Featured in photo: Mike de Jong, Minister of Finance; Robert D. Holmes, chair of the Real Estate Council of British Columbia.
The BC Government has appointed nine public-interest members to the Real Estate Council of British Columbia, in an aim to increase its accountability and objectivity in fulfilling its role of protecting the public’s best interest. Two of those members are Fraser Valley members, Sukh Sidhu and Gerry Martin.
The Real Estate Council of British Columbia is now one part of a broader system of organizations responsible for supervising the real estate industry. The council continues to be responsible for licensing, investigating complaints, enforcing licensee rules and disciplining licensees found to be breaching their obligations.
Gerry Martin, a Managing Broker and longtime member of the FVREB, told the Board of his appointment: “I am delighted to have been appointed to the Council, and to have the opportunity to work with a very talented group of individuals. We each bring our own skills and perspectives, but we share a common goal: protecting the public interest and restoring public confidence. We want consumers to have confidence that there is a strong regulator safeguarding their interests and that BC’s licensed real estate professionals are skilled, competent and ethical.”
Robert D. Holmes, Q. C., will act as the Chair of the Council. He is an experienced litigator and arbitration lawyer, and has previously served as President of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC, as President of the BC Civil Liberties Association and on the Provincial Council of the BC branch of the Canadian Bar Association.
Click here for a list of the nine Council members appointed so far. To read the government’s official announcement, click here. The provincial government will appoint a total of 16 members to Council. A second set of appointments will be announced in the future.