At the AGM on April 20, 2023, a member suggested that a legal proceeding she was involved in with the REALTORS^® Association of Edmonton a few years ago was relevant to CREB^®’s decision not to place a motion from a member on the AGM agenda.

Chair Christian Twomey requested the member provide the details of her experience and said we would seek comment from our legal counsel. Dan Downe K.C., Partner, Field Law, provides the following:

“CREB^®’s Board of Directors wishes to respond to comments made by Member Leigh Anne Chisholm in the CREB^® AGM and her subsequent social media post suggesting that a King’s Bench judge commented on CREB^®’s Board’s decision not to include Mr. Currey’s proposed motion at the recent AGM. Ms. Chisholm was referring to a 2020 matter that involved herself and the Edmonton Real Estate Board. The judge, in that case, has not commented on Mr. Currey's proposed motion or the CREB^® Board of Directors’ decision regarding same. This matter has not been commented on by any judge.

In further response to her posting, Mr. Currey's proposed motion was deficient as it did not comply with CREB^®’s Bylaw 5.4(b), which requires that a written request for a Special General Meeting must be made by at least 10% of the Individual Members of CREB^®. In addition, the proposed motion, as drafted, was not in a form that could not have been put to the Members without a substantial revision to comply with the Alberta Cooperatives legislation. CREB® Bylaw 5.2 requires that notice of the AGM and any Special General Meeting must be provided to each Member not less than ten days before the date of the meeting. The revisions required to Mr. Currey's motion, along with the proper supporting documentation for the motion, required further time and therefore did not comply with the notice requirements in Bylaw 5.2.

Regarding the March 28, 2023 decision, CREB^®’s Board of Directors have the authority to terminate the directorship of a director if they are found to be in breach of CREB^®’s Director’s Code of Conduct, pursuant to CREB®’s Bylaw 6.7(c), which bylaw complies with the Alberta Cooperatives legislation. The director involved was provided with the material, which gave rise to the Directors’ meeting being called and attended the meeting to provide his response regarding his conduct. After hearing the director's response, the remaining directors were unanimous that various breaches of the Director's Code of Conduct occurred and therefore terminated the directorship of the involved director effective immediately.

To conclude, the CREB^® Board of Directors followed the proper process under CREB^®’s bylaws and the Alberta Cooperatives legislation regarding Mr. Currey's proposed motion and with respect to the termination of a director on March 28, 2023.”