“Government Relations” – two simple words. But, in terms of our work at the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), what does it mean?

The first part is self-explanatory, indicating all three levels of government, and the Province specifically, as we’re a provincial organization.

The second part isn’t so simple. What does “relations” mean? Well, as with individuals, organizations can have relationships. And the actions of the two sides in any relationship will determine whether it’s positive and mutually beneficial or negative and toxic.

For an organization like BCREA, the relationship with the provincial government is critical. Many of the factors that impact our sector are determined through provincial legislation and regulations. It is said that the objective of a Government Relations (GR) team is two-fold: to get government to do good things, and to prevent government from doing bad things.

But how does BCREA influence government to “do good things”? Simply calling up a provincial cabinet minister and making a request usually doesn’t work. It would be foolhardy for a minister to listen to the advice of any advocacy group and immediately implement new policy or regulations (which is why that never happens).  

Similarly, seeking out a meeting with the minister only to thump your fist on their desk and berate them about the release of their new policies is also unlikely to result in future meetings, answered emails, or returned phone calls.  

Getting to the point that important decision-makers in government will listen to your advice and take it seriously is a long, challenging task. Talk to a member of our team for any length of time and you may hear us say that “GR is a long game.” Truer words have never been spoken.  

To win the ear of government officials, you must first show them that you understand them. And that takes serious research into a large number of questions. What are they concerned about? What are they hearing from their constituents? What are the available policy solutions? What have they tried, and how successful was it? Are there things that the private sector can do that would create a greater probability of a successful policy?  

Answering these questions is the hard work of policy analysts. Weeks and months will be devoted to the grind of “background work” in order to arrive at the few paragraphs that comprise an eventual set of recommendations to the minister. Careful consideration of the current political atmosphere, fiscal realities, and timing in the election cycle is necessary to ensure that these proposals will be seen as pragmatic and actionable.  

This also means that we take a non-partisan approach. We need to assure government that we would be telling them the same thing regardless of the political party they represent. We must be sincere in our assertion that we are not interested in supporting one party. Instead, we are interested in supporting good policy. 

It also means seeking out collaborative alliances to demonstrate to government that several stakeholders agree on a particular course of action.  

What does success look like? I would say there are two key indicators that we are heading in the right direction. First (and most obvious), government adopts your recommendations for the implementation of new policies. Second, government will seek you out for specific advice on new or amended policies because they view you as a trusted advisor.  

This is perhaps the ultimate objective of Government Relations, and one that must be carefully nurtured and retained. When you finally have the government’s ear, you must work equally hard to ensure that such privilege is not misused, because that is the surest way to lose it.

To subscribe to receive BCREA publications such as this one, or to update your email address or current subscriptions, click here.