#message/email me if you would like help drafting an email to your mp | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

scotfem · 3 years

Text

Ooooh my god. Read the whole thing it's mind boggling and written by a TRA that doesn't actually know what oppression is

Last month, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon posted a heartfelt video statement online.

She said that she would make a stance to address transphobia in her party, outlining that it ‘is wrong and we must treat it with the zero tolerance we treat racism or homophobia.’

I – like many other Scottish National Party members who left in January – watched in tears.

Yet, I fear that Sturgeon’s words have come too late to undo the SNP’s slide into becoming one of the most concerning hubs of transphobia in Scotland.

When I, a non-binary person, joined the SNP In February 2019, the party felt like a beacon of hope. Scotland had a great LGBTQ+ equalities rating, and Nicola herself, as a life-long feminist and LGBTQ+ ally, was a role model I held in deep respect.

But at just three months in, I felt first-hand the party’s disregard for the safety and wellbeing of trans people.

After I appeared in a short social media video for the SNP’s official student wing, I became the focus of a disproportionately large hate campaign launched by anti-trans activists online. They pored over screenshots of my body shared over Mumsnet, mocking my features, which they found unfeminine.

As I watched the party fail to act as the same activists who attacked me sent thank you cards to SNP politicians like Joanna Cherry for her opposition to trans rights, I never took it upon myself to report what had happened. I was aware of other complaints that had received no response.

That was until I came to a crisis point in 2020 when I was subjected to coordinated, planned abuse by anti-trans activists at a branch meeting I had been invited to.

The leaked branch meeting minutes were seen by The Herald describing, ‘At one point photocopies of men taken from the internet were passed with the comments that they had all been convicted of predatory and paedophilic behaviour against women and girls while self-identifying as women’.

In shock at their actions, I did not look at them all but one picture stood out to me, of a well-known UK trans public figure.

This trans woman had experienced abuse online for her appearance not fitting the patriarchal ideal of what ‘woman’ looks like. Yet they compared her to convicted rapists and paedophiles, just for being who she is.

I couldn’t help but compare it to what happened to me over the SNP Student video; the sheer disgust at our bodies – objects to be ridiculed.

As the night went on that room devolved into a den of transphobia. The minutes detail that anti-trans activists ‘shouted comments of men getting access to women/girls in toilets and changing rooms and raping them and the infiltration of LGBT information in primary schools encouraging children to identify as gay or trans.’

I was too scared to say anything although the branch executive apologised for these activists’ actions and ushered me to safety; it took me three months to summon up the courage to talk publicly about it.

And my fear was justified. Six months after I formally complained, nothing was done. I felt hurt and betrayed when I did not receive the support I should have been able to expect.

I emailed the new National Secretary Stewart Stevenson MSP, setting my intention to leave unless an update on my complaint was provided within two weeks.

He said nothing. And so, I left.

The sad part is many other instances go unreported due to the survivors being too scared to come forward out of fear of harassment. I was not the first trans person to come forward about being abused in the SNP.

Emma Cuthbertson, the former convenor for the party’s official LGBTQ+ wing, said she sent ‘at least 21 complaints’ outlining instances of transphobic abuse she received from other party members to SNP HQ, the national secretary and even Sturgeon herself. She said no one responded and subsequently left to join the Scottish Greens.

The rumbles of bigotry and party inaction came to a crescendo on Tuesday January 26, the day before Holocaust Memorial Day, as prominent SNP MP Joanna Cherry appeared to defend an anti-trans activist whose Twitter account has been suspended for violating its ‘hateful conduct’ policy.

Cherry tweeted claiming that ‘Twitter moderation policies are a violation of #FreeSpeech & your hateful conduct policy does not protect women…As a Member of Parliament I’m calling you out on your sexism & your #HumanRights violations’, which was to me insinuating that sexism led to the account being banned rather than acknowledging the discriminatory remarks aimed at trans and Jewish people.

Last week, the SNP had a reshuffle and dropped Cherry from the front bench – Anne McLaughlin MP has been appointed instead as the party’s spokeswoman on justice and immigration.

Recently, Justice Minister Humza Yousaf submitted highly controversial proposals to the Hate Crime Bill, which seems to enshrine in law the demand of anti-trans activists to be exempt from hate crime regulations when criticising trans people’s identities.

This accumulation of stories shared over social media, to significant outrage, meant it was understandable that a sliver of recognition from Sturgeon in her video was enough to make mytears start.

Watching her was like having two years of fear and silence finally be put into words. I cried out of pain, mourning and exhaustion because I feel this has come too late to heal the harm done to trans people both inside and outwith the party.

At this time, I don’t think the SNP support trans people on our road to an equal and inclusive independent Scotland at all. Trans healthcare was already at crisis levels prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now, waiting times are at such severe levels that some trans people wait up tothree years just for their first appointment at a Gender Identity Clinic.

Trans women are experiencing an epidemic of Intimate Partner Violence, including domestic and sexual abuse from their partners.

I’ve watched as close friends’ lives have been ruined by these problems, but they seem of little interest to a party in which the mere mention of trans rights acts as a lightning rod for amplifying transphobia, and distracts from the mission of independence. Trans people are tired of having to ‘wheesht for Indy’ (‘wheest’ meaning hush).

It’s a horrible situation. Young people joined the SNP out of hope for a new Scotland and now many are regretting that decision.

Sturgeon has promised change and I believe her to be an ally but until change happens, I cannot see the SNP as a safe space for already marginalised trans people.

The onus is on all of our allies to pressure the SNP leadership to launch an independent, external review of its transphobic culture, with a focus on many ignored instances of discrimination and abuse, before a generation of its activists are lost.

‘We hope our efforts will reaffirm the status of the SNP as great supporters of the LGBT+ movement. The door remains open for Teddy, other trans people and trans allies, should they wish to re-join the party at any time.’

Joanna Cherry QC MP said: ‘I am not aware of anyone in the SNP who wants to undermine the rights of Trans people. As a lesbian, a feminist and a veteran of the struggles for equality I believe that everyone deserves equal protection under the law and I am very proud of the fact that in Scotland we have very good rights-based protections for Trans people.

‘There is currently a debate about changing the Gender Recognition Act in Scotland. Some people have advocated for a policy of self-identification of gender. In response Women have raised legitimate concerns about the impact on their sex-based rights enshrined under the Equalities Act. It is concerning that in this area it is difficult to express a viewpoint without being labelled a transphobe. The Scottish Government’s proposed amendment to the draft Hate Crime bill was designed to ensure that people who wish to discuss women’s sex-based rights would be protected from charges of transphobic hate crime. Without such protections Scotland will end up in breach of Article 10 ECHR which protects the right of free speech.‘

-End of article-

You read that right folx, this idiot is actually saying that women being able to congregate and speak about issues that affect us is hate speech and wants it to be enshrined in law. The trans movement couldn't be any more anti-woman if they tried

#scottish radfem #terfs do interact #terfs do touch #libfems dni #radical feminism

1 note · View note

ejrbrlbe · 6 years

Text

Help Support Trans Rights in the UK

This is a quick guide from mermaids an English charity which supports trans children.

Trans people in the UK do not currently have basic human rights. YOU can change this. Simply fill out this survey:

https://consult.education.gov.uk/government-equalities-office/reform-of-thegender-recognition-act/consultation/intro/

GENDER RECOGNITION ACT 2004 CONSULTATION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES: A QUICK GUIDE Link to the Consultation:

https://consult.education.gov.uk/government-equalities-office/reform-of-thegender-recognition-act/consultation/intro/

Deadline: 11pm on 19th October 2018 What is the Consultation? The Gender Recognition Act is the piece of legislation that sets out the procedure that someone must undergo to allow them to change their legal gender. ‘Legal Gender Recognition’ or ‘LGR’ is the term used to mean the process of someone having a gender that was not assigned to them at birth, legally recognised.

This is the piece of legislation that is being reviewed in preparation for it being officially reformed (changed) and updated. The consultation is the start of that process – it gives the public the opportunity to say what they think the law should say. Why is it important? Currently the law in England and Wales does not recognise that Trans and Non-Binary (TNB) Children and Young People (CYP) exist. But we know they do because adults do! Denying CYP the right to gender recognition gives them the message that there is something wrong with them and that who they are is not acceptable to society. This leads to the continuance of social intolerance. This needs to stop. For a full list of ‘Reasons to Respond’ in our Guidance Pack.

Where does the consultation apply? This GRA Consultation is asking what the law should be for England and Wales only, (but you can still respond to it if you live outside of England and Wales). There was a similar consultation that dealt with Scottish law recently, but this one was separate – if you responded to the Scottish Consultation, that does not mean you have responded to this one!

Where do I respond? You respond online; just click on the link at the top of the page! Can I respond to the consultation even if I am not TNB or if I am under 18? Yes! Anyone can respond regardless of age or gender identity. It is incredibly important that people who do not identify as TNB to respond to this consultation as well as those who do. Similarly, it is important to have people of all ages respond to the consultation: you do not have to be 18 to be able to respond! The more people that show their support for TNB CYP the better.

How do I stand up for TNB CYP in my Consultation response? The priority questions to stand up for TNB CYP are: 1, 2, 10, 11, 20 and 22. For more information on these questions and help in responding to them, please see our Guidance Pack. Is there anything else I can do? Yes! We have loads of resources in our Guidance Pack such as template letters to MPs, draft posts for social media, links to social media profile picture frames… everyone can do something to show support!

Request your Mermaids GRA Consultation Guidance Pack today by emailing [email protected] Nb. This Guidance does not tell you exactly what to say; we believe that YOUR story, thoughts and experiences are the most powerful and we want you to complete the consultation in your words.

TEMPLATE LETTERS

Letter to your MP (someone with a lived experience)

Dear [INSERT NAME] – (Find your MP here: https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/ ) As my local MP, I am writing to ask for your support in publicly advocating for progressive changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, which is currently undergoing a public consultation. Although the current Gender Recognition Act was welcomed when introduced in 2004, it is now significantly behind international best practice, and trans and non-binary people still face an intrusive, expensive, and bureaucratic process to legally change the gender on their birth certificate. As a trans/non-binary person [insert some text here about your personal experiences and why changes to the Act are important to you]. In particular, I am writing to ask for your support in advocating for future legislation to acknowledge my existence and call for a legal gender recognition procedure that will acknowledge me and give me the opportunity to be recognised for who I am, legally, before I am 18 years old. As one of your constituents, I would be grateful if you could respond outlining your stance on the areas of reform in relation to trans and non-binary children and young people. [I would also be grateful if we could arrange a meeting to discuss my experiences, and the public consultation, further.] I can be contacted on XXXXXXX or XXXXXXX. Yours Sincerely, XXXXXXX Letter to your MP (as an ally) Dear [INSERT NAME]

(Find your MP here: https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/ )

As my local MP, I am writing to ask for your support in publicly advocating for progressive changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, which is currently undergoing a public consultation. Although the current Gender Recognition Act was welcomed when introduced in 2004, it is now significantly behind international best practice, and trans and non-binary people still face an intrusive, expensive, and bureaucratic process to legally change the gender on their birth certificate. These changes are important to me because trans and non-binary people still face significant inequality and discrimination, despite protections such as the Equality Act 2010. An improved Gender Recognition Act could make a significant impact, by making the process of legal gender recognition more straightforward, less intrusive, and less bureaucratic. In particular, I am writing to ask for your support in advocating for transgender and non-binary children and young people to be recognised in future legislation. [Input what you believe legislation should provide for and why, in your own words]. As one of your constituents, I would be grateful if you could respond outlining your stance on the areas of reform outlined above. [I would also be grateful if we could arrange a meeting to discuss my experiences, and the public consultation, further.] Yours Sincerely XXXXXXXXXX

Letter to someone you are reaching out to for support

Dear [INSERT NAME] I am writing to you as my [friend, teacher, doctor … whoever they are!] to ask for your support in publicly advocating for progressive changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, which is currently undergoing a public consultation. The Gender Recognition Act does not acknowledge that trans and/or non-binary young people [(like me)] exist and I want this to change. I am reaching out to you as someone who knows me to ask for you to respond to the GRA Consultation here: and specifically stand up for the rights of trans and nonbinary young people. [Write why you think this person would be good at completing the consultation and what it would mean to you]. It is really important that we have people who are not trans and/or non-binary also responding to the consultation because it means that the government are more likely to listen to us if we have more people saying we should have the right to legal gender recognition. You can find the consultation here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/government-equalitiesoffice/reform-of-the-gender-recognition-act/consultation/intro/ and you have until 11pm on October 19th 2018 to complete it. You don’t have to complete every question and I attach some Guidance that will highlight the questions that impact me most. Thank you for your help. [Yours Sincerely/Love From/From/Kind regards…] XXXXXXXXXX

Template letter to a colleague

Dear [NAME] I am writing to you as my colleague to ask for your support in publicly advocating for progressive changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, which is currently undergoing a public consultation. The Gender Recognition Act does not acknowledge that trans and/or non-binary young people (like [me/my child/my friend etc]…) exist and I want this to change. I am reaching out to you as someone who knows me to ask for you to respond to the GRA Consultation here: and specifically stand up for the rights of trans and non-binary young people. [Write why you think this person would be good at completing the consultation and what it would mean to you]. It is really important that we have people who are not trans and/or non-binary also responding to the consultation because it means that the government are more likely to listen to us if we have more people saying we should have the right to legal gender recognition. You can find the consultation here: and you have until October 19th 2018 to complete it. You don’t have to complete every question and I attach some Guidance that will highlight the questions that impact me most. Thank you for your help. [Yours Sincerely/Love From/From/Kind regards…]

https://consult.education.gov.uk/government-equalities-office/reform-of-thegender-recognition-act/consultation/intro/

Tag as you see fit to get the highest amount of people to respond.

This will not change unless we change it. Fill in the survey. Stand up for human rights. Stand up for equality.

https://consult.education.gov.uk/government-equalities-office/reform-of-thegender-recognition-act/consultation/intro/

#trans rights #transgender #uk #human rights #transgender rights #LGBT #lgbt rights #survey #government #transphobia #violation of human rights #reform law

4 notes · View notes

iol247 · 4 years

Text

Battleground social media: How disinformation, propaganda and manipulation shape our online discourse

From Putin, Trump and Zuma directly to your screen – or via a myriad of intermediaries – the goal is the same: influence. In this multi-part series we explore how disinformation and propaganda flood our timelines and unmask some of the players involved.

18 May 2020 - Susan Comrie, Micah Reddy and Sam Sole

To live in the 21st century is to be manipulated.

From local mayors to Russian intelligence agencies to energy lobbyists and presidents, those seeking to boost their political power and influence increasingly turn to the dark arts of propaganda and disinformation to distort our world-view and further their agendas.

But these actors often rely on subterfuge, meaning that investigating the original source of disinformation is a bit like searching for a black hole: it cannot be seen, only inferred by watching how its gravitational pull re-arranges the universe.

Similarly, without a smoking gun – like the Bell Pottinger emails from the #GuptaLeaks – we can rarely see who directs disinformation and propaganda; we can only infer who may be responsible based on whose interests it serves and the faint trails it leaves in the political ether.

In South Africa, there is growing evidence that our social media space is manipulated by a wide range of actors: from the international white right to the fan club of former president Jacob Zuma.

For example, in recent years we have seen the rise of anonymous Twitter accounts, vocal activists and obscure non-profits that have taken to the streets, the courts and the pages of social media under the banner of “radical economic transformation”.

A mix of true believers, manipulators and opportunists, these groups raise genuine grievances about South Africa’s racially-skewed economy but also help to spread dangerous disinformation aimed at energising their base and targeting their perceived enemies.

Is there a hidden gravitational force pulling their strings? Is there a common goal that unites the defenders of former president Zuma with those championing economic reform and the energy lobby that is pushing for a Russian nuclear deal while also fighting to protect coal? Are there puppet-masters pulling the strings?

Armed with new evidence, including hundreds of messages from WhatsApp groups, we went looking for answers. This is what we found.

Chapter 1

The first missile hit at 1pm precisely.

“#HandsOffNUMSA. The Racist AmaBhungane is going after NUMSA because NUMSA has been vocal in its opposition against Independent Power Producers and has been winning Cases in Favor of Workers and Against Capitalists.”

The person holding the grenade launcher was Shampene Mphaloane, a young, dedicated proponent of radical economic transformation (RET). But at the time, we only knew him by the Twitter handle Superblack (@hostilenativ).

During the rest of the day – 20 September 2018 – he would send another 20 #HandsOffNumsa tweets, calling us “Stratcom”, “Racist Agenda setters” and “vile White Monopoly Capital bulldogs”.

Online abuse has become routine for amaBhungane since the first pro-Gupta trolls started targeting us on Twitter in 2016. What was unusual this time was that we were getting abuse before we had published our investigation.

Superblack (@hostilenativ): “AmaBhungane is drafting a Story to tarnish the reputation of NUMSA due to NUMSA’s opposition towards the IPPs and Privatization of Eskom. #HandsOffNUMSA”

Three days before, on 17 September, we had sent detailed questions to both Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim and the chairman of the Numsa Investment Company, Khandani Msibi. By 20 September, Superblack (@hostilenativ) not only knew about our questions, but knew who had sent them.

Superblack (@hostilenativ): “This is the Stratcom Agent behind the Propaganda Campaign against NUMSA and its General Secretary Irvin Jim. He always surfaces wherever the Interests of White Capital are at Stake. His name is Micah Reddy. He is also on the Soros Funded R2KCampaign #HandsOffNUMSA”

To which former ANC MP Tony Yengeni responded both menacingly and nonsensically: “Ive saved his face for the rainy day..”

***

The first thing Mphaloane wanted to know when we tracked him down was how we managed to link him to the Superblack (@hostilenativ) account.

We explained, then confronted him about the #HandsOffNumsa campaign.

“I didn’t necessarily run the campaign… I provided my opinion to the article,” he told us.

“[T]he investigative journalist at the time … sent a couple of questions to … a lot of people who were mentioned in the article, and they started to circulate the questions to quite a number of people, myself included. So, I started to comment around the article that was going to be published.”

Union sources confirmed that amaBhungane’s questions were circulated on WhatsApp. But evidence suggests Mphaloane was not just casually expressing his opinion.

Of the 41 tweets posted that day using #HandsOffNumsa, half came from Mphaloane’s Superblack (@hostilenativ) account.

So who is Mphaloane and why did he rush to Numsa’s defence?

***

The first time we heard Mphaloane’s name was when the newly-formed SA Natives Forum approached the Western Cape high court in February 2018, seeking to permanently stay the corruption charges against former president Zuma.

SA Natives Forum was registered eight days after Zuma resigned, and it waited just one day more before filing a 420-page application arguing that all criminal charges against Zuma should be dropped.

Mphaloane was both a director of SA Natives Forum and its spokesperson.

“We are an independent, non-partisan, social justice foundation and think tank. And that implies we are not related to any political party and we are independent,” he told the SABC’s Bongani Bingwa during an interview a month later.

“We’re not in touch with the former president at all,” he added.

On the question of who was funding the pro-Zuma case, Mphaloane was coy: “In so far as who’s funding us, we will release an audited financial statement at the end of the financial year…”

That never happened and Mphaloane now says that their lawyer, Lucky Thekisho, agreed to work on contingency: “Their argument was, if we win this, then we can try and get a cost order.”

Although Mphaloane studied chemical engineering, his CV describes his work at SA Natives Forum as “developing and managing a social media outlet … as well as providing advocacy and managing campaigns that are of national interest”.

By July 2018, he was looking for new opportunities. “My background is engineering but now I’m looking for anything so I can fund the struggle,” his Superblack alter ego tweeted.

***

Shortly after Superblack’s #HandsOffNumsa Twitter offensive, Mphaloane changed his LinkedIn profile to reflect his new job: claims specialist for 3Sixty, the life insurance company owned by the Numsa Investment Company and chaired, like its parent company, by Msibi.

Two weeks later, in mid-October 2018, amaBhungane published the results of its investigation – Numsa cornered by capital? – alleging that Msibi used his position at the Numsa Investment Company and its financial resources to gain political influence in Numsa, pushing both the union and Jim, its general secretary, closer towards the Zuma faction.

Once again, Mphaloane hit back:

Superblack (@hostilenativ): “Forces of Imperialism are not happy that NUMSA has a thriving Investment Arm that can fund NUMSA’s litigation against IPPs so this is how lauch their attack. Mass media propaganda. #HandsOffNUMSA”

What followers of Superblack were not told was that he was being paid a salary by the company he was defending.

We put it to Mphaloane that it looked like he was using an anonymous account to attack his employer’s perceived enemies. “Where am I attacking? There’s a difference between attacking and responding to an article… I just have my own opinion which I’m expressing.”

We put this apparent coincidence to Msibi too: “I know Shampene but I didn’t know [Superblack] was his account,” he claimed before doubling down: “AmaBhungane did write a story about me … you had a campaign against me.”

Is it plausible that Msibi was unaware that he had such a prominent RET champion working under his roof?

Access the documents we used for this investigation, by clicking on the Evidence docket.

Two sources from the Numsa Investment Company told us that Mphaloane and Msibi had a close relationship – although both denied it. One incident both sources recalled was when Mphaloane’s work laptop was stolen, and Msibi personally intervened to ensure he received a replacement.

But in a group with 1 200 employees, that kind of personal attention stood out.

Msibi did not deny this but explained: “Shampene … didn’t have a laptop because his was stolen and some senior person resigned and his was available. I was not going to get a new laptop bought when there was a laptop lying around of a senior person. Why can’t he use it?”

***

“A lot of things are just coincidental,” Msibi told us. “Shampene, if he is [Superblack], I don’t think he has that many followers to actually be having any impact online.”

In fact, Superblack (@hostilenativ) has more than 32 000 followers, making Mphaloane an influential voice on Twitter and an amplifier for his politically outspoken boss, whom he regularly retweets.

Before and after: Superblack (@hostilenativ) was one of the most popular accounts on RET Twitter. It was deactivated last week after amaBhungane started asking questions.

“[I]nitially when I started this account, I just wanted to give my own view into things… But it was not my intention to remain anonymous, I was not trying to hide something,” Mphaloane told us.

But a few days after our phonecall, the Superblack (@hostilenativ) account was deactivated.

The evidence suggests that Mphaloane used his Twitter alter-ego to target Numsa and Msibi’s perceived enemies.

The question is, would he do the same for the pro-Zuma lobby?

What we would discover is that a WhatsApp group had been set up with this in mind.

https://amabhungane.org/stories/battleground-social-media-how-disinformation-propaganda-and-manipulation-shape-our-online-discourse/

0 notes

francis617-blog · 5 years

Text

Francis Lawrence Fernandes -Independent Candidate

175 Kalina Consitutency -Mumbai – Maharashtra.

Lets Move 175 Kalina Constituency Mumbai Forward Together

CONTRIBUTE : Make a difference in

175 Kalina Constituency Mumbai

DONATE :

₹2000

₹500

₹200

₹100

Other

Dear Business Owner/Manager of Coperate Social Responsibilities and Public in General.

My name is Francis Lawrence Fernandes and am an Independent Candidate and am processing my candidature for contesting the forth coming Vidhan Sabha Election year 2019.

I am not a career Politician but believe in standing up for the community That’s why I am Campaigning for safer communities, Supporting Independent Indentity and will be fighting for local jobs , Improvising the present Government established Hospitals and health Centres, Improve the

Lives of General People helping them to do their best for their families, Trans genders help them to establish their image and stand in the community …….and be a strong and effective MP who will be accountable to you at all times of my living. I am writing asking you to contribute to my campaign for re-election so that I can continue fighting to restore the Trust of my Constituency people.

As a non wining member of the Parliament I am keenly aware of the damage public corruption inflicts on our democracy. The sense of betrayal undermines faith in our great system, which is nothing without the support of the people. As I need to work hard to repair that damage I know that I must do everything in my power to avoid even the suggestion of impropriety.

I am looking to raise funds to help me pay for the cost, expenses, etc that would be required and incurred for contesting the election.

Since 2005 I have been an active social worker dedicating my every hard efforts supporting candidates to fight election for the progress and development of our constituency seeing not much of the achievement got from them to the consitutency people at large I had contested in 2009 for BMC and in 2014 for both Lok Sahbha and Vidhan Sabha Election but lost. But still keeping hopes that I can win this 2019 forth coming election I need funds to communicate and reach out to every people at Large thru proper social communication etc..

I am writing to you appealing with request to give me your support to have me fight the election in more strong on feet basis against the Party Candidates in my Constituency. Would you be willing to contribute any good amount to help me accomplish my goals, achievement to become one of the powerful member of Parliament to fight for the right progress and development .

Your Donation will be used to help our jobless individuals, support our Constituency Veterans, and protect social security and Medicare for Seniors, aged parents care houses, Compulsory Education to all in our Constituency, print banners, hand bills, to conduct rallies ….etc.etc …all which be truly maintained and logged in books of election maintained accounts.

I need your Support so that I can defend myself against the ongoing slaughts, corruptions and arrogance that cheapens our democracy. Please contribute to my campaign for re-electioin and help me send the message to my opponents that the times have changed. You don’t have to contribute thousands of Rupeees to make a difference. If enough people hand to gether to give Rs. 2000/-, Rs.500/-, Rs.200/-, Rs.100/- & Other .

we can stand up to our opponents big money supporters. Every bit helps. Together we will continue to move our country in a better direction.

If you anyone wish to speak further about my ambition to contest this forth coming election, feel free to reach out to me at Phone Number +91 9029339596 or write to my email address :- [email protected]. I love to answer to any question you have and give you more information.

Just a small donation from you will help me accomplish my goals. If you can’t give, but still want to support my cause, please share my request with your friends, family members and co-workers. With More people aware of cause, we’ll be one step closer to reaching our goal.

Thank you in advance for your contribution, you have no idea how much it means to me to have your kind support.

Here are the ways you can make the donation:-

1. If you woud like , you can send in your donation to :-Adress :- Francis Lawrence Fernandes, 149 Amir Bee Chawl, Room No. 3 and 7, Vakola Village Road, Santacruz – East, Mumbai – 400 055. Maharashtra. – INDIA .

2. Send the cheque /demand draft- no cash please.

Or you may contact me to set up another Donation Method.

Thank you once again !!!!

Yours sincerely

Francis Lawrence Fernandes

Independent Candidate -175 Kalina Consitutency

Mumbai – Maharashtra.

0 notes

rebeccahpedersen · 6 years

Text

Price-Fixing In The Toronto Rental Market?

TorontoRealtyBlog

I’ve been writing blogs for over eleven full years now, and in those eleven years, I’ve told a lot of stories, pointed a lot of fingers, and exposed a lot inconvenient truths about the Toronto real estate market.

I’ve received complaints through my brokerage, I’ve been taken to RECO, and I’ve been sued.

There’s a delicate balance between trying to spread the proverbial “good word,” and both inform and empower the consumer, and keep my name and career in good standing at the same time.

So with that said, I am not going to name the developer, and the real estate brokerage, that are the subject of today’s blog. I honestly don’t think it would make a lick of difference, to be quite honest.

I have been saying for the better part of a decade now that the Condominium Act, 1998, which was likely drafted, edited, and revised from, say, 1995 to 1998 inclusive, is exceptionally out-of-date, and needs a complete overhaul.

Remember back in 2012, when NDP MP, Rosario Marchese, jumped on the bandwagon and started to make noise about significant changes to the Condominium Act? Google it, and you’ll find dozens of articles. But was “significant change” ever implemented?

We’re beyond “change” at this point. The Act needs an entire re-write.

One of the best blogs I’ve ever written, if I do say so myself, is this one: “National Hockey League vs. The Condominium Act (1998).”

Back in 2012, I decided to compare the National Hockey League’s “Collective Bargaining Agreement” to the Condominium Act. Why? Because the CBA was the cause of all the issues between the players and owners, and had to be renegotiated every 5-7 years. Simply put, the owners would discover all the ins, outs, end-arounds, and ways to ‘cheat’ the system, and over time, the agreement needed to be changed.

Do you see the parallel I’m making with the Condominium Act? You’d think after twenty years, condo developers and their lawyers have a pretty good idea of what they can and can’t do, regardless of the intent of the Act.

Now you know me – I’m not a fan of government intervention in a free market. So I just know some of the savvy blog readers are about to comment that this comes off as hypocritical. But I do have a habit of cheering for the little guy, and I do believe in consumer protection.

So for the life of me, I just can’t see why not a single person in a position of power and influence is interested in taking another look at an outdated piece of legislation. And for that reason, I’m not going to put my neck in the guillotine today and name the names.

I will, however, tell you the story in full; with slight adjustments to the who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Last month, a client of mine who is a long-time condominium investor, asked me to lease out his unit a new GTA condominium that had just given occupancy.

For those of you that don’t know what “occupancy” means, perhaps a brief refresher…

Condos are pre-sold, before there’s ever a shovel in the ground. When your individual unit is finished (according to the developer), regardless of what else is happening in the building, you are given “occupancy.” You then wait an indeterminate period – often a year (I’ve seen occupancy last anywhere from one week, to two years), for the building to be registered as a Condominium Corporation.

It’s important to note that once you’re handed the keys and given occupancy, you don’t own the unit. You can’t mortgage it, you can’t sell it, and the occupancy period comes with various regulations, and/or restrictions.

During this occupancy period, you pay an occupancy fee or a “phantom mortgage” as some people call it, to the developer.

My client, like every other person in his position, wanted to lease the unit out during the occupancy period to offset the occupancy fee. This is common, almost automatic, in the Toronto condo industry.

So after he was given the keys, we listed the unit on MLS for $2,195 per month.

About ten days into the listing, something bizarre happened. It’s something that through 14 years in this business, I have never seen before.

I received page through my brokerage front desk (not on an actual pager; we get ‘messages’ and call them ‘pages,’ I don’t know why) that I didn’t quite know what to make sense of.

Why don’t you read it for yourself, and tell me what your first reaction would be. Here’s that page, literally copied-and-pasted from my MS Outlook:

I didn’t know what in the world this meant.

I had to change the list price?

My client wouldn’t be allowed to book the elevator?

Huh?

So I immediately called the developer, and I told the first person who answered what I was calling about. She had no idea what to do with the call. I was transferred twice, told two more people why I was calling, and finally I got a nice young lady who said she knew what the message was.

This is, word-for-word, what she told me:

“Well the developer doesn’t want people setting their own prices. These units have to be at least $2,200 on MLS, because he thinks it will devalue the building otherwise.”

I probably speak to 30-40 different people on the phone, every day, so trust me when I say that I didn’t think this lady knew what she was saying. So I got a bit chatty, and replied:

“Wow, that’s crazy! That’s blatant price-fixing! What’s going on?”

She said, “I know, right?”

I said, “Who told you this?”

She replied, “Well I heard a few people in the office talking about it, so I know what’s the situation. That’s why I took your call, because they didn’t know who to pass the call to.”

I am one-hundred percent convinced that this lady was not supposed to divulge what she did. “The developer thinks it will devalue the building.” There’s just no way.

This reminds me of a story I’ve told on this blog before. It was probably ten years ago now, and I was in the sales centre for Market Wharf. When I told one of the ladies on the floor that the pricing made no sense, because comparable resale properties were already available cheaper, and that there was no room for appreciation, she said, “The appreciation is built in already.”

I smiled and said, “Who told you that?”

She said, “I heard it at our sales meeting this morning.”

This was around the time that pre-construction prices started to move past resale prices, because let’s not forget – once upon a time, you paid LESS to buy an unbuilt promise of a condo, on a parking lot, five years down the line, with all the risks involved. So back at the Market Wharf sales centre, when I remarked that the pricing made no sense, this lady working the floor basically told me what the developer and/or a few sales people must have been laughing about in a meeting earlier that day – that the “appreciation was built in already,” since the developer was going to absorb the future premium, not the buyer, as was the custom.

So back to my situation – with the developer telling me I had to raise the list price of my listing, or they wouldn’t let my client book the elevator.

I knew this was wrong in so many ways (even though, as I’ll explain in a moment, there’s actually absolutely nothing wrong with it at all), so I asked the lady on the phone if she could provide me with something to this effect in writing, and she took down my email address and phone number.

Five minutes later, I received a call from somebody who sounded good on the phone. You know the type – he was sharp, dialed-in, and knew his stuff.

He was also condescending, cynical, and sarcastic. In another life, we would be best friends.

He said, “I understand you have some questions about our request?”

I explained that I was confused by the request, which had simply come through my front desk in the form of a page, and asked him if he could send me something in writing.

He said he couldn’t, and reiterated the request.

Now I wasn’t looking for an argument here, nor was I trying to bait him into anything. I was, after all, just working on behalf of my client. A long-time client that I have done many transactions with, and who I owe a significant duty of care. This request was a strange one, and I needed to gather all the facts. They were asking us to raise the list price by a paltry $5, and essentially threatening us by saying they wouldn’t let us use the moving elevator.

The voice on the other end of the line explained that the client/landlord was holding the unit in the “occupancy phase,” and thus the developer had to provide consent for my client to lease the unit. That consent is unfettered, unquestioned, and in the developer’s sold and absolute discretion.

And this is what I meant when I said there’s nothing actually wrong with the developer, and the real estate brokerage associated with the developer, fixing prices.

They can do whatever they please.

The contract that buyers sign in pre-construction has a clause about “consent,” and that consent MUST be given.

End of story.

The developer, to put it so eloquently, has the owners by the balls.

I asked the voice on the other end of the phone, who said his name was “Andrew,” what his last name was. He said, “I’m not telling you that. Why would I tell you that?”

I said, “Because I don’t know who you are.”

He said, “Well I don’t know who you are,” and I pretty much realized where this was going.

But that’s how I knew I wasn’t speaking to another real estate agent. No self-respecting agent would refuse to provide his or her name. We are our names.

I asked, one more time, to get a copy of something in writing to explain what needed to be done, and why, because I needed to know how to advise my client, and it was impossible to do so with no more than a confusing page through my office, and the results of a testy phone call. “Andrew” said that he would be in touch.

The next day, I received an email from “Andrew,” this time providing his name and title, CC’ing my client (at an email address he hasn’t used in years – really helpful!), two other people at the developer’s head office, and I believe a lawyer.

This email was deliberately vague, making no mention of their request to increase the price, or their threat of withholding access to the elevator, but making a new and far more important, and effective threat, as follows:

–

I spoke with the developer regarding your MLS listing on the above property. Your client is in breach of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale as outlined in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, clause 17, page 6.

As such, the developer has notified their legal team about the breach of contract. Your client and their lawyer will be receiving notice that due to the breach of contract, they are now in default.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly. In the meantime, I strongly suggest you cancel the above mentioned listing.

–

Amazing.

They were now threatening breach of contract.

And they made no mention of their request to increase the price. Completely strategic, and well-thought-out on their part. Everything that could be perceived as wrong-doing on their part was done verbally, except for the page through my office.

I responded to the email, once again, suggesting that the actual request that was being referenced, be put in writing, since we still were not sure what the request was, or exactly why it was being given – save for his referencing a page and paragraph from the Agreement of Purchase & Sale.

We increased the list price by $5, but I knew how this was going to end.

I was the squeaky wheel. I wasn’t trying to be. I swear, I wasn’t looking for a fight here. I was just trying to protect my client.

But two days later, the developer told my client that he should probably terminate the listing, and re-list with their in-house brokerage.

By the time my client passed this info on to me, I already had the termination drawn up.

In fact, I just had a bad feeling about the whole situation, and was going to tell my client to call the developers and tell them that he had fired me! Tell them, “I can’t stand David Fleming, I don’t know why I hired him, it was a huge mistake.” Tell them whatever they wanted to hear.

Because as I said, the developers have everybody by the you-know-whats. And you do know what, because I already wrote it once so far in this blog.

My client was being bullied, and I was being abused, but I’d gladly take whatever punishment was necessary to ensure he was still in good standing, and his investment was protected.

So we signed a termination, and my client sent it to the developer.

The rest is yet to be determined.

So what do we have here?

Price-fixing?

Anti-competitive acts or abuse of market power?

Can a developer tell a condo-owner what price he or she must be asking?

Can a developer tell somebody to fire their agent and insist that the person list with the developer instead?

Yes, and yes.

They can, because that’s how their Agreement of Purchase & Sale is written. An APS that has been examined, edited, and re-written a hundred times, by some of the Province’s brightest legal minds. That is who a condominium developer hires to protect their interests, and make the Agreement iron-clad.

And what does the consumer have at their disposal?

A Condominium Act that is 20+ years old, and a government that has no interest in taking a real look at the problem. Just stand in front of a podium, say some sh!t that will get people to vote for you, and then move on.

This developer is blatantly price-fixing, and it’s absolutely, completely legal. There’s nothing wrong with it. Because from a legal standpoint, it’s not price-fixing. It’s simply providing consent to lease a unit, or not providing consent to lease a unit.

So to the lawyers out there, provide a counter-argument, please.

Because what if, for argument’s sake, the consent wasn’t about increasing the price by $5. What if it was, say, baking cookies and bringing them to the office? Or what if it was, “I’ll provide consent, if you get down on your hands and knees and lick my shoe?”

It’s a grey area, it can be argued until we’re all blue in the face, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing can, and nothing will be done about this.

Keep in mind that none of this is in writing. It’s all hearsay. Deliberate, and smart.

And scary as hell too…

The post Price-Fixing In The Toronto Rental Market? appeared first on Toronto Realty Blog.

Originated from https://ift.tt/2LgtVo8

0 notes