Training and career in real estate

The Association is issuing recommendations to real estate brokers and agents regarding the iron ochre issue.

We are proud and pleased to mark the 25-year career of Mr. Robert Nadeau, President and Chief Executive Officer, within the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec.

Good news! The OACIQ has negotiated a new agreement with Bell Mobility for Basic and Elite plans with a three-year term. These improved plans are even better tailored to your needs and are certainly worth considering.

Are you a broker with a full-service licence or a licence restricted to residential real estate brokerage? We would like to remind you that you have until June 30, 2012 at midnight, to complete the mandatory continuing education on the new elements and amendments to forms.

This training is required to

• get your continuing education units (CEU)
• carry on your real estate brokerage activities.

Amendments to Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising , Regulation respecting the issue of broker’s and agency licences, and Regulation respecting records, books and registers, trust accounting and inspection of brokers and agencies, will come into force on March 29, 2012.

One major finding has come out of the meeting between the management of Association des courtiers et agents immobiliers du Québec (ACAIQ), the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards and the twelve real estate boards, held in September to review the recommendations contained in Finance Minister Yves Séguin’s Report on the Application of the Real Estate Brokerage Act. All share a common position on the great majority of the government’s recommendations.

As part of the 2004 ACAIQ Education Event held in Saguenay in April, the President of the Canadian Real Estate Association, Samir Bachir, marked the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the Chambre immobilière du Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean by presenting its President, Carol Pedneault (surrounded by his Board members) with a memento. A few minutes earlier, the ACAIQ had presented a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion, held by Mrs. Madeleine Fortin. Also pictured here are Camil Simard, Marjolaine Villeneuve, Jean-Paul Simard, Guylaine Gagnon, David Chiasson and Ginette Gaudreault, all from the Chambre immobilière du Saguenay–Lac Saint-Jean.

The Board of Directors of the Association des courtiers et agents immobiliers du Québec has again confirmed its intention to maintain its members' personal insurance plan (life, health, drug and income). This decision was made following a request submitted by a member, asking that the Association terminate this plan, in which the Quebec Health Insurance Board is forcing him to enroll in accordance with the Act respecting prescription drug insurance.

Under this act, which came into force in 1997, anyone who is eligible to join a group insurance plan must enroll in the plan, thereby excluding them from the public drug insurance plan. Because the ACAIQ offers such a plan, which it did long before the law was enacted, every broker or agent who does not have access to another group insurance plan, either through their spouse, their employer or the banner under which they practice, must join the Association's plan.

It is important to note that last year, the government began systematically tracing individuals insured under the public plan although they have access to a private plan. Their coverage under the public plan is immediately terminated and violators are required to pay arrears that can range in the thousands of dollars.

The Association's Board of Directors feels it essential that we offer our members a group insurance plan, otherwise a large number of brokers and agents, who are often self-employed, would not benefit from any of the protections it offers. Also, please note that the various insurance plans sponsored by the Association and distributed by Dale Parizeau Morris Mackenzie will soon be modified to increase coverage and reduce costs. More information will follow.

Montréal, November 13, 2003 – The Association des courtiers et agents immobiliers du Québec (ACAIQ) is urging the government to approve the creation of a Professional Liability Insurance Fund for Québec real-estate brokers and agents before the end of this year, in order to ensure protection for them, as they practice their profession, as well as for consumers. Unless the government acts swiftly, before December 31, brokers and agents may no longer be able to guarantee their responsibility to the public.

Professional liability insurance is mandatory, and brokers now have to obtain coverage from private insurers. This insurance protects consumers in the event of claims for any mistakes, errors, negligence, or omissions that brokers or agents might make in carrying out their duties.

“The Fund will put an end to the problems of insurers who are reluctant to cover brokerage risks, sharp premium hikes that sometimes amount to more than 200%, and the difficulty that some professionals have in obtaining coverage,” said ACAIQ President and Executive Director Robert Nadeau. “The ultimate goal is to continue to ensure protection for consumers in transactions that are often the most important ones of their lives. That is why it is in the best interests of both consumers and the industry in general to create this type of Fund in order to protect the public by ensuring adequate coverage.” “This makes amending the Real Estate Brokerage Act urgent.”

The Fund, which would be managed by the ACAIQ, would also ensure that consumer claims are processed faster and more efficiently, while providing consumers with better protection.