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Employee Code of Conduct

Tarion is committed to fair dealing and integrity in the conduct of its business, and all employees are expected to share its commitment to high ethical standards, and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. As part of this ongoing commitment, we have made our employee Code of Conduct policy available here.

If you have a complaint about a Tarion employee, policy or procedure, please refer to the Policy for the Handling of Complaints against Tarion for further information.

Compensation Framework

Tarion’s Board members are compensated for their contributions of time and expertise. Board compensation is reviewed every two years by independent external experts and is benchmarked against other Designated Administrative Authorities and other comparable private and broader public sector organizations.

Board Compensation

Tarion’s Board is skills-based and composed of professionals who have extensive experience and expertise appropriate to Tarion’s mandate and who understand and convey the interests of key stakeholders including new home buyers, builders, consumer advocates, the financial community, and the provincial and various municipal governments of Ontario.

The Board is responsible for the oversight of the organization, including promoting sound governance practices, conducting regulatory oversight and taking a leading role in setting the strategic direction of the organization in areas ranging from consumer protection, warranty administration and financial stewardship.

The Tarion Board is compensated for their contributions of time and expertise as part of a full schedule of Board and committee meetings and other supplementary meetings. The compensation for Tarion’s Board is reviewed every two years by independent external experts and is benchmarked against other Designated Administrative Authorities as well as other comparable private and broader public sector organizations.

Each Board member receives an annual retainer and a per diem fee for each meeting attended.

Retainer - $17,500 per annum for directors. The Board Chair receives $55,000 per annum. Committee Chairs receive an additional $8,000. Advisory Council Chairs receive $4,000.

Meeting Fee - $800 per meeting.

Board members are also reimbursed for travel and other reasonable out-of-pocket expenses associated with attendance at meetings or special functions.
 

Executive Compensation

Tarion’s executive compensation policy is aimed at ensuring we can attract qualified individuals to fill their roles in the context of a modern consumer-oriented Administrative Authority (AA). As a not for-profit AA Tarion is situated in between being a private corporation and being part of the broader public sector. Tarion benchmarks compensation by looking at a 50/50 blend of comparable private and public sector companies, and uses the 50th percentile of that blend as its target for compensation. Tarion uses an independent third party to advise on compensation ranges.

Tarion uses an incentive program as part of its compensation for executives. The incentive program is also benchmarked in a similar way against a blend of private and broader public sector comparable companies. The incentive program for executives ranges from between 15% to 30% depending on the executive position. The incentive program is based on meeting specific performance targets which are aligned with Tarion’s not-for-profit status and its consumer protection and legislative mandate. 2023 performance indicators for Tarion and how they are weighted are set out in the accordion below labeled 2023 Balanced Scorecard.
 

2023 Balanced Scorecard

 

The 2023 Corporate Key Performance Indicators are aligned with Tarion’s four strategic objectives as outlined in the 2023 Business Plan: enhance consumer outcomes, being a trusted resource, empowering our stakeholders and supporting our people and culture.

Enhance Consumer Outcomes25%
New Homeowner Satisfaction Score25%
Being a Trusted Resource 2%
Cybersecurity score (new)25%
Empowering our Stakeholders25%
Customer Service Standard 
Enhancements (AG#6)
25%
Supporting our people & culture25%
Employee Engagement12.5%
Employee Enablement 12.5%

 

Statement of Past Compensation

As an Administrative Authority, Tarion discloses aggregate salary and benefit costs in our annual financial statements.

On September 30, 2019, the Minister of Government and Consumer Services issued a Minister’s Order directing Tarion to disclose Board and executive compensation effective October 15. Tarion fully supports the government’s mandate to enhance transparency and has posted a statement of past compensation below and will provide this information on an annual basis at the end of the first quarter (March 31) each year.

Download the 2022 Statement of Past Compensation PDF
Download the 2021 Statement of Past Compensation PDF
Download the 2020 Statement of Past Compensation PDF

 (1) Performance measurement for Non-Profit Organizations – The Balanced Scorecard as An Approach, Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, 2016

Finance Policies

Tarion is committed to transparency and accountability in all aspects of its operations. As part of that ongoing commitment, we have made our procurement and expense policies available below:

Procurement Policy PDF

Travel and Expense Reimbursement Policy PDF

Board of Directors Policies

For a list of policies of Tarion’s Board of Directors, as well as other Tarion policies, visit our Board of Directors page.

Board of Directors

Video & Audio Recording Policy

Tarion does not permit the video or audio recording by builders or homeowners during inspections or meetings, without its prior consent. The process for obtaining Tarion’s consent to record during an inspection/meeting is set out below. 

Note: A homeowner throughout this document includes a condominium corporation and its designate(s) with respect to a common element claim.

Background

Tarion has a responsibility to ensure the health, safety and well being of its employees in the workplace. For many Tarion staff, their workplace is often someone else’s home.

Tarion staff have privacy rights as well as the right to a workplace that is free from harassment and intimidation. Although Tarion appreciates that this is most often not the intention of a homeowner or a builder who wishes to record an inspection or meeting, the fact is that each person may perceive these requests differently  and may feel harassed or intimidated by the act of someone video or audio recording them.

Rationale

Tarion staff are not required to continue with an inspection or meeting where any party has been asked to cease recording and refuses to do so.

It is important to note that the video or audio recording of a conciliation or claim inspection is not necessary for the inspection process to proceed properly and fairly. In fact, in Tarion’s experience, video and audio recording of staff (rather than the defect itself), has only served to interfere with the process and may disrupt Tarion’s ability to assess warranty claims.

A video or audio recording of the conciliation or claim inspection process (rather than the defect itself), is not relevant to the assessment of any construction deficiencies. Tarion’s assessments as to whether or not a claim item is covered by the statutory warranties are based on observations made by its warranty services staff at the home and/or documentation provided by the homeowner and/or builder. A recording of the inspection does not assist in making these assessments.

However, Tarion recognizes that a homeowner or builder may wish to record an inspection/meeting for record-keeping or other purposes, such as accommodation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and this Policy sets out the process for requesting permission from Tarion to do so. 

Process for Requesting Permission to Record an Inspection/Meeting

A homeowner or builder who wishes to video or audio record an inspection/meeting must make their request  in writing, with reasons, to customerservice@tarion.com, to the attention of the Director of Customer Service (see instructions below), as soon as possible and at least 2 weeks prior to the inspection/meeting.

The homeowner or builder will be required to sign documentation declaring that the recording will be used solely for the individual’s own purposes and will not be used for other purposes or posted on social media. The documentation will also set out acceptable parameters for the recording (e.g., no recordings of the Tarion representative’s face will be permitted), which must be followed.

Provided that the request meets these requirements (i.e., is made in advance and the relevant documentation is provided), the request will be approved in most cases. However, Tarion retains the discretion to deny a request in certain circumstances (e.g., prior unacceptable use of a recording), and if Tarion does so, it will provide written reasons for its decision to the requester.

If no request to audio or video record is made (and granted) prior to the inspection/meeting and Tarion staff become aware during the appointment that they are being recorded, they may ask for the recording to cease immediately. If their request is not respected, the appointment will end. The Tarion representative may also end the appointment in circumstances where parameters for the recording, as set out in the Tarion documentation, are being breached (e.g., a Tarion representative’s face is being recorded). In such cases, Tarion will attempt to reschedule the inspection/meeting on acceptable terms if possible, and/or assess the warranty claim using alternative methods (e.g., relying on documentation submitted, asking for written submissions from the homeowner/builder, etc.).

Where a builder has asked to make the recording but is not permitted to do so and refuses to participate in the inspection, the inspection will be conducted without the builder’s participation. In refusing to participate, the builder may also prejudice, among other things, their appeal rights before the Builder Arbitration Forum.

In addition, Tarion regards the audio or video recording by a builder of either Tarion staff or a homeowner without consent to be a breach of their professional, ethical and regulatory conduct standards (in terms of the requirement that builders act with honesty and integrity in the conduct of their business).