December 12, 2023

Dear RAHB Member,

I’m writing to address a recent announcement made by one of our Cornerstone Association of REALTORS® partners. 

On Friday, December 8, 2023, the Waterloo Region Association of REALTORS® (WRAR) announced that the WRAR Board of Directors has decided not to invoice for OREA Ontario REALTOR® Wellness Program (ORWP) dues. This means WRAR will not be collecting the mandatory ORWP component of OREA dues from their Members. They are the only Board/Association in Ontario to take this stand.

As you know, OREA Member Boards voted to proceed with the ORWP at a Special Meeting of the OREA Assembly on November 29th. While RAHB was one of 10 Boards/Associations that requisitioned the Special Meeting, as well as voted against the mandatory program, the RAHB Board of Directors has decided to move forward on this matter to ensure Members continue to have uninterrupted access to OREA Standard Forms and other important REALTOR® resources. Accordingly, all full RAHB Members received their quarterly invoice at the beginning of December for RAHB, OREA (including the ORWP component), and CREA dues.  

For the RAHB Members who are opposed to the mandatory aspect of the OREA wellness program, the RAHB Board of Directors shares your great disappointment in the outcome of the OREA Special Assembly. Please understand that we carefully considered the options, but in the end, agreed that complying and collecting OREA/ORWP dues is necessary to preserve your access to the many essential professional tools OREA provides, such as Standard Forms. This was not an easy decision – nor is it one RAHB plans to reverse. But we do want you to know that it was made with your professional best interests as a RAHB REALTOR® in mind.

With WRAR’s announcement, we realize this may cause some confusion about the future of the Cornerstone Association of REALTORS®. Please remember, until July 1st, we are all separate organizations with independent Boards of Directors that each have their fiduciary duties. We might have differing approaches to the ORWP, but each partner remains strongly committed to the amalgamation, demonstrating our ability to work through challenging matters together.  

What does this mean for the future? For one, it appears that some chapters about the ORWP still need to be written. To be honest, how and when that story ends is not clear. But what we do know is that the creation of the Cornerstone Association of REALTORS® is most assuredly moving forward. All four partners remain strongly committed, not just to the amalgamation, but also to the vision that – when we are one Association on July 1st – we will be even STRONGER TOGETHER.

Sincerely,

Nicolas von Bredow

RAHB President