COLCO NEWS RELEASE

Compensating Leaky Condo Owners will help restore confidence in the Government, the Justice system, the Housing market, and the Provincial Economy.

A submission to the select standing committee on Finance and Government Services 
 Pre-budget Consultation Review in accordance with
The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act, 
Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations
Government of British Columbia

Made on behalf of COLCO: The Coalition of Leaky Condo Owners
by Dr. James Balderson, Rudy Eylmann, and John Grasty
Founding members of the coalition.

1:30 PM, Monday, November 27, 2000
Burrard Room, Century Plaza Hotel
1015 Burrard St. Vancouver BC.

Thank you for this opportunity for COLCO to meet with the committee today, a federal election day, with a provincial election on the horizon.

COLCO: The Coalition of Leaky Condo Owners believes that the next provincial budget should recognize that British Columbia has suffered a devastating disaster in housing.

Thousands of British Columbians bought homes built and sold in British Columbia that were not fit for habitation because they were full of hidden defects that caused them to leak and rot.

The cost to repair leaky condos, co-ops, and single family homes will likely exceed $1 billion.

Furthermore, many of the homes came with a rotten, fraudulent warranty from the New Home Warranty Program.

The New Home Warranty Program was owned, controlled, and directed by the Canadian Home Builders Association (B.C.) as a marketing tool rather than for consumer protection.  It is now bankrupt. The operators have not been brought to account.

COLCO believes that compensating the owners of leaky rotten condos will help restore confidence in the government, the justice system, the housing market, and the provincial economy.

The next provincial budget can and should facilitate a self-liquidating 100% compensation program for the owners of leaky rotten housing in British Columbia.

This can be done with a balanced budget.

To do less will further erode confidence in the government, the justice system, the residential construction industry, and the provincial economy.

We direct your attention to additional materials submitted in support of this brief.