Editor's note: REM has reached out to MREB for more information regarding SGM, its findings, and the decision to move forward with the Cornerstone merger. As of this writing, we have not heard back. We will add any information we receive here.
On Monday, July 1, Cornerstone Association of Realtors (Cornerstone) began operations.
This follows a special general meeting (SGM) held by the Mississauga Real Estate Board (MREB) on June 26th, where the association voted in favour of terminating its merger with three other Ontario associations as Cornerstone.
The vote to overturn SGM's decision did not block the merger.
But the MREB merger is moving forward, Cornerstone CEO Bill Dewees confirmed in a July 2 email to Cornerstone members.
“As with any merger, this is not an end, but rather a new beginning. All four affiliate associations – Hamilton-Burlington, Waterloo Region, Simcoe & District and Mississauga – will remain with Cornerstone. We bring our long and glorious past to this new beginning as we strive to be better together.”
“Nothing about this is easy, and the hard work is far from over. We're just getting started. As you know, one of our partner associations experienced last-minute uncertainty as some vocal members tried to walk away from the merger. These members were dedicated, passionate and cared deeply about their association. Some of their concerns were very valid, but others were based on misinformation that created fear, uncertainty and doubt.”
“(MREB) did not respect the orders of the SGM judgement and did not inform its members what steps it had taken afterwards.”
Tahir Qureshi, president and CEO of CityPro Real Estate Co. Ltd., was one of those concerned members. Qureshi resigned from the new association on July 2. “I revoked my membership as a broker and designated TRREB as my home board,” Qureshi explained, although he has supported and participated in his local board, MREB, for many years.
“What is painful is that SGM’s withdrawal of the merger was not taken into consideration by the board… (they) did not respect the order of the SGM judgement and did not inform members what steps they had taken following the SGM order.”
Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd broker Tehreeem Kamal agreed, saying, “The Mississauga Real Estate Board’s choice to ignore its members’ mandate is a flagrant breach of the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) and the Mississauga Real Estate Board’s bylaws.
“It is also significant that the chair and three other directors have had a direct conflict of interest on this issue from the beginning. When the then-president decided not to serve on the task force, the president-elect was appointed to the task force along with the chair and two other directors. At the board's last two meetings (late last year), it was decided that the task force would become the (Cornerstone) board once the individual boards were dissolved.”
“Real estate association mergers are not just about the MLS system.”
In an email, Duce explained that Cornerstone is well aware of concerns about access to MLS information.
“While the state's inefficient and arbitrary 'MLS system boundaries' are actively changing, our members still need access to more than one MLS system. We are actively working on this issue and will continue until a satisfactory solution is reached.”
Cornerstone firmly believes that all Ontario Real Estate Agents should have access to all Ontario MLS information in order to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to their clients. It's not about how much data you have access to or how much data you have; it's about all the data.
He noted that while the merger task force has seen a presentation from PropTx, “our immediate focus is on completing the remaining tasks of the merger while providing a robust and stable system for our users. Mergers between real estate associations are not just an MLS system issue; there are multiple examples of associations within the same MLS system still pursuing mergers to provide greater efficiency and excellence for their members.”
In summing up, Duce reiterated that real estate is local and Cornerstone believes its board of directors needs to be local as well.