NDP housing critic David Eby blasts reappointment of two Real Estate Council of B.C. board members

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      The B.C NDP continues going after Premier Christy Clark for her government's approach to the real-estate sector.

      This morning, the Official Opposition issued a news release condemning the reappointment of two members to the board of the Real Estate Council of B.C.

      This came via orders-in-council on Friday (June 10) afternoon.

      Elana Valerie Mignosa will get to remain on the board until 2019; Colette A.L. Squires's new term will end in 2018.

      “It is astounding that the premier would reappoint the same people who were sitting on this council’s board when penalties were approved that are a slap on the wrist for rogue realtors ripping off British Columbians with impunity,” NDP housing critic David Eby declared. “This endorsement of the council’s failures to date is an outrage for all British Columbian families and honest realtors, but especially for those people who have complained about fraud and found that the council’s definition of discipline was ‘keep your license, and keep the proceeds.' ”

      The NDP news release stated that the "Official Opposition" will write to the premier to demand that these orders-in-council be cancelled.

      Three of the Real Estate Council of B.C.'s 16 members are selected by the government. The NDP has argued that all three should be replaced "to restore some public confidence in the regulator and the real estate profession".

      Last month, the CEO of the Financial Institutions Commission, Carolyn Rogers, announced that she will leave her provincial position at the end of July to join the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Rogers is also the superintendent of real estate, which has oversight over the Real Estate Council of B.C. In this role, she can appeal its decisions to a provincial tribunal.

      Rogers also chairs an advisory group examining allegations of shady real-estate practices. These include claims that foreign purchasers have provided false domestic addresses to a federal regulatory body that monitors money laundering.

      The advisory group was appointed after Eby held a news conference in February outlining a series of concerns about how the real-estate industry was being regulated.

       

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