Just watched part of the documentary, then it cut out on me.
My quick $0.02 (do I have to round up to a nickel nowadays? More likely down to $0).
Most new builds, whether suburban McMansions or the cheapest of condos, will have issues initially. A problem with the door handle, for instance, probably shouldn't happen, but happens all the time. Some guy probably got paid to run from room to room and unit to unit installing them as quickly as he could. Mistakes happen. I also have no concerns about the basic structural integrity of the buildings, unless you consider shattering glass structural, which it isn't.
My concern centers around the lifespan of components that are big ticket items on a condo tower. Not only does it get more expensive to replace roof, facades, and mechanicals the higher a tower is, but all of the components are exposed to far higher stresses with increasing height. That's ok, building science engineers (full disclosure, that's my background) can design for that. Inevitably, however, that costs money. If you are Brookfield Office Properties, you have a long time horizon and you make sure that you hire the best to design for height, you make sure that it is built the best, and installed in the best manner. If your skin in the game really only lasts as long as the homebuyers warranty, you have less incentive to do so, and a great big financial incentive not to.
Older condos tended to be built rather stoutly in terms of the building envelope, and many have weathered many years with reasonable building costs. A few have been so costly to repair that the buildings are quite "upside down" in terms of the vast sums they have spent on constant repairs. Sums exceeding the entire cost to build new. What I worry about is the quality of materials in some (not all) of the new condos popping up in Toronto. Building envelopes entirely of glass are fine, so long as the seals are fine. I consider these to have a relatively short lifespan ordinarily (typically 25 to 30 years), but I'm not entirely sure that some of the condos will see that lifespan without very significant water and thermal issues. For the pocketbooks of the owners, I certainly hope that I am wrong.
As to the value of the market, I am an avid investor and would love to hold Toronto condo properties, but subsidizing renters and potentially taking a significant capital loss doesn't really appeal.