**Fair warning OAHI pushing for licencing cannot happen under their watch! Don’t let OAHI let any of you become fodder. Unite and make your voice heard!
**It’s an affront to all home inspectors given how OAHI operates to have them dictate government policy!
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2011/31/c9187.html
In a year in which municipal, federal and soon provincial elections have produced immense leadership and representation change in Ontario, the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors have followed suit and opted for mainly smaller market representatives. Members are also expanding their inspection of new homes and sharing their expertise in new and existing housing stock via a publishing arrangement.
MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 31, 2011 /CNW/ - Historically, Canadians love to hate Ontario and Canadians and Ontarians love to hate Toronto. With a large proportion of its membership from the Toronto area, the members of the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) have appointed a Board of Directors from almost everywhere but Toronto. Less a matter of anti-Toronto sentiment, this represents a resurgence of grassroots interest in the Association and profession of home inspection. Simultaneously, terms for directors have been extended from one to two years to ensure continuity of leadership.
Directors and Officers of the Association are:
President Robin Green, RHI, Oakville
Vice President Donald Beneteau, RHI, Windsor
Secretary Peter Weeks, RHI, Ottawa
Treasurer Kirk Iredale, RHI, Exeter
Director John Armstrong, RHI, Orillia
Director David Cook, RHI, Stayner
Director David Leech, RHI, Meaford
Director Pam Sayne, RHI, Haliburton Highlands
Continuing on this path of change and adaptation, members endorsed two further initiatives. OAHI, in a new deal with technical publisher, Orderline, has entered into an arrangement in which its members will author a variety of publications for the public, real estate consumers and other technical users on various subjects relating to existing and new housing and small buildings. The goal is to share OAHI’s considerable expertise in the state, design, construction, renovation and operation of new and existing real property, and create a more informed marketplace.
Secondly, with funding from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and in conjunction with the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors, National and Provincial authorities including Tarion Warranty Corporation, OAHI has launched a New Construction Inspection (NCI) training course. The NCI course is available to its members and is based on a new standardized protocol for the inspection of new homes under warranty, as part of a pilot program. The hope is that by standardizing an inspection protocol, consumers and other stakeholders will be better served and construction quality further supported. The Ontario experience will be used to inform protocols in other provinces within which new home warranty systems vary in terms of design, scope and mandate.
The members also voted to redo the OAHI website to upgrade and modernize the look, feel and substance of the site for clients and other stakeholders such as candidate inspectors.
OAHI continues to enhance protection for consumers by remaining in formal contact with Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Consumer Services to enhance knowledge of its members in building codes and standards, and expressing its position that all home inspectors in Ontario should be formally qualified to practice. For the first time, OAHI participated with other professional and regulatory bodies on the advisory committee for the Housing portion of the 2012 Ontario Building Code.
President Robin Green commented that: “OAHI’s goal in all of these matters is to support consumer protection through improved qualification systems, training, and communication.”
About the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors:
The OAHI was formed in 1987. In 1994, the OAHI became a self-regulating professional body when the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors Act received royal assent, granting the OAHI the exclusive right to define qualification requirements, regulate its members and grant the designation “Registered Home Inspector” and “RHI” to qualified practitioners in the Province of Ontario, under control of title. The OAHI is dedicated to providing consumer protection by enhancing the technical skills and professional practice of home inspectors, and maintaining high professional standards through education and discipline.
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For further information:** Robin Green, President
Ontario Association of Home Inspectors
416-256-0960
r.green@oahi.com