Tag: conflict

Need help or have a concern? Here’s where to start

Our housing co-op is a busy, vibrant community—with lots of ways to get your questions answered and your needs met. Here are a few places to start:

Thinking of writing to The Weekly?

We’re honored that so many members turn to The Weekly as a first step when raising concerns. While sharing your thoughts in our newsletter can help raise awareness, please keep in mind that it’s not part of the official complaint process—and often isn’t the most effective way to get things resolved.

We absolutely welcome opinion pieces from members! However, if your concern involves the Board, a committee, or Management, we ask that you first reach out to them directly. If Management isn’t able to resolve the issue, they’ll make sure it gets passed along to the right people—usually the Board. Thanks for helping keep communication clear and constructive!

🔹  Have a Human Rights Concern?

The Board of Directors has a legal duty to take action on human rights issues if they become aware of them—even if no formal complaint has been submitted—as long as there are reasonable grounds to believe a breach may have occurred.

If you’re experiencing a human rights-related issue, here’s what to do:

🔹  When (and How) to Contact the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors encourages members to contact Woodsworth’s office staff for most issues. Our staff are trained to handle nearly all administrative matters and have the tools to resolve most concerns efficiently.

If an issue requires Board attention, Management will forward it—along with the necessary background—to help ensure the Board can respond in a timely and informed way.

Please keep in mind:

  • The Board meets once a month.
  • It typically gets involved only in matters of overall co-op policy or when other steps have been exhausted.  Exceptions include human rights issues and complaints about Management or the Board itself.

Still need help?
The Board includes a Property Management Liaison who can:

  • Help with unresolved concerns involving the office or management company.
  • Step in when other efforts to resolve an issue haven’t worked.
  • If your concern hasn’t been addressed—or you feel it hasn’t been handled fairly—you can write directly to the Board. Drop a letter in the Board’s mailbox (2nd floor).

Want to get on a Board agenda?
Under the Organizational Bylaw, members can ask to add a topic to a Board meeting. To do this, send a letter or email to the Board and CC both the Manager and Admin.
Deadline: Correspondence must be received at least 9 days before the meeting date. Email the Board, and cc the Manager.

🔹  Incident Reports
If there’s been an accident or incident that the Co-op should address, please use the Incident Form.

Find it in the Co-op Forms section of the website or in the Photocopy Room.
Submit it by email (to Admin), hand it in at the office, or drop it in the office mail slot in the lobby.

🔹  Conflict with a Neighbour?
The Conflict Mediation Committee (Reconciliation) is here to help resolve disputes between members in a fair and respectful way.

Check out their helpful “Six Steps to Repair” graphic on the Co-op website.
Or contact them directly: woodsworthconflictmediation@gmail.com

🔹  Appeals
If you disagree with a decision made by the Board or Management, you may be able to appeal to the Board of Directors. Or, in some cases, to the membership at a General Members’ Meeting (GMM). The Occupancy Bylaw explains the full appeals process. Reach out if you need help navigating it.

🔹  Privacy Concerns
If you believe your privacy has been breached, please contact the Co-op’s Privacy Officer (PIPEDA)—a designated Board member. You can find more information in the Organizational Bylaw. Check the Board members on the website www.woodsworthcoop.ca for the Privacy Officer.

🔹   Maintenance Issues? Submit a Work Order

  • Use the online Maintenance work orders request module
  • Fill out a paper form from the Photocopy Room.
    Or be sure to include your unit number, phone number, and email address so you can receive updates.
  • Emergency Maintenance – On-Call
    For urgent issues after 5 p.m. on weekdays or anytime on weekends or holidays, call:
    📞   437-766-3145

    NEW!  On-Call phone number  – from Friday July 31, 2026  –(temporarily, the message will still say HomeStarts.)

    OLD On-Call phone number: 877-858-1110 ext 4

ℹ️ Looking for Information?

Member conflicts and complaints, January 2022

Published in the Weekly January 9, 2022

From the Board of Directors

Our Woodsworth community being like any other community means we don’t always live harmoniously. Conflicts between members can be very difficult for the affected parties, but they can also impact our staff and the Board which must try to find resolutions. To illustrate the toll of such conflicts, at her exit interview, one of our recent managers named the stress from such member conflicts as one of the main reasons she left the job.

Conflict Resolution

During the exit interview, this ex-manager also suggested that the lack of conflict resolution skills in the Co-op revealed the need for more education, as well as training for dealing with grievances.

The Board agreed, and we had hoped to arrange professional training for new members of the Reconciliation Committee. Unfortunately, not enough people ran for committee positions at election time, and now we have to consider other options for moving forward. We ask a favour; if members have any suggestions, please forward them to us at board@woodsworthcoop.ca or if you don’t use a computer, drop off your note in the Board mailbox located in the second floor lobby.

At the very least, we are planning to hold a co-op-wide workshop, conducted by a mediator, in the near future. Look for details to be announced soon.

Co-operative communication

In the meantime, we ask members and long-term guests to try to live cooperatively. Woodsworth is a diverse community, all of us unique, so we ask for tolerance towards our differences as well.  We can all agree that everyone should feel safe, after all.

Ultimately, the Co-op always encourages members to try to resolve conflicts themselves and to do this, respectful communication is key. But please be aware that leaving anonymous notes at people’s doors is not cooperative, and could in fact be construed as harassment in some circumstances.

A reminder that problematic behaviors, such as abusive language, harassment, and/or threats of violence are prohibited in our bylaws, and if extreme enough, could potentially lead to eviction. We don’t want to sound heavy handed, but unfortunately some of these behaviors do occur, and the Board is obligated to take action.

Human Rights

Another factor in all this is our duty to abide by the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Code applies to the Co-op as a whole, including the Board, management, contractors, all committees and individual members as well. It is illegal to discriminate against or harass others on prohibited grounds: race, colour, ancestry, creed (religion), place of origin, ethnic origin, citizenship, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity), sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status, disability and receipt of public assistance.

Unfortunately, not only has Woodsworth had human rights claims brought against it in the past, it currently has three cases in process at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. As we’ve stated elsewhere, the Board and staff have worked with our insurance lawyer and the co-op’s lawyer to address these, which takes up time, resources and co-op money.

The Board will therefore investigate complaints that come to its attention in order to protect potential victims, and also to protect the Co-op from further litigation. The procedure for dealing with human rights complaints is laid out in our Human Rights Bylaw, found on the co-op website and also in the green bylaw binder in the Photocopy Room.

Rules

Sometimes member conflicts are about rules, or more specifically, about not following the rules. Though some of the time, people are unclear about what these are. Please check out the Rules Bylaw. The newly published A-Z Handbook for Woodsworth Members is also a good resource.

One thing to keep in mind about co-op rules: they are not policed. Staff manage the Co-op, and the Board governs it, but no one polices it. In a way, it’s an honour system. When we agree to live here, we agree to conduct ourselves cooperatively, and to abide by our bylaws and policies.

Of course, the rules apply to everyone equally, and if they are flouted or broken please let management or the Board know. If there is a complaint against staff, please only contact the Board. And if there is a complaint against a board member, please know that the director is required to declare a conflict of interest while the complaint is addressed.

Conclusion

This article isn’t a very nice way to start the new year and we apologize for that. Most Woodsworth members do in fact live harmoniously, and our community is wonderful in most ways. But conflict is one of the most inevitable things in life, especially during a stressful pandemic. We are trying to resolve these problems in a manner that is fair, transparent and effective. And we ask members involved in conflicts to do their part and please treat fellow members with respect.