PRESIDENT, BC NOTARIES ASSOCIATION

Daniel Boisvert

Advancing Our Professions

Ihad the pleasure of being part of the REIBC Cover Story Interview in this issue of The Scrivener.

©iStockphoto.com/avstraliavasin

Reflecting on that experience, I confirmed one of my long-held beliefs: Not only does our BC Notaries Association need to be an advocate for our Notary members, we need to advocate for the other associations in our industry.

We are not alone in the goal of advancing our profession. We have a greater chance of success if each association leverages the strengths of the others. The combined efforts of many advocates operating in the same space are more effective than any one single organization.

BC Notaries are, of course, real estate professionals. The people of our province trust BC Notaries to do the majority of the legal conveyancing work necessary when a real property is bought and sold.

REIBC has been advancing the interest of real estate professionals for over 50 years. In our Cover Story Interview, it was great to confirm that REIBC members hold the same values of honesty and integrity on which BC Notaries have built their strong Tradition of Trust. I look forward to seeing the BC Notaries Association work closely with REIBC and others to enhance our brands.

On the advocacy front, I am pleased to report we have made positive progress with Government. It has been recognized that BC Notaries have more to offer in terms of meeting the noncontentious legal needs of the public; the BC Government is committed to exploring that further with us.

… BC Notaries have more to offer in terms of meeting the noncontentious legal needs of the public; the BC Government is committed

Dan, Susan, Brenda, Wayne

to exploring that further with us.

In fact, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services made a recommendation in its 2020 Budget Report to expand the Notary scope of practice in BC. While we still have much work to do to move that along, the recommendation is a great example of what strong advocacy can do.

At our recent BC Notaries Fall Conference in Kelowna, we enjoyed another excellent continuing education program, high attendance, enthusiasm, and fun. A focus in the coming fiscal year for our Board of Directors will be to offer some alternative channels for our members to learn and earn education credits. I wish to extend my thanks to Wayne Braid for stepping into the CEO position on a temporary basis following the departure of Jacqui Mendes. Wayne has been working to advance several important projects, including our new website that will launch soon. We expect to begin interviews for a new CEO in October. s