Our message was clear from the start. 

We hit the point at every open house event and stated it clearly in the AREA-CREB^® consolidation plan – In order for the merger to go forward, CREB^® will ultimately have to be dissolved.  

This is in part because a Co-op (CREB^®) cannot merger with a Society (AREA). Plus, the requirements in the Cooperatives Act (Alberta) establish that the assets of the organization must be liquidated and distributed before the dissolution of the organization can come into effect. 

The legal aspect of our consolidation is important and very much a requirement, but that isn’t to say we’ve lost sight of the main point that CREB^® will cease to exist if the resolution is approved. We recognize these are the moving parts of this change, but we also hope the message is coming through that those elements of CREB^®’s value proposition that are so important to our members, will live on in a new and innovative form within AREA.  

Now, you might be thinking, “Okay, but how do I know that all this a good thing? If CREB^® is such a strong and successful organization, why does it need to be dissolved.” The simple answer is that life is good right now, but our ability to act or react to challenges in the future is weakened by our fragmented structure. 

The time to prepare for the future isn’t in the future, it’s today.  We repair the roof now when it’s sunny, so we don’t end up with costly structural damage when the weather changes. 

The consolidation of what is best about CREB^®’s value proposition into the best of AREA’s enables us to maximize opportunities that have, until now, been outside our grasp. The unification of these two strong organizations will create efficiencies and drive what is already great value into even better value, with cost savings passed onto members. 

Our world has become incredibly complicated and inter-connected, with new systems of technology and social platforms defining the way we do business. This curve has accelerated and so we need to pause now and weigh our emotional attachment to the strong institution that is CREB^® against the real time speed of business and evolution of competition in the marketplace. We believe it’s time to take bold steps now to build our future, rather than relying on decades old structures. 

For something new and exciting to emerge, we need to honour our past by voting on March 15 to retire this great institution with dignity. The dissolution of CREB^® is necessary to unlock its potential and pull the focus of our key business back on member profitability. Let’s champion this change and prove that dissolution is a good thing.