McClelland Minute - March 28, 2010

Once Upon a Time

The Canadian Real Estate Association and the Competition Bureau of Canada are at each other’s throats right now over the issue of access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.  There has been lots of press about the issue and I have received a number of inquiries from friends and clients.  Because the issue appears to be going to court, Realtors have been asked not to comment publicly, so this week my regular column has been replaced by a Grim Fairy Tale.

Once upon a time in the great Canadian forest there were two tribes of peoples who depended on the fish in the rivers and lakes for much of their wealth.  One tribe raised the fish, and released them into the waters.  The other tribe searched for the fish they wanted, and used them for their own needs.  It was quite difficult for fish growers and sellers to collect a fair price from the fish buyers as they really didn’t trust each other, sometimes greed and deception made for conflict.  The waters in the lakes and rivers were often treacherous, with hazards that didn’t always appear above the surface that needed to be heeded by both tribes.

Leaders encouraged certain trusted members to become independent and to use their skills as professional fish guides for the benefit of both tribes.  These guides helped the fish growers to introduce their product into the water at the right time, and would ensure that any fish that were caught would be properly paid for by the fish buyers in proportion to its age, size, and quality.  They also showed the people where to search for the type of fish they could afford, saving them much time and expense.  Their counsel became so useful that people at other lakes within the forest copied the system and eventually a National Fish Guiding Service was born.  Standards were uniform across the country, and the majority of people in both tribes were quite happy.  Until one day …

One day the ravens who fished only for themselves and didn’t respect the fish guides, complained to the eagles that ran the forest.  The ravens said that the fish in the lakes should be for everyone to catch, and that there was no need for those silly and expensive rules that the tribes had agreed upon years before.  Now everyone knows that eagles sit in the highest trees and with their superior eyesight, think that only their opinions count.  In fact, eagles feel vulnerable when on the ground and certainly don’t go near the water if they can help it; therefore spend much of their time floating in the sky looking for opportunity.

The eagles grew tired of listening to the ravens complain about the system that the fish guides had in place.  In fact, the eagles worried amongst themselves that the guides would learn even more skills, and the eagles’ authority over the forest might be somehow diminished.   So it came be proclaimed:  ravens could fish in the lake without the oversight of the National Fish Guiding Service.  Furthermore, that it would be the duty of all fish guides in the forest to help ravens tear down what had worked so well for the tribes over the years.

And so it came to be that the whole fishery went into disarray, and once again the tribes did not trust each other.  Greed and deception soon returned to the forest.  The disgusted fish guides slowly drifted away to other occupations.  What had once been a proud profession was greatly scarred by birds that knew only how to prey on the fishery, not sustain it.

Vern McClelland is an associate broker with RE/MAX of Lloydminster.  For more helpful hints on buying or selling real estate visit www.vernmcclelland.com or call him directly at 306.821.0611

Comment Notification

Subscribe to this post's comments using RSS