Message From the Board Chair

Strategic Plan

On behalf of the RECA Board of Directors I would like to thank all of the consumers, licensees, brokers, and associations that provided feedback on the draft Strategic Plan. Setting the strategic direction of the organization is a part of the Board’s role, and input from across the real estate industry has helped to inform that direction. The Board, Industry Councils and RECA staff met with more than 40 industry associations, held broker forums and engagement sessions in all industries, received hundreds of direct submissions from licensees, and directly engaged consumers to develop the strategic plan. Thanks to that comprehensive input, the Board was well-positioned to approve an updated strategic plan at our July meeting.

As you will see in the Business and Financial Plan, RECA’s Strategic Framework focuses on three key areas: Regulatory Excellence, including a comprehensive review of the Real Estate Act Rules and RECA’s licensing framework; on promoting trust in RECA’s regulatory capability through outreach, engagement, and collaboration with all stakeholders; and on organizational resilience as RECA moves away from licensing education.

Action on the strategic plan will begin immediately, with the Rules Review beginning this calendar year. A Rules Review Steering Committee has already begun planning consultation and I look forward to, and encourage you to provide, feedback during the Rules Review process.

RECA Finances

The Board has recently approved the Business and Financial Plan, including RECA’s budget for 2022-2023. With the divestment of education and the loss of the revenue education provided to support operations of the regulator, we had to have a hard look at our budget and drive to get revenues and expenses more in line than what last year’s plan reflected. The Board wanted this done without an increase in the annual licence fee and I am pleased to say that we have done so—there will be no increase in annual fees this coming year.

Rather, RECA has looked at our organization to find efficiencies, and made some reductions and adjustments to our operations that reflects the reduced revenues. We have also looked at the one-time user-specific costs that we incur to provide specific services during the year, including credentialling and examinations, and have included a forecast of these fees more expressly in this year’s plan.

Finally, the hard work to find efficiencies within RECA will continue into 2022-23, and will include outcomes from the Rules review noted above. The Board and management at RECA are committed to being prudent with the fees you pay to support the regulator, and will continue working with staff, associations, and licensees to find additional efficiencies as we focus on our principal mandate of protecting consumers.

Thank you again for your engagement with your regulator, and I look forward to working with the various associations, Industry Councils, licensees and the management team to advance the real estate industry in 2022-23.