far. More will follow. Note that to access all the articles a subscription to the Star is required.
l https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/toronto-property-assessments-are-shielded-from-public-scrutiny-this-is-how-we-discovered-many-of/article_3da760fa-5d38-524d-8aa1-3ef3b64e1bf0.html
I am grateful for the assistance that I have received from the other directors of the CJRB in pursuing our common goal of improving the justice system so that it returns to delivering the protections that it should provide for all Canadians and so that the administration of justice is not cast into disrepute.? The information posted on the CJRB website and on Facebook has been well received and read by an increasing number of people across the country.? I look forward to achieving more in the upcoming year.
Yours truly,
Glenn Lucas
chairman