The structure of our industry links these three organizations, with CREB® established as a member-board of both AREA and CREA. As a member-board, we have rights and obligations that are established in bylaws, rules and policies, just as CREB® members have rights and obligations that are set out in our bylaws, rules and policies.
I’d like to talk about CREB®’s rights and obligations as a member-board of CREA, some of which were brought up in the comments section of the article Results of member poll on CREA's cost-of-living adjustment and special assessment. We see the comments section of our articles as a place where members can discuss the article to enhance their understanding or to seek specific clarity. Some other issues have also been raised in the comments, so I’ll cover a few of those in this article, as well.
Before we do that, let’s note that CREA, AREA and CREB® are separate, but interconnected entities.
CREA, AREA and CREB® create their own policies and processes. When it comes to announcements about resignations from our board of directors, our practice at CREB® has been that we announce a departure as part of the announcement of a by-election. This seems like the logical flow of information and, based on feedback from members over the years, seems to hit the mark. These announcements rarely provide much detail and only include the letter of resignation in unusual circumstances.
Sarah Johnston resignation from CREA board of directors
Based on the commentary in the Results of member poll article, we asked for and received CREA’s and Sarah Johnston’s permission to share the message she sent out announcing her resignation from the CREA Board of Directors. Whenever someone moves on from an organization, it is up to them to disclose that to others – we would all expect the same respect and treatment. Members should be circumspect in any commentary on this message and if any interpretation is needed, to please contact Sarah directly. From our perspective, we recognize and appreciate Sarah’s call to do better.
By the way, in seeking CREA’s approval to share this message, we were informed: “CREA does not have any expectations that Board and Associations notify their members if a CREA Director resigns. With respect of Sarah’s resignation email, this email was not prepared, approved or distributed by CREA”.
As an organization, we believe consistency and clarity in how governance matters are communicated is important. Ensuring members receive timely and accurate information supports trust, accountability, and informed engagement across all levels of organized real estate. Over the past year, there have been a number of leadership changes within our broader real estate community, which further underscores the importance of clear and consistent communication practices.
Misquoting of CREA’s minutes
In a 2024 CREB® Talk article titled Is CREB® competing with RASCA, I paraphrased a section of the minutes from the October 19/20, 2023, CREA Board of Directors meeting. In one of the recent comments there was an assertion that those minutes had been misquoted, along with some excerpts of the minutes in question. With CREA’s permission, CREB® members can view those minutes here and judge for themselves.
Note that CREA’s approval for us to share the minutes from this meeting included this note:
“CREA’s permission is not required by CREB® to distribute CREA’s minutes. CREA’s By-Laws and Rules obligate CREA to make available minutes of CREA board meetings upon request by Boards and Associations. There is nothing in CREA’s By-Laws and Rules regarding further distributing them. That said, we hope that Boards and Associations are mindful that the minutes may contain sensitive information and are not intended for broad distribution. If CREB® chooses to distribute the minutes, we encourage CREB® to redact all sections of the minutes that you believe are not relevant to the point you wish to make.”.
CREA Financials
At the 2:00 mark in the video Pre-AGM Member Webinar Recording on the CREA AGM Resource page, CREA CEO Janice Myers begins addressing CREA’s financial sustainability. This video and their other materials detail the reductions in spending that resulted in the surplus in 2025 of $2,325,649, not the higher figure speculated about in CREB®Talk comments.
The CREA materials repeatedly make the case for the value they provide for member dues, but the cost savings are not enough to fund the legal defense challenges we are all facing, or to maintain service levels in an inflationary environment. We encourage interested members to dig into the materials CREA provided to fully understand the case they are making, or you could reach out to a member of the CREA Board of Directors if you have any specific questions.
Why does CREB® allow negative comments to be posted on articles?
First, we are one of the only boards we know of that provides the comment feature on most of our articles. If you know of some organizations that also do this, please let me know so I can be sure I’m making accurate comparisons.
Some people have asked why comments are turned off for some articles. The simple answer is that articles that may prompt discussions around sensitive legal matters typically have the comments turned off. Others have asked why we recently allowed comments to be posted on an article that were off topic.
To answer that great question, let’s go back to why we have the ability for members to post comments: this is a member-to-member area, so we will always lean towards enabling members to use their voices and minds. Some people post statements that are challenging and frankly, in some cases, hard to read – but they need to be seen, provided they meet the criteria set out in our posting guidelines.
We all have opinions and some people are better than others at expressing them constructively. Some folks have a knack for bringing up recurring themes, theories, or favorite topics. The bottom line is that these interactions must always maintain a professional tone. But even if a post is borderline, our approach is to lean towards welcoming member voices.
If any members have any specific questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or drop by my office in the SW corner of the main floor of the CREB® Campus. My team and I are always here for you and look forward to delivering value to you at every opportunity. Raising the bar of professionalism is needed in all aspects of our world. Having these discussions, even the difficult ones, is part of that. It’s no different than our members using client feedback to improve their business. For us, being open to constructive criticism enables us to improve and grow.
In our current membership structure, CREB®’s rights and obligations as a member-board of CREA are well documented and they centre our obligation to our members. There can be conflicting interests that our board of directors must navigate so they represent our interests in the most effective way overall. We all must recognize that representing a majority of members on any given issue doesn’t mean everyone will be satisfied. This is a fact of life for every association; we must manage scarcity of resources and work hard to hit the mark as much as possible for as many members as possible. Being perfect is not the goal, satisfying our members is. According to our member surveys, we hit the mark more than we miss it.
Please continue to give us your feedback on the CREA proposal and please never hesitate to reach out to us directly with your questions, comments or ideas.
Alan Tennant
CREB® President and CEO
Email: alan.tennant@creb.ca
Cell: 403-461-2987
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