Association says lengthy regulatory process and inadequate penalties underscores need to examine whether Saskatchewan’s regulatory model is equipped to protect consumers and maintain public confidence.
Following the release of the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission’s decision related to Epic Alliance, the Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association is calling for an independent review of Saskatchewan’s real estate regulatory operating model.
The decision brings another chapter of the Epic Alliance matter closer to a conclusion nearly five years after the Saskatoon-based real estate investment group collapsed.
A court-appointed inspector examining the Epic Alliance group reported that approximately $211 million had been raised from retail investors and that the companies had few remaining assets.
Incomplete financial records and missing servers prevented investigators from providing a complete accounting of the group’s business and financial affairs. At the time of its collapse, Epic Alliance’s operations extended across hundreds of Saskatchewan residential properties, including more than 500 properties in Saskatoon and North Battleford.
Separate proceedings before Saskatchewan’s Financial Consumer Affairs Authority ultimately resulted in admission of multiple violations of provincial securities law, $300,000 in administrative penalties and 20-year restrictions on a range of activities.
For the SRA, the scale of the collapse, the involvement of multiple parts of Saskatchewan’s regulatory system and the time required for Saskatchewan’s regulatory processes to reach their conclusions raise broader questions about whether the province’s real estate regulatory framework has the structure, governance standards and processes necessary to protect consumers, respond to serious risks and maintain public confidence.
“Buying or selling a home is one of the largest financial transactions most Saskatchewan people will ever make,” Guérette said. “They deserve confidence that the professionals they work with are held to high standards and that the regulatory system responsible for protecting them is effective, accountable and worthy of their trust. The recent disciplinary decisions, despite having the maximum allowable monetary fine imposed still allows this business team to operate through negotiated scattered suspensions and administrative roles, is tough to explain to the public and erodes confidence in the profession. An independent audit gives Saskatchewan the opportunity to establish that confidence through evidence.”
The Association believes the review should examine the effectiveness of Saskatchewan’s existing real estate regulatory operating model, including governance and regulatory processes, the interaction between relevant regulatory bodies, stakeholder perspectives, and lessons that can be drawn from comparable Canadian jurisdictions.
Saskatchewan would not be alone in using a major regulatory incident as an opportunity to examine the system responsible for protecting consumers.
In 2019, 2024 and 2026, Alberta’s Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA), faced independent reviews to monitor RECA performance as it still faced criticism from stakeholders. The goal was to find the barriers both in operations and governance, keeping RECA from being “a modern, class-leading regulator.”
Alberta’s response was necessary in 2026 with the Drinkwater Real Estate case, a Calgary realtor orchestrated a multi-million-dollar real estate Ponzi scheme involving fictitious bridge loans, defrauding over 70 victims out of more than $3.5 million. Some of the results of the review found RECA published no performance measures, had no time standards for complaints and had a governance structure that needed more maturing in its cycle. Fraud cases took 370 days on average, and 46 investigations had been open more than three years.
In 2025, Ontario’s Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) commissioned an independent and comprehensive audit following the discovery of a $10M trust-account shortfall at iPro Realty. The subsequent review identified significant concerns with regulatory practices, processes and governance.
Ontario’s response has since included changes to regulatory oversight and governance, new financial filing requirements for brokerages, enhanced risk monitoring and additional trust-account reporting measures.
“The lesson from Ontario and Alberta is that a serious incident can become the starting point, an opportunity, for a stronger regulatory system,” Guérette said. “Saskatchewan now has an opportunity to ask the same fundamental questions about our own model. Where does it work well? Where are the gaps? How quickly can it respond when consumers are at risk? And what changes would make it stronger for the next decade?”
The Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission’s statutory mandate includes serving and protecting the public and regulating the profession in the public interest. The SRA believes an independent assessment would support that mandate by establishing an objective evidence base for the future of real estate regulation in the province.
The Association proposes that the review include:
- a comprehensive assessment of Saskatchewan’s existing real estate regulatory operating model and relevant FCAA and SREC processes;
- structured engagement with regulators, government, the SRA and other industry stakeholders;
- benchmarking against comparable Canadian real estate regulators;
- an assessment of regulatory effectiveness, risks, governance and operational structural gaps and opportunities; and
- a final report identifying options and recommendations for regulatory modernization.
“Our objective throughout this process has been a stronger regulatory system that protects Saskatchewan people and supports the trust consumers place in the memberswho uphold high professional standards every day.” Guérette said. “Epic Alliance demonstrated how damaging a major failure can be. The work now is making sure Saskatchewan learns everything it can from what happened and strengthens the system before we ever face another case of this scale.”
Chris Guérette, CEO
SOURCE, SRA
To learn more, SRA SASKATCHEWAN REALTORS® ASSOCIATION
