AREF, REFBC, and Platform Calgary Announce Partnership to Address Challenges in the Real Estate Industry

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The Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF) and the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia (REFBC) are pleased to announce the first phase of a new partnership with Platform Calgary. This partnership will explore technology solutions to support the modernization of the real estate trust account process.

“The real estate industry is evolving at an ever-increasing pace and the processes for managing trust accounts haven’t kept up. Through this partnership, we look forward to exploring how we might modernize trust accounts and adopt new financial technologies to help our foundation thrive: simplified transaction processes, less time and paper, and the highest standards of accountability.” Jack Wong, CEO, Real Estate Foundation of BC.

Working together, Platform Calgary, AREF, and REFBC will host workshops with real estate professionals in Alberta and British Columbia to understand challenges within the trust account process and how new approaches might support the industry. Partners include real estate brokers, financial institutions, government, post-secondaries, and real estate foundations. Future phases will see Platform Calgary leverage its experience with technology startups to establish a startup accelerator and incubator program. This accelerator and incubator will feature programming that prepares startups to address opportunities identified by industry partners.

“In partnering with Platform Calgary, there is an opportunity to show leadership by using technology to improve the industry. We see opportunities to improve workflows, tighten up compliance documentation, and reduce banking fees. Ultimately, we aim to increase interest revenue to the foundations to support the public good,” says Cheryl DePaoli, Executive Director of AREF. “We look forward to increased collaboration with financial institutions and diverse industry partners through this process.”

Platform Calgary has a history of incubating and growing startups, with programs like Junction and industry partnerships with TELUS. Over the past three years, over 85 companies have gone through these programs, creating new jobs and millions of dollars of economic growth in the province.

For more information on the AREF, REFBC and Platform Calgary partnership please visit https://www.platformcalgary.com/programs-and-events/real-estate-growth-lab/.

 

About AREF

The Alberta Real Estate Foundation invests in real estate policy, research, practices, and education that strengthen Alberta’s communities. Since 1991, the Foundation has granted over $21 million to over 620 projects around the Province. For more information , please visit: www.aref.ab.ca.

About REFBC

The Real Estate Foundation of BC (REFBC) is a grantmaker working to support sustainable land use and real estate practices in British Columbia. Since 1988, REFBC has granted more than $90 million for projects that strengthen communities and protect our shared land and water. In addition to its grants program, REFBC leads on research and engagement projects that fill gaps in knowledge and collaboration. For more information about REFBC and its grants program, visit www.refbc.com.

About Platform Calgary:

Platform Calgary’s mandate is to work collaboratively to transform Calgary’s economy and identity by fostering a movement to create hundreds of innovation-driven, highly scalable companies. Platform provides access to education, coaching and connections that help people gain the entrepreneurial and technical skills needed to thrive in the new economy, helping startups grow and scale.

Calgary’s new Platform Innovation Centre is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2021. Located in the East Village neighbourhood on 9th Ave SE, the physical space will serve as a visible and active hub for Calgary’s startup and innovation ecosystem, bringing an additional 50,000 feet of public access space to serve the community.

For more information about how you can get involved and help shape innovation in Calgary, visit www.platformcalgary.com.

Moving from Conversion to Conservation: ELC publishes Agricultural Lands Law and Policy in Alberta

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By the Environmental Law Centre

Alberta’s agricultural lands support numerous social, economic and environmental benefits. Despite this, we have lost and continue to lose prime agricultural lands via conversion into developed uses.  As well, Alberta’s agricultural lands have become significantly more fragmented around Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, and along the Edmonton-Calgary corridor.

There is a significant amount of law and policy regulating agricultural activities. These include laws and principles relating to land, water, and to agricultural practices and operations, as well as legislation such as the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) and the Municipal Government Act (MGA). There are also a variety of financial tools, including taxation, that impact upon agricultural lands.

Despite this significant body of law, a coherent and comprehensive agricultural lands policy is missing in Alberta. By filling this gap – at both the regional level under ALSA and the municipal level under the MGA – land planning and development could be directed with a clear view toward to avoiding further agricultural land conversion and fragmentation. Provincial policy is needed to set priorities, address conflicts (between agricultural and urban activities, as well as conflicting agricultural activities such as conversion of rangelands to cultivated lands), and set objectives.

In addition to providing direction through policy, there must be support provided with appropriate legislative tools and funding. Some tools are already enabled in legislation – such as the ALSA stewardship tools and intermunicipal planning – however, there is a need for additional regulation to effectively implement and enforce these tools. Furthermore, financial support is needed to fund stewardship programs (for example: conservation easements, payment for ecological goods and services). It may also be appropriate to encourage non-regulatory mechanisms (such as voluntary programs or market-driven incentives) to address the issue of agricultural land conversion and fragmentation.

The Environmental Law Centre is currently working on a project exploring the challenges and opportunities for stopping the loss of Alberta’s agricultural lands. The first of two reports provides:

  • A primer on the laws and policies which apply to Alberta’s agricultural lands from the perspectives of planning, development and conservation; and
  • An effective canvassing of the existing legal tools relevant to conversion and conservation of agricultural lands in Alberta.

Download the first report: Agricultural Lands Law and Policy in Alberta here!

The second report in this project will make recommendations for legal and policy reform. This will require analysis of the application and effectiveness of regulatory and non-regulatory tools currently available in Alberta (including market-based tools, taxation, and zoning). Further, the ELC will look to experiences in other jurisdictions – which may have additional or alternative approaches – that can inform Alberta’s law and policies.

Ultimately, the ELC’s goal with this project is to achieve clear policy direction at the provincial level which supports the conservation of agricultural land and is guided by environmental principles; sustainable agriculture within the framing of sustainable development.

Biodiversity should be on the agenda of local councils

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This article was originally published Dec. 3, 2019, in Folio.

By BRENT WITTMEIER

Albertans need to start seeing biodiversity as a local priority, University of Alberta researchers say.

In a new report supported by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, associate professor of law Cameron Jefferies and Erin Sawyer, a research assistant with the Alberta Land Institute, argue that growing global concerns about habitat and biodiversity loss need to filter down to the level where Alberta’s municipalities and citizens can play a pivotal role in making the connections between neighbourhoods, communities and nature.

“We should be thinking about our municipal environments as part of the ecosystem,” said Jefferies, who specializes in environmental law. “Infrastructure isn’t just the built environment, it’s also the tree canopy and the water system.”

Building on the principle that communities feel the effects of biodiversity loss most closely, Jeffries and Sawyer argue that local governments have multiple legal tools and tactics to protect sensitive areas, create adaptation plans and encourage citizens to take up conservation in their backyards. The reasons for doing so, Jefferies added, go beyond the satisfaction of living near nature.

“We get a lot from our environment. We get more than we think,” said Jeffries. “At the end of the day, so much of our food comes from pollination. So much comes from the ecosystems that are buffering our environment for us.”

In 2018, Jefferies was awarded a grant to work with the Alberta Land Institute to write a report looking into the environmental implications of recent changes to the Municipal Government Act. The Government of Alberta modernized its legislation governing municipalities, and among the changes were broader powers and expectations for municipalities to pursue and enhance environmental protection.

Since then, a new government has shifted budget priorities, but Jefferies argues that the biodiversity question must not be lost.

Communities can still use conservation offsets and land trading to focus development where it has the least impact, or to shift to higher density planning to consume less land and concentrate resources. Bylaws could be put in place to protect trees on private properties or to encourage the use of green roofs, steps that can keep wildlife corridors intact.

“If we don’t build resilient communities, we’re going to have more repair costs,” Jefferies said. “There’s consequences to insurance, to taxes. There’s consequences to property loss, to damage.”

A bigger emphasis on biodiversity could enhance quality of life at a local level, Jefferies said. The City of Edmonton, for instance, looks at wildlife corridors when planning transportation projects, recognizing that a poorly planned road or bridge can isolate wildlife populations.

Jefferies hopes the new report can spark conversations, provide ideas for municipalities and inspire regional collaboration. But a bigger goal is for broader public engagement around the need to take biodiversity out of nature documentaries and into local contexts. Jefferies and Sawyer’s team is working on brochures to help Albertans see conservation opportunities in their backyards.

While Jefferies said he is hopeful that municipalities will take initiative and support biodiversity, he also envisions an opposite scenario, in which more is expected from local governments without a corresponding degree of financial or regulatory support. He hopes the new report offers municipalities some options for moving forward.

“Funding is always going to be a difficult issue,” he said. “If you get that new responsibility but you don’t get an associated funding boost, then how do you actually achieve some of those goals?”

Download Resource

 

Evict Radon Update: UCalgary research finds short-term radon test kits are not effective in measuring radon gas exposure

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For immediate release: As awareness increases about the health danger of radon gas, more people are making the decision to test their homes for the deadly gas. A University of Calgary-led study finds the only reliable way to measure exposure to radon gas is with a long-term testing kit, which takes readings within the home for 90 or more days.

“Radon gas levels can fluctuate wildly day to day,” says Dr. Aaron Goodarzi, PhD, assistant professor in the departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Oncology and member of the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM).  “Short-term tests can give a false sense of alarm, or worse, a false sense of security as they cannot precisely predict long-term exposure.”

Researchers placed two test kits, a short-term (five-day) and long-term (90-day) in the same homes. Tests were conducted during summer and winter months. Findings showed the short-term kits were imprecise up to 99 percent of the time when compared to a long term test.

Radon is a known carcinogen. Health Canada lists radon as the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. The gas is naturally occurring, colourless, and odourless. It can accumulate to unnaturally high and dangerous levels in homes. Health Canada has promoted the use of long-term testing kits for some time.

“Our recommendation was based on research from international authorities including the US and Europe,” says Kelley Bush, manager, radon education and awareness Health Canada. “This research is critical because it provides Canadian data that confirms the value of long term testing.”

Goodarzi has also been working with the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) to educate realtors against using short term radon kits for real estate transactions.

“RECA is appreciative of the assistance provided by Dr. Goodarzi in the development of education enabling real estate professionals to advise buyers and sellers to take radon into consideration during the purchase and sale of a home, in the absence of reliable short-term testing,” says Joseph Fernandez, director of education programs at RECA. “All real estate professionals have completed radon related education and new professionals will be required to complete it before entering the real estate profession.”

The findings also show the Prairies are home to the second highest radon exposed population on Earth. The pan-Canadian scientist and physician led Evict Radon research initiative is now recruiting participation from all Canadians. The research is aimed at gathering as much data as possible to understand and ultimately defeat Canadian’s exposure to radon problem.

“We need to know exactly what factors influence high and low radon in Canadian homes. It’s not just in the Prairies, we know of high concentrations in areas throughout the country,” says Goodarzi. “This is easily one of the most preventable forms of environmentally-caused cancer. We have already learned so much from the work we’ve done in Alberta and Saskatchewan to test for and mitigate radon. We plan to build on that.”

In addition to the data gathered on short-term testing kits, Goodarzi’s team was also able to get a better understanding of how the size, design and age of home are related to radon gas exposure.

Findings are published in Scientific Reports.

This research was supported by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, Alberta Cancer Foundation, Health Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Robson DNA Science Centre Fund at the Charbonneau Cancer Institute.

Dr. Aaron Goodarzi, PhD, holds the Canada Research Chair for Radiation Exposure disease. Evict Radon represents a confederation of Canadian Scholars with expertise in radon biology, architecture, population health, geology and communications.

Learn more about the Evict Radon campaign, and sign up for research study radon kits at http://www.evictradon.org/.

Find the full media release here.

 

Media Contact

Kelly Johnston
Sr. Communications Specialist
Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Kelly.johnston2@ucalgary.ca
403-220-5012

About the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary is a global intellectual hub located in Canada’s most enterprising city. In our spirited, high-quality learning environment, students thrive in programs made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. Our strategy drives us to be recognized as one of Canada’s top five research universities, engaging the communities we both serve and lead. This strategy is called Eyes High, inspired by the university’s Gaelic motto, which translates as ‘I will lift up my eyes.’ For more information, visit ucalgary.ca/eyeshigh.

For more information, visit ucalgary.ca. Stay up to date with University of Calgary news headlines on Twitter @UCalgary. For details on faculties and how to reach experts go to our media centre at ucalgary.ca/mediacentre.

About the Cumming School of Medicine

The University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) is driven to create the future of health. We are a proud leader with seven world-class research institutes and 2,900 students, as well as faculty and staff, working to advance education and research in precision medicine and precision public health, improving lives in our community and around the world. Visit cumming.ucalgary.ca and follow us @UCalgaryMed.

picture of raised timberframe barnRethink Red Deer

ReFraming the WaterShed raises the roof on sustainable building

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Submitted by ReThink Red Deer

For the last five years, an ambitious group of organizations, businesses, and volunteers have been busy as beavers at the Piper Creek Community Gardens. Together, we’ve done some cool things like install one of Canada’s largest Food Forests and Pollinator Gardens, restore the banks of Piper Creek, and plant lots of new beaver habitat! Oh ya, AND we hosted some hungry goats with the City’s Parks Department!

But in the summer of 2017, we were sad to see the old iconic barn be demolished for safety reasons. The site looked so empty because, in spite of all the beautiful plants growing, it’s just not the same when you know what it looked like before.

So we teamed up with our friends at Top Peg Timber Frame Construction and Living Lands Landscape and Design to host a community barn raising that replaced the beloved structure and aims to break the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Pollinator Hotel…! With a lot of hard work and persistence we secured a $25,000 grant from the Alberta Real Estate Foundation to host local timber framers and coordinate the project, plus $27,766 from the Government of Alberta’s Community Facility Enhancement Program, $40,000 from Co-Op’s Community Spaces program for barn materials, and official approvals (permits) from The City of Red Deer.

The new barn design is an open-air timber frame structure to harvest rainwater for the planted areas of the site and the walls serve as space for installing pollinator habitat (with the help of Living Lands) making it Canada’s largest pollinator hotel and supporting – in a BIG way – the City of Red Deer’s Pollinator Parks initiative!

Check out photos of the barn raising held on the 2019 Alberta Culture Days weekend, alongside our Fall Harvest Supper and Garlic City Market – click here.

picture of raised timberframe barn

Piper Creek Timberframe Barn – constructed by Top Peg Timber Frame Construction and High Peak Timberframing (Sept, 2019), sponsored by Alberta Real Estate Foundation, The Government of Alberta, and Federated Co-Op’s “Community Spaces” program.