For the first time ever, CREA held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in a virtual setting in order to comply with guidelines set out by health officials concerning the COVID-19 outbreak.
While it was a first for the association, we’re proud to say the event, held April 21, ran smoothly and feedback from members who tuned in has been positive overall.
While there was no Leadership Summit or engaging and hands-on learning experiences, a lot was accomplished this year, including voting for and welcoming in the 2020 Board of Directors, led by Chair Costa Poulopoulos (you can read more about Costa in this News2Me article).
Meet your 2020 Board of Directors
- Costa Poulopoulos, Chair
- Jill Oudil, Vice-Chair
- Cliff Stevenson, Chair-Elect
- Jason Stephen, Immediate Past Chair
- Darcy McLeod, Regional Director British Columbia
- Steven Bobiash, Regional Director Saskatchewan*
- Michael Barrett, Regional Director Manitoba
- Larry Cerqua, Regional Director Ontario
- Georges Gaucher, Regional Director Quebec
- Kari McBride, Regional Director Atlantic
- Kimberly French, Regional Director Atlantic
- Ron Abraham, Director-at-Large
- Don Kottick, Director-at-Large
- James Mabey, Director-at-Large
- Phil Moore, Director-at-Large*
- Dianne Usher, Director-at-Large
* indicates a new Board member.
Rule changes
All proposed rule changes were carried. Below are brief summaries from rule changes you need to know about.
REALTOR® Code
Members approved policy changes that give CREA the authority to act in extraordinary circumstances where alleged conduct is reported that could fundamentally damage the public’s trust in REALTORS® and severely harm the REALTOR® and MLS® trademarks. In consultation with boards and associations across the country, it was agreed the code must be enforced.
Before the policy change, CREA could not sanction members for breaches of the REALTOR® Code, like those who have made headlines for their bad behaviour. Under the new policy, CREA could impose penalties including restricting the use of CREA’s trademarks or restricting the use of services, such as access to Canada’s No. 1 real estate platform*, REALTOR.ca.
Core Board Standards Policy
CREA, the Board of Directors, boards and associations across Canada and the National Association of REALTORS® have promoted the need to increase the robustness of Core Board Standards to ensure compliance.
After reviewing the Core Board Standards survey from 2015 to 2016, questions arose concerning the need for language to address potential enforceability issues, which were addressed through amendments to Rule 2 and 3 of CREA’s Rules.
GST/HST
A policy was recently passed by CREA’s Board of Directors to address CREA’s GST/HST risk, while at the same time giving boards and associations flexibility on how or when to remit GST/HST on CREA dues. The word “annual” was deleted in CREA’s Rules in support of this policy. Other changes were passed to reflect current remittance practices.
Virtual meetings
The ability to hold a virtual AGM was crucial in order to comply with the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. In order to do that, prior to CREA’s AGM, a bylaw with immediate force and effect was passed by CREA’s Board of Directors to allow for entirely virtual meetings. This by-law was ratified by the membership at the AGM.
Renaming President to Chair
Members voted to rename Vice-President, President, President-Elect and Past-President to Vice-Chair, Chair, Chair-Elect and Past Chair, respectively. This change was done as the new titles better represent their duties and match usage of the term Chair in much of the association environment.
CREA would like to thank outgoing Board members Barb Sukkau (Immediate Past President) and Len Wassill (former Regional Director of Saskatchewan) for their years of service.
*Comscore, 2020
