On April 15, 2019, the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) issued a news release detailing recommendations to the provincial and federal governments to help protect BC’s housing market from money laundering. The recommendations, a collaboration between BCREA and several other organizations within real estate, prompted a positive response from the BC Government and significant media coverage.
BC Government response (from their news release):
BC Finance Minister Carole James and Attorney General David Eby said, “We are very pleased that five real estate organizations have come together to help fight money laundering in British Columbia. This commitment by real estate professionals to collaborate and develop best practices will go a long way towards getting dirty money out of the real estate market, protecting consumers and helping industry professionals improve their knowledge and regulatory compliance.”
“As we review two reports to government on money laundering in real estate, we welcome this strong support from the real estate sector for our efforts to stop criminals from exploiting BC’s real estate market. We thank these groups for participating in the reviews by Peter German and the Expert Panel on Money Laundering and for providing the industry’s input.”
The industry recommendations were the result of a collaboration between:
- BCREA
- Appraisal Institute of Canada – BC Association
- BC Notaries Association
- Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association – British Columbia
- Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
Together, the organizations committed to pursue the following shared best practices and recommendations for government:
- Accept only verified funds – For sectors of real estate that are not already required to do so, accept funds only in forms that are verifiable through Canadian financial institutions.
- Mandatory anti-money laundering education – The introduction of mandatory anti-money laundering education for all real estate professionals subject to the reporting requirements administered by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) to ensure that those professionals are trained in recognizing and reporting suspicious transactions. FINTRAC should work with sector organizations, regulators and the provincial government to improve existing resources so that they better reflect real-world situations and improve compliance.
- Smart regulation– The federal government amend the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to allow FINTRAC intelligence to be made available to additional regulatory authorities, including the BC Securities Commission and the Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM). Optimally, the federal and provincial governments, as well as their respective agencies, should coordinate their actions, share information, such as the provincial assignment registry, and create a comprehensive, efficient enforcement regime.
- Ongoing engagement – The governments and regulatory agencies, including FINTRAC, better utilize on-the-ground experience of real estate professionals to develop compliance resources and test policy ideas. This will result in well-crafted, practical regulation and foster a culture of compliance to protect consumers and the economy.
- Timely and transparent reporting – FINTRAC implement a framework to identify and report trends on a regular basis and in language that is consistent and understandable to professionals, the public and media. This reporting system should also include consistency in examinations with immediate feedback designed to help industry professionals improve their compliance systems.
Media coverage obtained by BCREA’s news release:
BCREA reports they received significant media coverage from major media outlets and community papers. Global News and Fairchild TV filmed at BCREA’s offices and CEO Darlene Hyde was interviewed by the Globe & Mail, News1130, Fairchild Radio and Business in Vancouver. She was also invited to an interview by Stingray in Kamloops and CFAX in Victoria.
Additional coverage was tracked in the following media:
- Vancouver Province
- Vancouver Sun
- CBC News
- Global
- Vancouver Courier
- National Post
- Calgary Herald
- CTV
- Times Colonist
- Western Investor
This is valuable government and media attention leading up to BCREA’s annual Government Liaison Days conference, which will be taking place in Victoria from April 28 to 30.
More information: