What are your thoughts as your term as Chair of CAAMP comes to an end?
I am honoured to have served as Chair of CAAMP in 2010.
It was a very busy year with many interesting opportunities and issues that CAAMP attended to on behalf of its membership. I can honestly say that the work CAAMP did this year had a significant impact on the direction of the mortgage industry in Canada.
CAAMP is truly the voice of the Canadian mortgage industry and as the Association matures and grows and our industry evolves I am confident that all levels of government, the media and other industry associations will look to CAAMP for input and advice.
Tell us about some of the projects you’ve worked on over the past year?
At the beginning of my term as a Chair I outlined four key priorities for the year:
The first priority was to review and improve the AMP designation. CAAMP established an AMP Task Force. The task force included several board members as well as other CAAMP members who reflected the diversity of our membership. The task force met several times and provided progress reports at each of our board meetings.
At our summer meeting in Ottawa, the Board of Directors adopted several changes to strengthen Canada’s only national mortgage designation.
These changes are being rolled out this fall and become effective January 1, 2011. Some of the changes include:
- Lengthening the pre-qualification course;
- Eliminating the five year experience rule for automatic qualification;
- Eliminating carry over Continuing Education or CE provisions. CE must be earned annually;
- Providing increased broker recognition by ensuring AMP mortgage originators carry Errors & Omissions insurance and be licensed provincially;
Secondly, I wanted to support the work of the CAAMP Foundation and its change in focus to support financial literacy for Canadians. Earlier this year, the CAAMP Foundation entered into an agreement with Credit Canada to assist Canadians with responsible homeownership.
CAAMP updated Credit Canada’s existing mortgage resources which is just one and will offer the curriculum as a learning platform on the website.
I hope that this relationship continues to grow and prosper; it is an area where I have a personal interest and where CAAMP can be seen in a positive light by not only our members but by government, the media and consumers.
Thirdly, I wanted to represent the voice of all members. One of CAAMP’s greatest strengths is that we are a comprehensive mortgage association. Examples include our work on changes to the mortgage insurance rules earlier this year and the definition of financial services which may have meant GST or HST being applied to broker commissions. CAAMP was actively involved on these issues. Our expertise was sought by the federal government and our voice was ultimately heard. Advocacy is a key part of what we do.
Finally I wanted to continue to work with other organizations. While we do not always share the same focus, the goal of growing Canada’s mortgage industry is shared by all. This year, the CAAMP Executive Committee conducted high level meetings with MBABC and similar discussions took place with AMBA. We also continued our ongoing dialogue with professional associations in the real estate, financial planning and insurance brokerage sectors.
What was one of your more memorable experiences during your term?
That is a tough one, I travelled all over the country attending CAAMP symposiums, tradeshows, receptions and golf tournaments. You name it I was there! I met amazing people and saw many parts of the country I had never been to before.
I would have to say that the highlight was attending the Mortgage Finance Association of Australia’s national conference in Melbourne where I was one of the panellist during the New Era of Professionalism session. This session focused on raising the bar for professionalism and increased regulation in the mortgage industry. The MFAA look to CAAMP as a global leader for what we have done with our AMP designation and the role we play and the influence we have on our government and media.
During my trip to Melbourne I also had the opportunity to speak at a women’s in business luncheon about my role with the association. It was a fantastic opportunity for me to represent CAAMP and one I will be forever grateful for.
What’s your next big project?
I am looking forward to spending time back in Victoria and working with my family to grow our Mortgage Investment Corporation, Fisgard Capital, and spend time with my husband Darren (we got married on August 30th!) and our boys Cole and Nicholas but I am also excited about the work the CAAMP Foundation does with financial literacy and hope to become more involved. There is nothing more important than educating Canadians about the largest financial investment most of them will ever make… responsible home ownership!
Click here for a JAC video interview with Hali during the CAAMP Symposium in Vancouver.