August 16, 2019 Via email to: participants@cullencommission.ca

Commission of Inquiry Into Money Laundering in British Columbia

The Honourable Austin F. Cullen, Commissioner

Attention: Brock Martland and Patrick McGowan, Senior Commission Counsel

Dear Sirs:

Application for Standing – The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia

(the “Society”)

Further to the information on the website of the Commission of Inquiry Into Money
Laundering in British Columbia (the “Commission”)
(https://cullencommission.ca/participants/ ), this is our application to the
Commission for standing “throughout the inquiry.”

The Society is the statutory regulatory body for non-lawyer Notaries Public in
British Columbia. The Society is subject to the “Freedom Of Information And
Protection Of Privacy Act” (BC) and is within the jurisdiction of the BC
Ombudsperson.

Since the mid 1800s, BC Notaries have maintained a unique role in BC’s legal system
that is unlike notaries elsewhere in common law Canada. They have professional
legal practices that include real estate transactions. In the last year, they handled
over 99,000 real estate related transactions and many billions of dollars of
associated trust funds. It not possible to have a fulsome understanding of real estate
transactions in B.C. without taking into account the role of our members.

Our members are governed by our Act, Bylaws, and Rules. They are also required to
be compliant with the Personal Information Protection Act (BC) and the Proceeds of
Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (Canada.)

The “Terms of Reference” of the Commission explicitly direct it to conduct inquiries

into real estate transactions, professional services, and the role of regulatory bodies.

These matters are now and been for many decades the concern and responsibility of
the Society. We have considerable expertise in these matters that can contribute to
the inquiry. The Society will naturally have an important role to play in the
implementation of any recommendations of the Commission.

 
  

Accordingly, we request that the Society be given the broadest possible standing
before the Commission. This would include the right to attend, review all written
submissions, and, as appropriate, ask questions of witnesses.

We anticipate that the Society will be represented at the hearings by our General
Counsel, Mr. Ron Usher. Mr. Usher is the senior practice advisor to our members and
teaches the real estate law courses in the SFU MA-ALS degree program that is now
required for membership in the Society.

Our contact information is as above. Please direct formal communications in regard

to this application for standing to me as the Executive Director of the Society. My
direct phone number is (604) 608-6855.

As requested in your August 1, 2019 letter to the Society I can advise that your
primary contact at the Society for matters other than this application will be our in-
house General Counsel, Ron Usher. (rusher@snpbc.ca, direct line (778-327-6386.)

We look forward to assisting the Commission in this very important work.

Yours sincerely

(signed this date by JM)

John Mayr, Executive Director

The Society of Notaries Public of B.C.
(jmayr@snpbc.ca)

cc. Patrick McGowan (patrick.mcgowan@cullencommission.ca)

Brock Martland (brock.martland@cullencommission.ca )
Ron Usher (rusher@snpbc.ca )

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