Frequently asked questions

The Co-op follows the Social Housing Reform Act & Co-operative Corporations Act, which consists of laws passed by the Ontario Government and cannot be contravened by our by-laws, Forestwood's own By-laws, and policies that cover just about every situation including parking, and party room rentals.

It takes time to learn all the policies and by-laws. All orientations packages have copies of at least two by-laws and two policies for applicants to become familiar with before their interviews. When in doubt, members can always go to staff to get answer or consult their by-law/policy handbooks, or check them online.

All members must agree to and follow Forestwood by-laws and policies. Changes can be made by the members at General Members meetings. Members agree to these by-laws and policies when they sign their housing agreements. Members can be evicted for breaking co-op by-laws. An example: You must notify the co-op of any guests staying in your unit and attain approval from the Board for your guest if they are going to be staying with you for more than 30 days.

Members must know their rights and responsibilities. This information is provided within the member handbook, which is given to members upon move-in.

The following flowchart shows the relationships between the various components of Forestwood.

As you can see the MEMBERS are at the top of the chart and as such, the Co-op cannot function properly without their involvement.

The Co-op is also made up of a Board of Directors (elected by the members), Staff (9 paid employees of the Co-op), and various consultants.

We receive subsidy funding from the Region of Peel as of October 1, 2001. Previous to this, our funding came from the Ontario Government. Funding is provided to administer what is known as "Rent Geared to Income" units. These make up approximately 65% of our property.

i. The Board of DirectorsThe Board has nine ( 9 ) seats available. The Directors are elected by the members at the Annual General Members Meeting. The Board are the employers and oversee the staff and long term planning for the Co-op. They meet twice a month. The Board acts as representatives of the Co-op in legal matters.

The Membership Committee is a very important group. This committee holds the orientations and conducts the interviews. After the interviews are completed they have a meeting to discuss each potential member. Once they have made their decisions, they present their recommendations to the Board of Directors. They also review internal move requests, long term guest requests and applications. The committee meets once a month.

This is a great committee. The volunteers put together functions for the kids of Forestwood throughout the year such as Christmas, Easter, & Hallowe'en parties. In the summer we have our annual Fun Fest which is an all day event. This year time will be spent concentrating on fund raising. At times it's a lot of work, but to see the smiles on the kid's faces makes it all worthwhile. The Social Committee meets once a week when planning a function. iv. Election Planning Committee

Meets from September until end of November each year. Organizes election, candidates workshop, wine & cheese meet the candidates party, elections newsletter, list of nominees and AGM election.

As of October 14, 2011, these are the monthly housing charges:

Members housing charges are due on the first of the month. Housing Charge payments may be made using cheques, money orders, or Interac. No cash is accepted. Members must contact office staff is there is any problem with housing charge payments. It is imperative to communicate with staff as members can be evicted if in arrears.

Each member should keep in mind the costs to the Co-op of actions such as: leaving lights, air conditioners, and televisions on when not at home, calling the emergency pager for non-emergency reasons, and poor upkeep of units and common areas. The finances of the Co-op are really the ultimate responsibility of the members, and budgets can only be approved by members. Annual detailed budgets and audited financial statements are given to all members.

Among some of the things members are expected to do are pay a one time $15.00 fee for membership upon move-in, attend general member meetings, participate on committees, special interest groups, or other volunteer activity, learn the policies and by-laws of the Co-op, be aware of the Board of Directors and their role, vote on decisions such as building projects, by-laws and policies, and understand that the 8 staff people are not members of the Co-op and with the exception of the one superintendent, do not live here and should not be treated as such.

Members are expected to participate but its up to them to decide how much beyond the basic requirements they are willing to go.

If you are interested in volunteering at Forestwood then please visit the staff at the main office.

We have many opportunities for members to get involved and volunteer within their community. Whether it is attending meetings, delivering letters and flyers for the office, participating on a committee, cleaning up and tending gardens on our grounds, or just staying alert to what's happening in the Co-op and reporting anything suspicious to staff, there is no shortage of what one can do!

The staff keeps track of meeting attendendance and all other forms of volunteer participation. This information will be looked at when a member makes a request such as internal move, long term guest, extra parking spaces, etc. Furthermore, volunteering can benefit by providing better living conditions for everyone.

All requests, for anything from extra parking spots to long term guests must be presented in writing to staff. Staff will then present the request to the Board of Directors for approval.

It is very important that we maintain records/documents of member requests. Even work to be done in units must be generated by a work order filled out by the member.