June 4 FOLA Real Estate Update
As of May 27, 2021 the by-law amendments to reflect changes to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s Model Rules to fight money laundering and terrorist financing were approved by the Law Society of Ontario. The amendments will come into effect January 1, 2022.
All of their prior updates are available on their website at https://fola.ca/real-estate-law.
Thank you to our friends at FOLA for sharing with us their latest update, available below.
Congratulations to Eldon Horner
Eldon Horner has been part of the FOLA Executive since 2011, first as the East Region Representative, then as Treasurer, Vice-Chair, Chair and Past Chair, and then remaining on as a co-chair for real estate. Prior to joining the FOLA Executive, Eldon was on the board of this local law association from 2005 to 2011. Eldon has also found time to give back to his local community, providing pro-bono legal services or sitting on the boards of several local charities or not for profit companies.
On May 26, 2021, Eldon Horner received the Law Society Medal in recognition of his dedication and outstanding contributions to the profession and community. FOLA congratulates Eldon on his most deserving and highly esteemed honour.
Congratulations to Quinn Ross
On May 27, 2021 Quinn M. Ross was elected as bencher to fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Justice Paul Cooper to the Ontario Court of Justice. Congratulations Quinn! We are thrilled to have another real estate lawyer at Convocation.
New Anti-Money Laundering Requirements
On May 27, 2021, the Law Society approved by-law amendments to reflect changes to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s Model Rules to fight money laundering and terrorist financing. The Law Society will produce supports to assist licensees with understanding and complying with the new requirements prior to the amendments coming into effect January 1, 2022. For more information, see the report to Convocation and the information on the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s website.
Current Government Consultations
The Ontario government is currently accepting comments on a number of proposed legislative amendments, including the following:
Proposed updates to the regulations under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002
The second phase of regulation development (Phase 2) is currently underway. During this phase, the ministry is developing regulatory proposals to:
A. Update the Code of Ethics regulation (the Code) under REBBA;
B. Transfer procedural and technical requirements from the Code to other regulations;
C. Enhance disclosure requirements and other registrant obligations to better protect consumers of real estate services and increase consumer choice;
D. Update RECO's regulatory powers and tools, including revising the procedures of RECO's discipline committee.
Details are available here. Comments are due by July 2, 2021.
Proposal for a new Land Use Compatibility Guide for municipalities to use when making land use planning decisions.
Details are available here. Comments are due by July 3, 2021.
Proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities Act.
Details are available here. Comments are due by June 27, 2021.
Local Real Estate Reps
FOLA is continuing to try to ensure timely communications with all local real estate lawyers. If you are the local real estate rep for your association and you have not recently communicated your status to Kelly Lovell please do so via e-mail to kelly.lovell@fola.ca.