Ten real estate boards in Ontario have unified to demand an extraordinary general meeting with the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) concerning a contentious mandatory insurance plan. This plan is under the Ontario Realtor Wellness Program (ORWP), set for a January 1 rollout. Still, the boards seek to delay it due to expected operational hurdles, aiming for better compliance preparation.
Initially, OREA dismissed the delay request, but it has postponed the deadline for gathering necessary personal information from members to June 30, 2024, allowing interim access to ORWP.
The crux of the discord isn’t just about the timeline and data collection; it’s the mandatory nature of the insurance and benefits package tied to OREA membership that’s causing unrest. OREA argues that more significant enrolment equals lower premiums, yet numerous realtors, especially those with existing benefit plans, contest the mandatory inclusion of all 96,000 association members.
The vote on these pivotal matters is controlled by an assembly encompassing all Ontario boards; each allocated a fixed number of votes based on their size. To trigger a special general meeting, a 10 percent representation of assembly votes is needed, and the ten boards spearheading this initiative fulfill this criterion.
OREA hasn’t officially acknowledged the request for a special general meeting yet. Stacey Evoy, OREA’s former president and ORWP co-chair, has mentioned that plans for scheduling the meeting are underway, underscoring ORWP’s transformative potential and the necessity to address member reservations.
The onus of executing the ORWP and its management seems to rest on various boards, involving member consent acquisition, personal information collection, invoice amendments, late payment handling, and contract reviews. These duties are likely to add to the workload of already burdened individuals.
Notably absent in the dissent is the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), the province’s largest, holding 49 percent of assembly votes, hence wielding significant clout. Despite seeming support for ORWP from TRREB, individual members might harbour differing views.
The anti-mandatory ORWP boards aspire to get assembly approval for making insurance an optional condition for OREA membership. Bill Duce, CEO of the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors, advocates for optional insurance to address concerns, also stressing the necessity for more scrutiny on third-party vendor contracts.
The ORWP decision has spurred a wave of reactions within the real estate sector, with some feeling marginalized. However, the shared goal is to avoid board termination while expressing respect for OREA staff and a willingness to work toward a mutually favourable resolution.
The Ontario real estate scene is in flux, with the ORWP at the heart of this shift. As OREA and the opposing boards delve deeper into this crucial discussion, the fate of mandatory insurance in the industry teeters on the edge.
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