Calgary, Alberta – The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bev Andre as chair and Eric Stewart as vice-chair. The appointments were made at a council meeting on November 16, 2005.

“My real estate roots run deep, and it is an honour to serve my colleagues as chair of the Real Estate Council of Alberta,” said Bev Andre. Bev has been active in real estate since 1972 and is the broker of Royal LePage Andre Kopp and Associates. She has served as director and president of the Alberta Real Estate Association and the West Central Alberta Real Estate Association and regional director for Alberta of the Canadian Real Estate Association. Bev was appointed to the Real Estate Council in 2001 to represent real estate boards outside of Edmonton and Calgary .

Eric Stewart has worked as a lender and mortgage broker with finance companies, trust companies, and chartered banks since 1966. Eric has served as a director for the Alberta Mortgage Brokers Association since 1991 and is a board member of the Calgary Community Land Trust. Eric was appointed to the Real Estate Council in 2001 to represent the Alberta Mortgage Brokers Association.

A total of twelve council members represent real estate industry members throughout the province, mortgage brokers, real estate appraisers, and the public interest. Council members are appointed for a three-year term and may serve two terms consecutively. In addition to Bev Andre and Eric Stewart, current council members are: Andrew Chopko ( real estate appraisers), Allan Dredge (Edmonton Real Estate Board), Norm Jensen (real estate boards outside of Edmonton and Calgary), Kevan Ladner (real estate brokers trading in commercial real estate), Richard Parker (public member appointed by the minister of Alberta Government Services), Lynn A. Patrick (Past Chair, public member appointed by members of Council), Jack A. Peat (Building Owners & Managers Association of both Edmonton and Calgary, Real Estate Institute of Canada and the Institute of Real Estate Management), Pat Rudiger (real estate brokers trading in residential real estate), Charlotte Sutherland (industry members who are not members of the Alberta Real Estate Association), and Ted Zaharko (Calgary Real Estate Board).

The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is an independent, non-government agency, responsible for regulating real estate, mortgage broker, and real estate appraisal industry professionals under Alberta ’s Real Estate Act. RECA is mandated to protect consumers and to provide services that enhance and improve the industry and the business of industry members. 

Calgary, Alberta – On November 16, 2005, Azmat Siddique, who was formerly licensed as a real estate agent with Residential One Real Estate in Calgary, applied to the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) to withdraw from industry membership in accordance with section 54 of the Real Estate Act.

At the time of the application, Mr. Siddique had not been trading in real estate in Alberta and was the subject of a RECA investigation.

As a result of the approval of Mr. Siddique ’s application to withdraw from the industry, RECA’s investigation has been discontinued. Mr. Siddique’s withdrawal application does not constitute an admission of any allegations of misconduct.

The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is an independent, non-government agency, responsible for regulating industry professionals in the real estate, mortgage broker, and real estate appraisal industries under Alberta ’s Real Estate Act. RECA is mandated to protect consumers and to provide services that enhance and improve the industry and the business of industry members.

Calgary, Alberta – The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is committed to fighting mortgage fraud, according to its Chair, Lynn Patrick, in RECA’s 2004-2005 Annual Report.

In the report on the Council’s past fiscal year, Mr. Patrick highlights key challenges and achievements in 2004-2005. These include a new requirement for all real estate appraisers to be licensed, record numbers of licensees, changes to protect the viability of the Real Estate Assurance Fund, and participation in several initiatives to prevent mortgage fraud.

In the report, Mr. Patrick states the Council’s “determination to not only do everything it can to combat mortgage fraud from a regulatory perspective, but to also participate in joint projects and to spearhead cooperative initiatives to increase prosecution.” In the past fiscal year, RECA organized stakeholder strategy meetings and took part in the provincial government’s Advisory Committee on Mortgage Fraud, the Stop Marihuana Grow-ops Calgary Coalition, and the Edmonton committee on grow-ops.

The Council has expanded its communication to the public and all stakeholders through its new website: www.www.reca.ca. The annual report and financial statements are posted online with an opportunity to provide feedback. In addition to tips on preventing mortgage fraud, RECA’s website enables the public to conduct a licence search to ensure that they deal only with licensed industry professionals. Consumers involved in a transaction in which an industry member may have acted improperly can learn about the Real Estate Council’s complaint, investigation, and disciplinary processes online. Disciplinary outcomes are also posted.

The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is an independent, non-government agency, responsible for regulating real estate, mortgage broker, and real estate appraisal industry professionals under Alberta ’s Real Estate Act. RECA is mandated to protect consumers and to provide services that enhance and improve the industry and the business of industry members.

Calgary, Alberta – The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is pleased to announce that Executive Director Bob Myroniuk was appointed the president of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) on 1 October 2005. ARELLO is comprised of the official governmental agencies and other organizations around the world that regulate real estate practice.

“Bob Myroniuk’s appointment as president of ARELLO indicates the high esteem in which both he and the quality of self-regulation in Alberta are held by other jurisdictions across Canada and throughout North America,” said RECA Chair Lynn Patrick. “In addition to the industry’s strong commitment to professionalism and consumer protection, we are fortunate in this province to have a leader as visionary, experienced, and dedicated as Mr. Myroniuk at the helm of self-regulation. Mr. Myroniuk has extensive knowledge of industry associations and organizations and has forged strong partnerships with them.”

Prior to joining the Real Estate Council, Mr. Myroniuk was a lawyer in private practice and an executive director with the Alberta Government in Housing and Consumer Affairs. In his position with the provincial government, he was responsible for the development of the new Real Estate Act of Alberta (1995) and implementing the transition from government regulation to self-regulation in the real estate and mortgage broker industry. In 1996, Mr. Myroniuk became RECA’s first Executive Director.

During his tenure as president of ARELLO, Mr. Myroniuk will meet with real estate organizations in the Ukraine, Australia, and across North America. On ARELLO’s behalf, Mr. Myroniuk will promote information sharing and increased cooperation among real estate regulators.

Both RECA and ARELLO place a high value on the protection of public interest. RECA encourages consumers to verify the licence status of anyone with whom they consider working on its website www.www.reca.ca and to understand the risks involved in dealing with unlicensed individuals.

The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is an independent, non-government agency, responsible for regulating industry professionals in the real estate, mortgage broker, and real estate appraisal industries. RECA is mandated to protect consumers and to provide services that enhance and improve the industry and the business of industry members.

Calgary, Alberta – On September 14, 2005, Sukesh Dave, who was formerly licensed as a real estate agent with The Real Estate Company in Calgary, applied to the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) to withdraw from industry membership in accordance with section 54 of the Real Estate Act.

At the time of the application, Mr. Dave had not been trading in real estate in Alberta and was the subject of a RECA investigation.

As a result of the approval of Mr. Dave’s application to withdraw from the industry, RECA’s investigation has been discontinued. Mr. Dave’s withdrawal application does not constitute an admission of any allegations of misconduct.

The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is an independent, non-government agency, responsible for regulating industry professionals in the real estate, mortgage broker, and real estate appraisal industries under Alberta ’s Real Estate Act. RECA is mandated to protect consumers and to provide services that enhance and improve the industry and the business of industry members.