BCREA Advocacy Exchange: Conference for Managing Brokers

On September 19, BCREA hosted our first Advocacy Exchange: Conference for Managing Brokers. The conference provided a unique opportunity for managing brokers from across the province to network, learn about advocacy, ask questions and be informed on matters affecting organized real estate.

The event was well attended by over 250 managing brokers, licensees and key stakeholders. Representatives from BCREA, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate (OSRE), the Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC) and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) presented on regulatory issues, advocacy and compliance, and attendees were able to raise their questions and concerns throughout the day.

Highlights from the conference include:

• The particularly avid engagement for the FINTRAC presentation. Managing brokers made the most of Thomas Tomasovszky's Q&A session to ask detailed questions about meeting compliance obligations. 
  
• RECBC Executive Officer Erin Seeley's Q&A session, which provided a positive opportunity for dialogue between managing brokers and RECBC. The presentation slides can be found here: Regulation and Compliance in a Time of Change, or watch the full presentation: https://youtu.be/y0BjWCbuWW0.
  
• Key consultation findings presented by BCREA. These include results from the managing broker researchBCREA conducted earlier this year, as well as an overview of the results from the consumer surveyBCREA conducted in August. See the BCREA presentation slides here: BCREA Advocacy Part 1 and BCREA Advocacy Part 2, or watch the presentation by Norma Miller, BCREA Government Relations Manager: https://youtu.be/A_SmoaEmtvo.
  
• Randall McCauley's insights from CREA on how understanding the government's views of the real estate industry is the key to successful government relations. His presentation can be found here: Turning the Tables—How the Government Sees the Real Estate Industry, or watch the full presentation: https://youtu.be/dNVBjtXhbic.
  
• Superintendent Micheal Noseworthy and Deputy Superintendent Jonathan Vandall highlighting future opportunities for engagement between managing brokers and OSRE. These opportunities are laid out in their presentation slides: Reviewing the Roles and Responsibilities of Managing Brokers, or watch the full presentation: https://youtu.be/1kbfNMVoN50.

We appreciate the level of engagement throughout the day and the number of questions that were raised. While we were unable to address all of them during the conference, it's important to us that we address as many of these questions as possible. Some will be used as topics for future articles, and many have been submitted to the presenters to provide answers, which will be posted on our Advocacy Page on REALTOR Link® under BCREA Advocacy Exchange: Conference for Managing Brokers over the coming weeks.

BCREA is also building a stronger presence on social media regarding advocacy and regulatory issues. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for updates.

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