Real Estate Foundation provides funding for Water Sustainability Committee initiatives

The Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia (REFBC) and the Water Sustainability Committee (WSC) of the British Columbia Water & Waste Association (BCWWA) have a mutual goal to span boundaries and influence practitioners to become more informed and more responsible. The REFBC and WSC have therefore formalized their relationship through a Memorandum of Understanding that defines how the REFBC and WSC will:

• Collaborate to promote province-wide implementation of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia.
• Integrate perspectives and coordinate initiatives to achieve the mission of each partner.
• Cooperate and coordinate through participation in reciprocal advisory committees.
• Provide arms length advice to each other.

The REFBC is a philanthropic organization created in 1985 by an amendment to the Real Estate Act. It is continued under the new Real Estate Services Act, which came into force January 1, 2005. Under the Act, the Foundation’s purposes are: “to undertake and carry out real estate public and professional education, real estate law reform, real estate research and other projects intended for the public or professional good in relation to real estate activities.”

“The REFBC enjoys wide latitude to interpret and execute its mission as broadly set out in the Real Estate Services Act,” explains Tim Pringle, REFBC Executive Director. “The Board of Governors has established the Foundation’s mission as supporting sustainable real estate and land use practices for the benefit of British Columbians.”

“The BCWWA Water Sustainability Committee is a member of an Advisory Committee that has been established by the REFBC for its Communities in Transition (CIT) initiative. CIT is a partnership initiative designed to assist communities in planning for the use and conservation of their land. CIT’s mission is to support values-based planning processes that balance social, environmental, economic and governance concerns to address regional and local land use and conservation issues in non-metropolitan areas of BC.”

Below, Tim Pringle and Ray Fung (WSC Chair) sign the Memorandum of Understanding.