BC to launch a proof of vaccination program on September 13, mask mandate reinstated

On August 23, Premier John Horgan and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that you’ll need to show proof of vaccination, and valid government ID, to access certain social and recreational events and businesses in BC beginning September 13.

This new health order will initially require people in BC to prove they’ve received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to access certain businesses and events. By October 24, you’ll need to show proof of receiving two vaccine doses to access the same list of businesses and events.

Settings where proof of vaccination will be required include:

• indoor ticketed sporting events;
• indoor concerts;
• indoor theatre/dance/symphony events;
• restaurants (indoor and patio dining);
• night clubs;
• casinos;
• movie theatres;
• fitness centres/gyms (excluding youth recreational sports);
• businesses offering indoor high-intensity group exercise activities;
• organized indoor events (e.g., weddings, parties, conferences, meetings, workshops); and
• discretionary organized indoor group recreational classes and activities.

At this time, it’s our understanding that proof of vaccination won’t be required for open houses or showings.

How it works

The province will launch a website prior to September 13 where you can confidentially access your proof of vaccination documentation and save a copy to your phone. Alternative options will be available to people who cannot access their proof of vaccination online.

Businesses or event organizers can implement these requirements earlier as part of ongoing safety plans. If, however, a business chooses to adopt a vaccination policy that goes beyond what’s set out in this latest health order, that business will be responsible for doing its own due diligence.

“Vaccines are our ticket to putting this pandemic behind us,” said Premier John Horgan in the announcement. “So I call on all eligible unvaccinated British Columbians to roll up their sleeves to stop the spread, and help protect themselves, their loved ones and the people in their community.”

To register and book a vaccination appointment, visit this website.

For more information, read the province’s announcement.

Mask mandate reinstated as of August 25

A day after announcing the new proof of vaccination program, the provincial health officer issued a new mask mandate for indoor public spaces in the province effective August 25.

This mandate requires people 12 and older to wear masks in indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status. 

These settings include:

• malls, shopping centres, coffee shops and retail and grocery stores;
• liquor and drug stores;
• airports, city halls, libraries, community and recreation centres;
• restaurants, pubs and bars (unless seated);
• on public transportation, in a taxi or ride-sharing vehicle;
• areas of office buildings where services to the public are provided;
• common areas of sport and fitness centres when not engaged in physical activity;
• common areas of post-secondary institutions and non-profit organizations; and
• inside schools for all K-12 staff, visitors and students in grades 4-12.

Dr. Bonnie Henry will reassess this temporary order once the BC vaccine card requirement is fully implemented for certain social and recreational settings.

This order doesn’t reference common REALTOR® activities, such as showing a home. We’re reaching out to WorkSafe BC and the BC Financial Services Authority to better understand how this announcement impacts your work. 

In the meantime, we recommend that you and your clients wear masks when conducting your business in indoor settings like open houses and showings.

COVID-19 is an evolving issue today with the Delta variant causing a surge in cases. We’ll keep you updated as soon as more information becomes available.

Read the government's full release.

Commercial Paragon updates coming September 20

We're releasing a new Commercial Data Input Form (DIF) on September 20.

The updates are based on requests we’ve received from commercial members of REBGV and the Fraser Valley, BC Northern, and Chilliwack and District real estate boards. 

In the new commercial DIF, we’re adding fields, modifying or removing some existing fields, and making certain fields mandatory. Here’s a rundown:

New fields

• Minimum Divisible Space and Maximum Contiguous Space.
• Rail Services.
• Class of Space.
• Potential to Redevelop (which will allow you to narrow your search for potential redevelopment properties).
• No Touchbase to Appointment Instructions.

Existing fields that’ll become mandatory

• Appointment Name and Appointment Phone are now mandatory on all listings.
• Zoning/Land Use will be renamed to Zoning (Municipal Code) and will be mandatory for all listings.
• A value for the Subject Space Sq. Ft. field will be required for all For Sale listings.
• A value for the Space Available for Lease field will be required for all For Lease listings.
• Values for the Gross Property Tax and Tax Year fields will be mandatory for all For Sale listings. 
• Values for the Land Size Sq Ft and/or Land Size Acres fields will be mandatory for all Agri-business, Business with Property, Land, and Multi-Family listings.
• Values for Major and Minor Business Types will now be mandatory for all Business and Business with Property listings.
• Additional Rent fields will become mandatory if a value for the Basic Rent field is provided.

Modifications and removals

• Several unused or outdated fields will be removed (i.e., Condo will be removed from Strata Fee).
• Listing Realtor will be renamed Designated Agent. 
• We modified the Interest in Land by adding an option called First Nations.
• The Environmental Assessment field will be simplified to a Yes, No, or Not Applicable answer. If the answer is yes, a comment describing the nature of the assessment will be required.

Housekeeping items

• To be consistent with the Rules of Cooperation, we’ll remove the Seller Rt Reserved field. Please note this information in the Realtor Remarks.
• Discrepancies with the Paragon Listing Maintenance Screen will be fixed to better match the Commercial Data Input Form.

Remember to update your saved searches

These updates will result in significant changes to different commercial reports. We’ll share more about how your commercial reports are changing in our next communication. 

To help with this change, we recommend you update your saved searches when the new Commercial DIF is released on September 20. Stay tuned for more info. 

Questions? Contact Tammy Dunn at tdunn@rebgv.org or 604-730-3033. 

Profiles in governance: Jill Oudil

Getting involved with the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s (REBGV’s) governance has many benefits. It’s a great way to develop professional skills, learn more about your Board and your profession, and to give back.

Several of REBGV’s past-chairs have gone on to serve other organizations in key governance roles and pursue exciting new business opportunities.

Don’t take our word for it – our past-chairs share their experiences and insights in our new series called Profiles in Governance. In this edition, we profile Jill Oudil.

Jill Oudil

Brokerage: Macdonald Realty

Became a REALTOR® in 1992

REBGV Director: 2012-2016

REBGV Chair in 2017

What motivated you to become an REBGV Director?

Prior to becoming an REBGV Director and Chair, I had the opportunity to be an area Director and President of the old BNT (Burnaby, New West, Tri-Cities) Division. I had a few friends who served as Directors and Chairs encourage me to run. I was also fortunate to continue learning from them through my time serving.

How would you describe your experience as a Director?

I’m grateful to have had an excellent experience as a Director. It was both challenging and rewarding. Beyond that, it opened a whole new world which I am passionate for. While I love being a REALTOR® and would never change careers, this path allowed me to continue to learn and grow while giving back to our profession. I can't express how much I cherish the amazing lifelong relationships I would have never had the opportunity to make if it was not for being in this role.

What knowledge or skills did you gain from your time on the Board of Directors?

The learning curve of governance and being a high-level Director was just one part. I also learned to have the courage to ask the tough strategic questions and be able to be hard on issues and soft on people. Realizing my attitude and approach is contagious, understanding that diversity of thought is a gift. It pushed me to grow and improve in public speaking, cultivating a team, and of course overall understanding of organized real estate. Having the opportunity to lead at REBGV pushed me to raise the bar in my own personal growth, especially leadership. The success you feel leading a team feels so much better than any individual success.

How did serving as a Director at REBGV help your real estate business?

Serving as a Director gave me a new appreciation for the dedication behind the scenes in organized real estate. Volunteers who are doing their very best to help REALTORS® do their job and stay of paramount importance in the eyes of the consumer. I’ve also had the opportunity to get to know many REALTORS® across the country.

How did serving as a Director at REBGV open doors to other opportunities?

REBGV takes the training of its board of directors very seriously. This high-level training in governance assisted me in moving on to the position of Chair-Elect at the Canadian Real Estate Association. It’s a privilege to continue to work together with boards and associations across the country for the betterment of organized real estate.

What advice would you give to a member thinking about getting involved in governance?

I would highly recommend you seek out Directors and Chairs, past or present, or the Board Development Committee to have a discussion. I’d be happy to chat with anyone considering getting involved to share my insights. There’s value in making sure that your goals and reasons for applying align with the role. Understanding how the Board handles strategic oversight of the organization is important. Noting the timing of what skill sets are currently needed at the Board table will also dictate when might be the right time for you to step up to serve. Don’t hesitate – it’s a lifetime experience and I wouldn't give it up for anything!

Like hell it's yours; put it back*

A member recently wrote: “We are coming across a number of members who are taking content off our website, for example, taking information word-for-word for their own neighbourhood pages. What can we do to stop this?”

I replied cheekily: “By making a formal complaint.”

This question is a reminder of the importance of members to respect other members’ intellectual property. I last wrote about this topic in 2009. Twelve years is a long time between reminders, and with copy in the archives, I was able to dust off and update it for today’s column.

Here it is.

My wife’s grandfather, like most men of his generation, wore a hat. (He also probably gardened in his suit—but that’s a story for another day.) Every day at noon precisely, he would leave the Shelley Building on Pender Street and walk over to the White Lunch on Hastings Street. There, he would have lunch with his cronies. On arrival he would hang his hat on the hook by the door. Inside the hat was a label saying, “Like hell it’s yours; put it back,” just in case anyone was of a mind to take his hat. He cared about his possessions and was proactive in protecting them.

A lot of possessions we accumulate in life are important to us. Some are more important than others. Grandfather’s hat was probably dispensable, but our collective ownership of the real estate profession’s websites and their content is certainly not dispensable.

We would be incensed if a third party from outside the profession scraped information from our websites to use it for profit or otherwise. Similarly, we have a right to expect our colleagues will also respect each other’s ownership rights relating to real estate websites and their content.

Canadian real estate boards have invested tens of millions of dollars on members’ behalf to develop Realtor.ca , Rebgv.org, Realtylink.org, Rebgv.ca, and other MLS® websites and applications. The information these websites contain is for all members’ benefit.

Brokerages and REALTORS® have also spent considerable money to develop their own websites and the content is protected by terms of use as well as Article 28 of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.

The Ethics Guy®, for example, constitutes intellectual property and is owned by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver on behalf of all its members.

Intellectual property is as valuable an asset to a real estate board, brokerage, or Realtor’s business as the building that houses the brokerage and its computer hardware and systems.

Intellectual property typically includes copyrights, trademarks, confidential information and trade secrets, and industrial designs and patents, all of which are protected in Canada by the Copyright Act, a common law and legislation.

Examples of these include, REALTORLink®, Realtor.ca, MLS®, “Multiple Listing Service®”, “REALTOR®/REALTORS®” and brokerage and REALTOR® websites and their content.

Ownership conveys significant rights. Only owners of a copyright or trademark have rights to use them and are authorized to reproduce, distribute, display, or sell the copyrighted work.

Why should we care about this? Simply put, using someone’s content without their permission is against the law. It’s also not ethical and it’s a breach of Article 28 to take others’ ideas, content, and trade assets and pass them off as our own.

An example of this would be for a Realtor to violate the terms of another real estate website by scraping content and posting this content to their own website without the owner’s permission. (Yes, this includes using listing photographs from a previous listing, per Rules of Cooperation, Rule 3.25).

Note: you may use one photograph from the previous listing.

So, what to do if another member uses your content without your permission?

I’d suggest asking the other member to remove your content from their website. This usually does the trick. If it doesn’t, ask your managing broker to touch base with the other member’s managing broker so your request is reinforced. This should result in action. If it doesn’t and you want to pursue matters further, you can lodge a complaint with the Professional Conduct Committee. The Committee then has complete discretion as to how it deals with your complaint. For a first-time breach it may just give the other member a warning. For serial offenders it may respond with more significant action.

Yes, you can reprint and quote the Ethics Guy®. You must make sure you acknowledge the source as follows:

• Source: REBGV or
• Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

For more information on intellectual property

REALTOR® Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice - Article 28: Intellectual Property Rights of Boards / Associations

REALTORS® shall respect the intellectual property and other ownership rights of other REALTORS®, Boards, Provincial/Territorial Associations and CREA.

Interpretations

28.1   REALTORS® shall only access and use the websites and other databases of Boards, Associations, CREA and other REALTORS® in accordance with the policies for use established by the owner of the site.

28.2   REALTORS® should not infringe the copyright or other ownership interest of another REALTOR® in his/her Listing.

28.3   A REALTOR® shall not use the trade names or trademarks or confusingly similar trade names or trademarks of any firm, franchise, or other organization other than those with which the REALTOR® is affiliated or otherwise authorized in writing to use. This restriction includes but is not limited to, unauthorized Internet uses such as domain names, e-mail addresses and metatags.

Rules of Cooperation

3.25 Photographs, Pictures and Sketches

Images that are provided to the Board in respect of an MLS® listing shall become the property of the Board and may be used by the Board at its discretion. Only MLS® Department-approved watermarks may appear on images. The display of a child’s image on an MLS® listing is prohibited. The Board reserves the right to remove images which in the opinion of the Board are inappropriate.

A minimum of one photo related to the property must be provided for each listing within 24 hours of the listing becoming active on the MLS® System. Other than the front exterior photo, additional listing photos shall not be used in future listings without the consent of the originating Brokerage. Images that contain information that is considered to be promotion of a member will not be permitted. ‘For Sale’ and ‘Sold’ signs are not permitted in photos. Images are to relate only to the real property for sale. No comments or additional information will be permitted to be placed on the image.

Rule 3.06 Accuracy of Listing Information

It is the responsibility of every Member to provide to other Members clear, accurate and factual information concerning any listing by such Member. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing: (a) Members are not permitted to copy from a previous listing of another Member; and (b) Members shall declare within the REALTOR® Remarks the source of measurements referenced in the listing. IT SHALL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LISTING BROKERAGE TO CHECK ALL LISTINGS AND AMENDMENTS OF LISTINGS AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED BY THE MLS® SYSTEM AND TO ENSURE THEIR COMPLETE ACCURACY, INCLUDING COMMISSION PAYABLE TO A COOPERATING BROKERAGE.

*This article was originally published by REBGV in 2009. It has been updated for this issue.

Ethics Guy® Top Tip video: You and your brokerage

In Kim's latest Top Tip video, he discusses the most important business relationship you have as a REALTOR®: The one between you and your brokerage. Watch the video to learn more about employee and independent contractor relationships, including the obligations you have to your brokerage and the obligations your brokerage has to you.

How to simplify, streamline and systemize your business for success

In our latest video, we asked Jessica Frigon of Project Love how REALTORS® can use systems to simplify and streamline their business.

Here’s what she had to say:

Want to learn more? Click here to register for our free session featuring Jessica on September 16!