CREA RE: COMPETITION BUREAU UPDATE

Date:October 4, 2010
To:Executive Directors of all
Real Estate Boards and Provincial/Territorial Associations
From:The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)
RE:Competition Bureau Update

As promised in CREA’s first dispatch regarding the tentative agreement with the Competition Bureau, we are writing to update you on a number of issues.
CREA and its lawyers have held their first in a series of meetings with the leadership of Boards and Associations. More meetings will take place prior to SGM, including this week and next.
Additionally, while media coverage has generally been balanced, there have been some factual errors in certain stories.
As you know, last Thursday the Board of Directors of CREA approved a settlement with the Competition Bureau, subject to member approval at the Special General Meeting in St. John’s later this month.
Typically when an agreement is reached between two litigants, the deal is complete once it is signed by both parties and filed with the court. In this case the agreement with the Bureau will only be final if members vote in favour at the SGM. Until that time the agreement is in escrow. In the event the agreement is not ratified, the litigation would continue its course, with Tribunal hearings beginning in April.
For these reasons, we cannot publicly disclose the proposed agreement. However, we have started and will continue, where practical in the short time between now and the SGM, with detailed presentations to Boards and Associations regarding all elements of the agreement. In the meantime, it is critically important not to publicly divulge details,
since the agreement is not final and the litigation continues at least until the vote in St. John’s.
While the CREA leadership will only discuss specifics in our individual meetings with Board and Associations, we would like to correct some of the factually inaccurate reporting, which we have done over the weekend and will continue to do.
The agreement does not grant public access to the MLS® System, it remains a member to member service. Moreover, it does not require brokerages to change their business models. The agreement specifies that Boards and Associations cannot prevent or discriminate against mere posting business models. CREA has always maintained its rules do no such thing.
We look forward to working with all of you in preparation for the SGM to ensure we address your questions and any concerns.
Yours truly,
Georges Pahud