At our April 25, 2024 AGM, I responded to the question above by saying that we in fact did propose a motion to remove the Pillar 9™ board of directors because we opposed a massive fee increase. 

We felt that members deserved to be engaged by Pillar 9™ to learn about the proposed tiered service model and to understand the rational behind their pricing.

Our concern was that Pillar 9™ was about to launch a new tiered model that would force most CREB^® members to select the option that represented a 72 per cent fee increase to retain the functionality they are already accustomed to having now. This was not acceptable.

This matter has not been fully resolved and we chose to avoid upsetting our members by continuing to advocate on your behalf and to work within the Pillar 9™ partnership to effect change. This is a work in progress and Pillar 9™’s plan has not been shared with the shareholders, nor the members, which is why it was too soon to report on this topic. That changed when AREA posted their Jan.15 board of directors minutes, so I’ll explain why we made this decision.

The degree of transparency in AREA’s minutes is new, but they may need to be reminded that they are in a partnership and the communications on the inner workings of the company should come from the partnership. For whatever reason, Pillar 9™ chose to not make any statements about the Jan.10 Special General Meeting (SGM).

Take a close look at how AREA chose to disclose what happened, without stating how they voted, in their Jan.15 board of directors meeting minutes. Curiously, CREB^®️ is the only member of the partnership who was named. The motion for a quarterly operational meeting was made by an unnamed partner. Following is this section of the AREA minutes:

Pillar 9™ Shareholder Meeting

AREA staff gave an update on the Pillar9™ Shareholder meeting which the AREA Chair and CEO attended. The CREB^®️ motion to remove the Pillar 9 Board of Directors was defeated, it did not receive a second, so no discussion occurred. The CREB^®️ motion to not increase fees and to require a fee increase be passed by a supermajority of shareholders passed. A motion for quarterly operational meetings with Shareholders also passed.

All AREA Board of Directors minutes are available here.

If the point that some people are trying to make is that CREB^®️ is playing hardball by attempting to remove the Pillar 9™ board, the irony is not lost on us that we faced a similar challenge. We own this and will share some background by including the letter we sent to the Pillar 9™ board of directors and shareholders on Nov. 8, 2023.

The course of action we took on our members’ behalf is a governance lever, and after exhausting all other options, this move was a catalyst for some important changes. We made it clear in the Pillar 9™ SGM and stated in our letter that we had “. . . no concerns with the individuals serving on this board of directors, but we have become convinced this structure is not delivering the user experience, nor the organizational confidence we envisioned could be achieved when we founded the Corporation."

In the meeting, we reminded everyone that we put forward the three REALTORS^® serving on this Board. We said these are trusted leaders who we respect and that we feel a duty to apply their talents more constructively with the company.

Our effort to call for an SGM carefully followed the guidelines enabling us to use the checks and balances available in such a situation. Our compliance with a required process was successful in creating the special meeting for our motions to be considered, but the outcome fell short of our expectations.

This can be the nature of democratic governance in a partnership environment, so we continue to work on your behalf. Change takes time and we continue to fully participate in Pillar 9™ activities. We will never relax in our goals to ensure this form of delegated CREB^® MLS^® Service meets your expectations.

This is why we need members to complete the future of the CREB^® MLS^® System survey. If you haven’t done so already, read more here. Some commentary is suggesting we want a certain outcome. I assure you that everyone involved in this process has no preconceived ideas. None.

Once the survey closes on May 17, we’ll share the results and engage with you to understand what we learned. If and when there are any options to be considered, our members will be a part of that process.

This is months away, if there are any outcomes or options to discuss, it may be that the status quo is what our members want. If that is the case, great. We checked in, asked you some important and balanced questions, and you answered, hopefully in large numbers.

Our goal is to simply gain your input and then work to deliver on the consensus vision for our best MLS^® Services.