The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) has launched a case against two Ontario realtors, and two additional (unknown) defendants.
Court documents provided to REM state that the defendants — Sandra Maher and Penny Dutkowski, who are not TRREB members, along with two unknown individuals — used TRREB’s confidential or proprietary information to communicate with TRREB members. This includes via websites like nomandatoryorwp.ca and change.org/p/say-no-to-mandatory-realtor-benefits-orwp.
TRREB’s claim
TRREB’s Statement of Claim says, “All of the Defendants used TRREB content without authorization, including links to TRREB’s proprietary and confidential material.”
The claim goes into specifics of this, including that defendants “opposed ORWP and engaged in efforts to stop the implementation of ORWP applying to all Ontario realtors. The Defendants, and others, created a Meta Facebook page called “OROMOO” … stated to be an acronym for: Ontario Realtors Opposed to Mandatory OREA ORWP.
However, rather than the Meta Facebook page being directed at OREA, it was directed at TRREB, its officers, directors, members and employees. The OROMOO Meta Facebook page became a forum for libelous, slanderous and defamatory posts about TRREB, its officers, directors, employees and suppliers.”
Among other things, TRREB is claiming “$1 million for civil conspiracy, wrongful interference with economic relations, tortious interference and wrongful interference with contractual relations,” and, “In relation to any Defendants who are former TRREB members, damages in the amount of $1 million for breach of contract, and breaches of their membership obligations.”
About the case, John DiMichele, TRREB CEO, says, “Out of respect for the legal process, we will not be commenting considering that the matter is before the courts.”
Dutkowski and Maher’s defense
Dutkowski and Maher’s Statement of Defence states they “deny each and every allegation in the Statement of Claim, unless expressly admitted herein, and put the Plaintiff to the strict proof thereof.”
It explains that TRREB is a trade association operating on democratic principles that represents more than 70,000 real estate agents and brokers practicing in the GTA and that it’s also a constituent board of OREA, a professional association that represents real estate brokers and salespeople across Ontario.
“OREA is also a democratic institution that represents the interests of its members … This lawsuit is about that democratic process. TRREB takes issue with the fact that the Defendants sought to influence OREA policy in a manner that the TRREB Board of Directors did not like.
Specifically, the Defendants Penny Dutkowski and Sandra Maher – two long-time realtors and senior members of the profession – opposed the introduction of a mandatory health benefits plan that they felt would harm them and other more senior members of the profession (and in particular senior citizens).
TRREB now brings this lawsuit to silence dissent and to intimidate the Defendants and other realtors in Ontario. In reality, this claim is a political dispute disguised as a tort claim and bears all the hallmarks of strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP). It should be summarily dismissed.”
Statement from defendants’ lawyers
Dutkowski and Maher are being represented by lawyers Robert Stellick and Simon Bieber of Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP in Toronto. They made the following statement on behalf of their clients:
“As the Statement of Claim makes clear, our clients have been sued by TRREB for their efforts to overturn the OWRP. The specific claims being made against them are set out in the Statement of Claim.
As the Statement of Defence makes clear, it is our view that this lawsuit has no merit and has been brought to silence and intimidate our clients and other realtors in Ontario. We intend to bring an ‘anti-SLAPP’ motion to seek to have the claim summarily dismissed.”
What is a SLAPP suit?
A SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) is defined by the Toronto Metropolitan University’s Centre for Free Expression as follows:
“SLAPPs are lawsuits brought by individuals, corporations or others to intimidate and silence critics by forcing them into legal battles that would be extremely costly and time-consuming to fight. The goal was not to obtain justice; it was to exhaust, defeat and intimidate their critics into being silent.
A typical example is publishers, newspapers or media outlets being sued to stop publications which expose corporate or political wrongdoing. Similar tactics are used to mute the voices of community activists and researchers who are exposing harms from development projects or toxic chemicals or corporate malpractice.”
Emma Caplan-Fisher is an editor and writer for REM. She has over a decade of experience in various content types and topics, including real estate, housing, business, tech, and home & design. Emma’s work has also been featured in Cottage Life, the Vancouver Real Estate Podcast, the Chicago Tribune, Narcity Media, Healthline, and others. She holds a Certificate in Editing from Simon Fraser University.
This is disgusting. They should All be ashamed. We are All Jane and John Doe, As they push for the list of names of Everyone who participated in opposing to this ORWP scam.
This is disgusting and so low on TRREB’s part it’s unbelievable. Since when did it become illegal to oppose an unfair project in Canada? This is a blatant affront to the democratic values that we are so proud of in this country.
And the project IS unfair and discriminatory to Ontario realtors who have to pay ORWP equaly when some members apriory not illigible to use the benefits equally. I doubt that a realtor in Ontario willingly wished to accept new expense of ORWP without the condition of to be deprived from using MLS tool if disagree to pay the imposed insurance as a new part of the annual dues.
The link to my petition, started on June 17, 2023, has been referenced here. I have nothing to do with the lawsuit, my petition has nothing to do with TRREB.
There was another petition directly related to challenging TRREB’S stronghold on our industry. Perhaps that’s the one you meant to reference.
The URL https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-mandatory-realtor-benefits-orwp, which I believe is the petition you’re referencing, is listed in the Statement of Claim document on p.5 (sections 3 and 4, under The Parties).
TRREB is looking for a punching bag right now given what Sunderland is going to do to them.
Just spent a boat load of money on PropTx to consolidate MLS system and corner up market share, BAM, anti-trust lawsuits flooded their basement.
Shame on TRREB. I wonder how much TRREB is spending to go after all their members who don’t fall in line? If they get away with this, imagine what’s next! How do we help Sandra & Penny? We need to all be in the court room and show the judge members don’t support this and this lawsuit needs to stop!
This is what bullies do. Maybe the TRREB leadership should focus more on getting the new systems they have implemented, up, functional and usable for their members and stop pouring member resources into a silly lawsuit.
Sara, let’s not forget that these “new systems” were paid for by TRREB members to start up the for profit company PropTx. And take a closer look who’s on board and running PropTx…
Who is on board and running PropTx? What else do you know about TRREB/Ontario real estate corruption? I had no idea about all that.
Barbara, the “TEAM” page on PropTx that listed everyone mysteriously disappeared since news of the lawsuit came out and says “New Updated Page Coming Soon”. but the CEO of TRREB was listed as the CEO of PropTx and a number of previous TRREB board members/presidents were board members of PropTx (also who pushed for OWRP!), and I heard that the board members are paid at PropTx. How much, that’s everyone’s guess. But this PropTx is looking more and more suspicious. We have an AGM next week at RealtorQuest – May 15th. Hopefully everyone shows up and asks lots of questions. We certainly deserve answers and to know where our dues are going.
Perhaps we could all reach out to their lawyers to ask how we can help. It is not just us seniors who were impacted. I know younger member who were also unhappy about the mandate. In fact, most TRREB members I spoke with were not happy that the ORWP was mandatory.
I hope the lawsuit allows the defendants to subpoena Facebook to prove that Paul Baron himself posted on his personal page, a video mocking those people against the ORWP. The post stayed on his page for a month, then when called out he said it must have magically appeared when he viewed it on someone else’s feed. Right. Then we have a task force chair going to town halls and calling the people opposed to the ORWP Tinfoil hat wearing people. I think TRREB and OREA need to recognize that the OROMOO group was formed because OREA refused to answer questions or provide information. OREA shut down commenting on any of their social media platforms. OREA would not engage in two way conversation. At the Ask Me Anything panel, participants were not allowed follow up questions to get clarification. At the Toronto townhall, microphones were muted if a participant tried to speak any further than the initial question/comment. Hundreds of letters were met with canned responses. Members were not treated like human beings. Information was always changing. Or not being shared at all. Requests for more information were met with silence. Information was removed from OREA’s website, documents that told the truth about nobody participating if the plan wasn’t mandatory. There was no transparency, no information anywhere. So a Meta page was formed and it snowballed into thousands of disgruntled people. They had every reason to be disgruntled. Just like with Twitter and people having open season on political figures, the members of the fb page had their own thoughts, theories and opinions. How would Penny and Sandra control everyone who posted and what they said? OREA has never admitted that they handled this poorly. What did they think would happen? It became a matter of how do we stop this from happening again and being subject to random implementation of something totally unrelated to our business? You change those who govern, then you change governance so that one board association doesn’t get to call all the shots and determine the direction of our entire industry in Ontario. TRREB has brought this lawsuit to shut people up, to make people fearful of speaking out in opposition. They are making it so that in the future they will be able to make us do anything they want because people won’t oppose for fear of a lawsuit. TRREB has absolute power over the entire industry province wide. It’s not at all a democratic system. Suggesting it is, is a problem. In a democratic system, everyone has the opportunity to have a say in any outcomes that will affect them. Despite the ability to reach every single realtor in Ontario, neither TRREB nor OREA made that a priority before voting on this scheme that affects us. When given no information, it makes a whole lot of room for speculation. Just what did they think would happen when people didn’t have an outlet or answers?
Well said!!!
Thank goodness. I’m not much of a TRREB groupie either but I found myself laughing gleefully at this news. What these two women and the people they rallied did was a disgusting display of bullying, a blatant refusal to act in a professional manner and a complete embarrassment to the realtor community. I hope TRREB uses these two women as an example that you can’t stomp your feet, set out destroy, act almighty, in an unprofessional and entirely immature way, and think you can just walk away, let alone win. I hope their penalties are fierce.
Since I’ve seen what you do to people that don’t agree, you’d better believe I’m protecting my identity when speaking my mind about you. Bullies.
This litigation reminds me of the biblical story of “David and Goliath” and the contemporary version could potentially be the defendants and plaintiff respectively. I’m cheering for “David”.
There’s a big difference between protecting your identity and hiding it.
Wishing ill will on another human being is beyond agregious and speaks loudly of your character (or lack thereof) . Have your own opinion on the orwp and how it came about if you want, but keep in mind that that opinion is yours. Just because you are ok with being forced into a health plan, doesn’t mean everyone is.
To oppose this mandate, publicly, is as much a basic human right as being in support of it.
OREA’S plan is not an altruistic one. If it was, it would have been introduced in an open forum, with opportunity for those affected to ask questions and provide input.
As it stands, it came about after lies, deception and hidden agendas. Over 100,000 people were signed up to a plan they didn’t ask for and many didn’t need. Nobody was consulted as to how this plan affects existing plans. Nobody was consulted as to whether this plan was religiously acceptable. This plan was touted as part of a professional dues increase, yet many members are not receiving the same benefits of those “dues”. Ask yourself how that is fair and equitable.
When you have a few who are making decisions on behalf of the whole, there needs to be deep sincere consultation with an open mind to potential opposition.
The feeback of 910 people in a survey filled with half truths and incomplete information cannot be seen as representive of the whole.
If you believe that the proper ethical channels were followed in implementing this mandate, boy do I have a bridge to sell you.
What a coward.
You don’t even deserve an exclamation mark.
See you at the May 15th Meeting – apparently there will be a fireworks display
So are they using OUR FEES to sue our fellow realtors??
Yup! We are the members. The ones who pay to support “our” organizations.
But…. we, the ones who pay have no say!
Who is TRREB, OREA, CREA? The members?
Ya! Sure!
Oh…. it’s the dictators our funding supports!
Shame on TRREB – I feel I have to sign as John Doe going forward to protect myself when apposing TRREB. How did we get to this point? It is time to clean house and start with board members that actually care about the members. Let’s start with a new CEO.
I am one of those that was forced to park my licence.
I have Being in the business for thirty five years, and this is how my career ends.
I have finally.
Forgotten all this and have life move on, but since treb. Has decided to do something garbage like this. I am filing a small claims court. And I hope many realtors will follow me. We can drag their sorry a** into court with their $300 an hour. Lawyers, see you there, treb, and also Orea.
COME FILE WITH ME
$300.00/Hour…I bet it is more like $750.00/hour. Perhaps TRREB will tell us…
Not too likely given their and OREA’S posturing on this whole damn mess!
Can someone please subpoena PropTx. They just removed their members of their website as soon as this article came out. Suspicious.
TRREB’S lawyers are likely being paid close to or in excess of $2000/hr. Lawyers who file a statement of claim with errors in it. They need a new fact checker before filing these claims because in paragraphs 3, 4, 20 and 22 they have used the link to my petition. My petition has nothing to do with Sandra, penny or TRREB. You’d think they’d at least include the correct petition reference.
Oh my goodness ..as a retired Realtor who was in the business for more than 30 years, I am shocked at what is happening in this business and my heart goes out to all those opposing these bullies and standing up for your rights. Just so sad that so much energy is being spent on such nonsense. Most realtors are trying hard to make a living and put a smile on their face as they deal with the public. Shame on you TREB!! For creating such an undemocratic situation and instead of admitting you were acting like a bully and not listening to the people who put you here! All I can say is I started my career in Ontario and ended in Alberta where I feel for the most part our ruling bodies listened to us. Relocate here where you will feel respected!
The lawsuit brought by TRREB appears to be an attempt to silence dissent and intimidate realtors in Ontario. It is important to uphold the right to free expression and prevent strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) tactics that stifle public discourse.
It would seem to me that if Organized Real Estate wanted a fully democratic and transparent process there would have been the opportunity for EVERY member of OREA to vote as opposed to members of the Board of Directors of each of the way too many boards in Ontario voting on our behalf.
Would there have been 100% of the membership voting? I suspect not but it would have been a greater turnout than the 2 provincial by-elections held yesterday.
It is a very sad state of affairs that people are now afraid to comment with their own names. The fear of being retributed against is palatable. Does everybody know why the FB group was closed down? It was because of a cease and desist letter from TRREB with a real threat of legal action. But apparently, it was not good enough for these people. They couldn’t just let it go but instead posture their power and their egos, pushing decent people around, possibly into bankruptcy. It’s disgusting and shameful. And yes, I, too, will author this one as “Jane Doe” . In solidarity with these strong women who had the courage to speak up.
Also posting as Jane Doe in solidarity. It’s a very unfortunate time for TRREB members, and on behalf of TRREB members I apologize to our colleagues in the rest of the province, as its clear TRREB is to blame for why ORWP was forced on all of us, and why we don’t have a shared provincial MLS system. For too long members trusted the people put in charge to represent our interests. Yet it’s become clear too many board members have prioritized their own interests over members interests by appointing themselves to paid positions on a for profit company that membership did not vote for, and that we have a leadership in place who no longer focuses on providing services and support for members like they use to. The silver lining, ORWP woke us up and has uncovered far more than the implementation of a benefits program no one wanted. It’s time we all get involved, pay attention to changes being proposed, ask questions, vote for board members and attend AGMs. Mark your calendar and be present at the upcoming AGM during Realtor Quest on Wednesday May 15th. We need answers as to why the TRREB Board proceeded with this lawsuit.
This lawsuit is an absolute travesty, a prima facie case of an out of control board employing corporate bullying tactics by launching a multi million dollar suit against two individuals they know full well do not have the resources to either fight or pay if they lose!
Even a cursory glance at the court documents would make even the most uninitiated legally see that this is a fishing expedition, and attempt to use the judicial process to uncover the identities of anyone, member of TRREB or not who was displaying opposition to ORWP, and why? well certainly not to congratulate them on their civic duty to defend free speech. Every member who opposed ORWP is now the Jane & John Doe named in this lawsuit! And Di Michele wants your name! TRREB is sailing very close to the description of a racket! and we all know who operates rackets, maybe we should call him Di Godfather 🙂
But seriously, the tactics employed here are outrageous and members should be asking who authorised it and who is responsible for the cost should TRREB lose! It’s very easy to play fast & loose when you are spending somebody else’s money! I know the tactic. Create an absolute inequality of arms in a judicial process and the probability of winning is multiplied exponentially. That is why anti-SLAPP legislation exists, to help a Judge weed out the chancers!
This time I think Di Godfather has bitten off more than he can chew going after Di Grandmother’s, they are not backing down, in fact they are going on the offensive!
Agreed Johnny! So many questions that need answered. Everyone needs to share this article with as many TRREB members as they know so they show up to next weeks AGM at Realtor Quest on May 15th.
I am afraid I might want to say something libelous against TRREB. This is how Big Brother keeps the little guy from standing up for themselves.
Someone please look proptex. They removed their leadership off their website and guess who was listed as ceo..
All Jane and John Doe’s referenced in the Statement of Claim can show their support for the named defendants in the Meta Group aptly named Support Our OROMOO Admin’s. See you there!
Let’s stand up!
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN WITHOUT PREJUDICE
“It is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
Mark Twain
Sound familiar for us in the real estate business?
I hope there has not been a law/bylaw that I have missed, prohibiting me from asking questions.
After all these years (over 35) of being forced into paying an insurance at TREB and not missing a payment, who would have guessed that they could cancel the Life Insurance without my direct permission?
Could this happen to this Health Insurance?
Would you have guessed that TREB now TRREB would feel they had the right to make decisions on our insurance?
All these years they did not concern themselves, why do they feel this is appropriate now?
Is this a bullying tactic or do they feel more superior to know what is best for me?
Is this the administration (salaries being paid by realtors) making very important decisions for realtors?
Is this realtors making decisions on the Health of realtors?
How do you trust any of their decisions on health when we may not trust them to help us on decisions for real estate?
How many of these decision makers had any health or insurance experience?
Who interviewed these people to see if they are capable of making these decisions?
Is there a connection between health and real estate that I am missing?
When did this Insurance go out to tender and what companies were involved?
Are the silent Brokerages receiving a special deal for insurance, for their staff?
Where would you have to pay Full price to belong to an association, but you are not allowed to vote because you belong to more than one association?
Only real estate?
Only TRREB?
Is this discrimination?
Where would you be forced into an Insurance policy at Full price, but not have all the same benefits as everyone else in the group?
Only in real estate?
Only OREA?
Is this discrimination?
Who would purchase an Insurance policy without having benefits that are important to the needs of that person?
Only a person in real estate?
A person who is coerced or lose their ability to use a MLS system in their business?
Where is the transparency?
Where is the honesty?
Where is the ombudsman for Insurance?
Where is the competition bureau?
Sadly, this has not only impacted so many people in Real Estate but also their families and left a bitter taste and divided this industry.
Do you think that someone should tell TRREB that they are wasting all OUR money on lawyers and advertising for their image, when they decide to sue two realtors who have a different opinion to them?
Do you want to tell them that what they will end up paying , they could have given us all free insurance?
Just so you know, the only way Treb could cancel that previous insurance was by way of having Reco institute ORWP. The Treb policy required the members themselves to cancel, not the board, if I’m not mistaken.
Which is the reason CBS is still the broker for the insurance deal. They were the brokers for the Treb policy previously. Like I said, something smells off here.
John, Kevin and Paul should all be looked at under a microscope. Proptx, which they are all either board members and with John, president, smells of conflict of interest.
Interesting, the Teams page on the proptx site is down. But yes, all three were there as directors. Proptx is for profit, so how are they paid? And why are all three in the middle of so many controversies like orwp, lawsuits, constant fighting with itso boards and others, proptx, and so on? How did we let a small group of guys create so much damage, and what do they have to gain???
Interesting question would be who provided startup capital for PropTx? Could it have been TRREB subscriptions???
I can’t believe TTREB would stoop so low, suing 2 Realtors personally??? Really??? Shameful. Had OREA opened up the Vote on ORWP to the full membership and not just the voting delegates from each of 34 boards, which 49% of the voting delegates are from TTREB, this mandatory wellness program would not have been implemented. The program is discriminatory to Seniors, and caused a huge riff between younger Realtors and Senior Realtors. This lawsuit is a David and Goliath scenario. I would be ashamed and afraid to be a member of TTREB.
As Kevin said at one of the town halls, if they didn’t make it mandatory, the younger Realtors would not have taken it. Does he think the older ones are fools as well? It’s bad all around.
According to task force meeting #2 if they didn’t make it mandatory, less than 10% would participate. Sounds like a really early and quick assessment of the viability of the plan, no? That’s what the task force was for… To determine the scope and viability of the plan. Less than 10%….the plan had zero viability. So why move forward?
According to a senior life insurance broker I spoke to in September, sometimes RFPs are written with a very clear bias in order to limit the number of proposals. Something benign like “head office must be within 30 km of customer headquarters”. My understanding is that CBS was used due to their existing relationship with TRREB and their life insurance coverage.
In the beginning CBS was referred to as the “broker” but over time became “consultant” and then “administrator”. In emails, orea referred to them on some occasions as comprehensive benefits solutions but then other times as comprehensive benefit solutions. To this day, I don’t know which one we are dealing with. All I know is that it seems strange in light of FSRAO warning to the public on February 26, 2020 that one of these named companies is not licensed to conduct business in Ontario.
As for the younger agents not wanting to participate, I think it goes both ways. The young think they’re subsidizing the seniors. The reality is that the seniors are subsidizing the young. Because what senior is going out seeking an insurance policy? I don’t know one senior looking to buy drug benefits (already covered by government) or life insurance.
Hmm I wonder, is ORWP powered by PropTx! 🤣
London board is holding a Special Meeting on May 13th to (amongst other things) reverse the decision to leave ITSO & join PropTx, conduct a full governance review, terminate and replace their board, and ask their CEO to step down! Maybe it’s time we do the same at TRREB!
Heard rumours about this. TRREB clearly needs an overhaul too! Shameful what they are doing.
Next week’s meeting is the Spring Annual Meeting. SAM. It is NOT an Annual General Meeting (AGM) which happens in the last 2 months of the year. The AGM is when the vote for the Board if Directors takes place.
Real estate board hits back at Wellness program dissidents
From the Globe & Mail’s Shane Dingman
Legal filings in a civil court case related to the controversial Ontario Realtor Wellness Program insurance plan allege one of the country’s largest real estate boards is attempting to use litigation to silence protests.
“TRREB [Toronto Regional Real Estate Board] now brings this lawsuit to silence dissent and to intimidate the defendants and other realtors in Ontario. In reality, this claim is a political dispute disguised as a tort claim, and bears all the hallmarks of strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP),” reads a March 29 statement of defence filed by lawyers for Sandra Mary Maher and Penny Dutkowski, two realtors who opposed the imposition of the ORWP plan.
In June, 2023, the Ontario Real Estate Association passed changes to its insurance and benefits plan that would force the association’s almost 100,000 realtors to pay increased dues to cover so-called “wellness” programs. The move sparked outrage among some realtors.
TRREB has a history of high-profile court battles with its own members over business practices and access to its systems. Some of those fights have escalated into complaints and litigation with the Competition Bureau of Canada.
TRREB’s filing says the two women engaged in a “civil conspiracy” to among other things, obtain information about its member realtors for “nefarious purposes, including to impersonate TRREB members.”
Neither party provided any evidence in their initial filings and the allegations have not been tested in court.
“Out of respect for the legal process, we will not be commenting considering that the matter is before the courts,” TRREB CEO John DiMichele said in a statement.
“Our clients feel like they’ve been unfairly targeted by this and they’ve got to defend themselves,” said Robert Stellick, a lawyer with Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP who is representing the two women.
The case revolves around Ms. Maher and Ms. Dutkowski’s connection to a private Facebook page where thousands of Ontario realtors gathered to vent frustration and plot resistance to the mandatory wellness program.
Several regional boards reversed their support for the plan, though TRREB (the largest board in the country with 70,000 members, and 49 per cent of the votes at OREA) continued to back the ORWP. On Nov. 29, a special OREA meeting was held and the plan survived a second vote by a narrower margin on (73 votes to 59 with 29 abstaining) and went into effect as of Jan. 1.
Ms. Maher and Ms. Dutkowski acknowledge they attempted to organize realtors to try to reverse the plan. Their statement of defence says they received “cease and desist” letters from TRREB lawyers in late 2023 that accused them of “a litany of purported misconduct, including breaches of [Canada’s anti-spam legislation] and the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act.”
Amid the allegations and the controversy over ORWP, Ms. Dutowski resigned from her brokerage and abandoned her membership in TRREB and OREA in January.
On Feb. 8, TRREB initiated the action against the two women and a third realtor, Stephen Arsenault, as well as two un-named defendants referred to as “Jane Doe” and “John Doe.” The claim seeks millions of dollars in damages for an alleged “civil conspiracy, wrongful interference with economic relations, tortious interference, and wrongful interference with contractual relations.” It also seeks a permanent injunction against the parties barring them from “making or distributing any false and/or misleading public statements regarding TRREB, its officers and directors” and a demand that they turn over “the names and identities of all other persons, and entities, involved in the activities and conduct related to TRREB and TRREB’s members.” There are also demands for damages of $100,000 for each “violation” of TRREB copyright or trademarks, for the alleged use of TRREB logos and other data.
“The defendants deny that the plaintiff has suffered any damages as claimed, or at all,” the defence statement reads.
Mr. Stellick said he intends to file an anti-SLAPP motion seeking to dismiss the case as soon as is practical, acknowledging that there are court-access issues in Ontario that mean they may not get a hearing for months. These motions, introduced by amendments in 2015 to the Courts of Justice Act, provide an avenue for defendants to stop vexatious lawsuits that seek to use the costly court system to punish criticism and are supposed to receive a ruling within 60 days of being filed.
“One of the reasons the legislation was put in place was so that people aren’t pressured or forced to stop engaging in important expression on matters of public interest because of the threat of litigation,” said Mr. Stellick. He said his clients feel “bullied” by TRREB. “They feel strongly they haven’t done anything wrong and tried to exercise their rights as part of the organization.”
A 2022 study by Hilary A. N. Young, a professor in the University of New Brunswick’s Faculty of Law, warned that litigators have seen a troubling trend where long delays and high costs have distorted the intent of the anti-SLAPP legislation and the law perversely becomes part of the tool box of an aggressive litigant.
“This would seem to engage anti-SLAPP law,” said Ms. Young, who stressed she wasn’t offering an opinion on the outcome of a motion against the TRREB claims. “I would expect a court to recognize the defendants’ right to speak publicly in opposition to a board policy. That right is not absolute, however, and if the defendants engaged in spreading deliberate lies or used improper means to make their point then the plaintiff’s rights might prevail.”
Wow the conspiracy theories are strong with all of you! Nobody has a right, regardless of their views, to do what these ladies did. TRREB is protecting their interests and nothing more. I really do think that the tinfoil hats need to be removed and start looking at things from a different and logical perspective.
So these women don’t have the right to try to organize an SGM, but OREA has the right to sign us all up for a useless health plan? A health plan that only passed with the strength of TRREB’s vote? That’s pretty rich there Janice! Or maybe you aren’t really a Janice….afterall, you’re using Kevin Crigger’s signature label.
A logical perspective would be that OREA openly discuss a mandate of this magnitude and get people’s thoughts and feelings about it before enacting it. A logical perspective would be that they would have scrapped the whole idea when the task force ascertained that the membership wouldn’t voluntarily take part in it. A logical perspective would be that if OREA believed their own gaslighting, they would have given the membership an option to opt out. A logical perspective is knowing that this plan is going to be a whole lot more expensive in 2026. A logical perspective is holding leadership to higher standards than name calling, lying, and mocking their members. A logical perspective is to question if this is “just a dues increase”, why isn’t everyone getting the same benefits of those dues. A logical perspective is to understand that in ANY perspective, we have been wronged.
How can there not be conspiracy theories when nobody knows WHY we have a health plan forced on us? It is not “to have our backs”. It is not a “safety net”. Anybody with chronic illness will tell you that $750 for drugs is a joke. Anybody with a cancer diagnosis will tell you that $25,000 isn’t going to provide much financial reprieve. Anybody whose faith prohibits life insurance will tell you that $100,000 isn’t worth compromising their relationship with their God.
OREA and any board who voted in favour of this plan should be held to account. They should be made to answer WHY they moved forward with this plan when nobody wanted it. They should be made to answer why this initiative took precedence over our new legislation. Until there are real answers, there will be conspiracy theories.
Not a Jane or John Doe in this travesty of injustice, but appalled at the blatant intimidation tactics being used on these defendants. I can’t help but speak politically as I read this article. Seems to be common practice these days to silence those with the backbone to speak up for the many that are too afraid. The comments on this thread speak volumes. It doesn’t take a genius to tell who is writing each post. Good on these ladies. I hope their co-workers stand behind them, they are fighting for all of you.
Honestly Tina, you and everyone else on here don’t understand what it takes to run an Association. Every director in every Association is elected to those positions. Those directors go to meetings, at CREA and OREA conferences every year and vote on various issues on behalf of their members. They have done this since CREA and OREA’s inception.
Do any one of you know what those votes were about? Did you ask? Did you bother to read the communications that were put out? I doubt it!
You and everyone else would rather sit on your high horses and concoct your wild accusations that these volunteers are involved in some vast conspiracy to make everyone suffer.
Get off the internet and go outside!
The only wild accusations made a firmly contained in the Statement of Claim!
Make the Wellness Program optional and let the chips fall wherever they fall!
Allowing any product to stand on its own merits is a sure fire method to check its viability, no?
Janice Doe, I actually do know what it takes to run an association. I sat on my BoD for 5 years, 3 of those as government relations chair. I was also chair of the finance committee and co-chair of discipline. I’ve sat on numerous other committees. I’ve attended meetings with MP’s and MPP’s regarding issues of interest/concern for consumers and our colleagues. I’ve been in this business for 21 years so I think I have a pretty firm grasp on how an association is run. What I’d like to know is whether those who are currently making decisions know how to make decisions in an ethical manner with the best interests of the membership at the forefront.
As for this comment of yours…. “Do any one of you know what those votes were about? Did you ask? Did you bother to read the communications that were put out? I doubt it!”
What votes are you talking about? Votes for the orwp? Communications that were put out, about the ORWP?
The task force for this useless scheme had the job of determining the scope and viability of the program. By the 2nd meeting they knew it wasn’t viable unless they forced us into it. They had more meetings of the task force than emails sent to membership. Through at least 8 task force meetings they did not include messaging on the mandatory nature of the plan. Why? Stacey Evoy said that as soon as the task force knew the program would be mandatory, they told the membership.
Clearly not the truth when none of the 4 emails orea sent out prior to June 20th did not include the word mandatory. People can’t ask questions about that which they don’t know exists.
Did YOU read any of the communications? Did you know the program was going to be mandatory? Why was that information kept from us? If this plan was so great, why weren’t we privy to ALL of the information so we could weigh in?
Why was this program a secret? Sounds like you have some inside information so tell us why this was rushed through in under 3 months, with only 4 vague emails and a whole bunch of gaslighting propaganda videos trying to sell us on the barebones plan. They sent us 23 emails over 5 months to invite us to a stupid party, but didn’t have the morals or ethics to give us the same consideration before signing us up behind our back to this plan. Explain that. Give me a good answer as to why our association spent more time, money and energy to plan a party than they did the ORWP.
Like I said already, it’s not to “have our backs” or “provide a safety net”. Because if that was the case they were about 3 years late on that. They had all the down time during a global pandemic to discuss, hold townhalls and gather information about this. But not a single mention of anything before being rammed down our throats in less than a typical closing on a house.
You truly cannot say anything to convince me that it’s in any way acceptable for orea to force self employed individuals to buy a health insurance they don’t need or want.
I question if you are going to be just as supportive when the cost of this anemic plan is doubled and then tripled in the coming years.
OH and by the way…. They haven’t been doing things this way since inception. Individuals used to have a say in the decisions affecting the industry. Odd… This doesn’t even have a damn thing to do with our industry, our individual health care was not written anywhere in OREA’S mandate or articles. What next? What will the powers that be decide for my life next?
Just two comments on the issues here:
1. Firstly on the origin of matter, this Wellness Program for Real Estate Agents in Ontario. There are several aspects to this program and its roll out that are concerning at a basic level, firstly let’s look at the word “mandatory” which applies in this instance. “Mandatory” is a very harsh word which shouldn’t really exist outside the legal sphere, it implies ” coercive control” which is unfortunately required in some respects in day to day life, for example, motor insurance is mandatory and for very good reason, if it weren’t mandatory the result would be catastrophic. Comparing mandatory motor insurance to this mandatory wellness program the glaring difference is, with motor insurance it is mandatory that your vehicle is covered by a motor insurance certificate which can be produced on request by law enforcement to verify its existence but the provider of said insurance is entirely a commercial decision made by you on a value for money, range of cover basis. This wellness program is not! It is mandatory without choice of provider, without selection of various levels of cover and is auto enrolling so as whether you decided to avail of the program or not the cost must be met by you or your broker but, ultimately by you. Unfortunately, I’m afraid to say, that is a legal extortion racket!
2. The ladies, grandmother’s defending themselves in this lawsuit were well within their rights to resist this “mandatory” wellness program, and they did so along with a great number of other real estate agents in Ontario. Once the program had been instituted and the grandmother’s had been legally warned off by the plaintiff, they complied, so why the lawsuit?
Well, as with such things there is a lot to be considered in the Statement of Claim, which as usual in such matters appears to be a scatter gun approach with severe financial penalties. But one glaring requirement is the provision of the list of supporters who commented their support on a now defunct Meta page! Of all the claims made by the plaintiff it appears to me that this is the central goal of the lawsuit and that can only be seen for what it is, vindictive and targeting of this plaintiff’s own members who voiced dissent!
Another observation on the many forums discussing this wellness program seems to be overwhelming dissatisfaction with the benefits of the program, it certainly seems inferior to standard mainstream health care cover and in some cases downright detrimental to the mandated beneficiaries.
I also note a comment above by Janice Doe who seems to exude the professionalism of the plaintiff in relation to their efforts to do right by their members and at one point castagates member for being lazy in such matters as voting which is startling seeing as they are mandating matters.
There is much to come, but one thing is for sure, in a free, democratic society attacking dissent is a slippery slope and these two ladies need to be fully supported going forward.
I think this attempted lawsuit speaks VOLUMES about what is really going on in the Ontario Real Estate Industry and what the ORWP is actually all about (hint: it’s not for the greater good of Realtors health and wellness) And if your eye brows aren’t raised just yet at who’s in complete control of just about everything we can do or say, and when we can do or say it, wake up! You probably just haven’t felt the need to speak out against those in control yet, but this should have you hoping you never disagree with them or have to defend yourself and your rights, or your livelihood…and THAT should be PLENTY concerning.
I find it next to impossible to believe Sandra and Penny were the only two threatened into silence by TREB, or any other Board…lawsuits, cease and desists, filing erroneous complaints with Disciplinary Committees to make an example out of you, to shame or try and cancel you, etc., Now is the time for a show of hands if you’ve also ever been bullied or intimated by your ‘Board’ or anyone else at the top of the food chain in organized Real Estate, regarding ORWP or any other matter. Perhaps reach out to them or their lawyer; they are going to need your stories and support.
The Ontario Realtors ‘WELLNESS Plan’ has already cost too many Realtors their mental health and so much more.
Many members were threatened into silence and now are afraid to stand up. But there is power in numbers. TRREB members, come to next weeks Spring AGM at RealtorQuest – Wednesday May 15.
Where is TREBB getting the dollars for this ridiculous lawsuit? From their members? Whom more half didn’t want this unwellness program?
And as I understand things, has TREBB become so powerful they are the backbone of OREA? Very scary indeed.
hmmmm
London/St. Thomas and Brantford realtor associations call for special meetings to address member concerns – see today’s REM article….