Canadians for Properly Built Homes (CPBH) led by Dr. Karen Somerville — Tarion's most consistent critic since 2004; positions on monopoly, conciliation, NDA-bound mediation, LAT, caps

Claim: Canadians for Properly Built Homes (CPBH), led by president Dr. Karen Somerville, has been Tarion's most consistent organized critic since 2004. Their core positions:

• Tarion's monopoly should be replaced with a multi-provider model per the Cunningham Review (Cunningham Review (2017) recommended multi-provider warranty insurance and mandatory owner-built warranty — Ontario adopted the HCRA split but kept Tarion as sole administrator).
• Conciliation, mediation and timelines still favour builders even after the 2024 CSS reforms.
• Tarion mediation often requires homeowners to sign non-disclosure agreements, preventing independent evaluation of how often Tarion settles and on what terms.
• The LAT process leaves self-represented homeowners outmatched against Tarion and builder counsel (see Tarion LAT appeals — 30 calendar days from Decision Letter (vs HCRA's 15 days); first hearing ~37 days, decision ~40 days post-hearing).
• Maximum payout caps (now $400K freehold) are often insufficient to remediate serious construction defects.

Source: https://canadiansforproperlybuilthomes.com/; Somerville testimony to Standing Committee Jan 21, 2020; Toronto Star May 25, 2024.

Confidence: [Reported] — CPBH positions are accurate as to CPBH's views; they represent one side of a contested debate.

Somerville on the 2025 HCRA AG report: "We see this as a scathing report — a totally unacceptable situation — but unfortunately not surprising." (See Auditor General 2025 report on HCRA: 99%+ approval rate (including 2,026 of 2,042 who failed credit), 1,526 complaint backlog, 419-day avg close.)

For Candid use: When writing buyer-facing content, citing CPBH is a credible way to surface critical perspective without sounding partisan — they're the named, on-the-record consumer advocate Ontario media goes to. Pair with the 2019 AG audit (Tarion 2019 Auditor General Special Audit (Bonnie Lysyk) — 65% of conciliations found builder at fault, 9,700 dismissed for missed deadlines (1,300 by 1 day), OHBA "disproportionate influence") for the strongest combination of advocacy + government-source critique.