The Saskatchewan REALTORS Association is calling for an independent review of Saskatchewan’s real estate regulatory system after Epic Alliance collapsed nearly five years ago. The Saskatoon-based investment company collapsed in 2022, leaving investors with millions of dollars in losses. The association says the case raises concerns about whether Saskatchewan’s current real estate oversight system is equipped to protect consumers and respond quickly when problems arise. “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,” SRA said in a statement Friday. Epic Alliance was founded by Rochelle Laflamme and Alisa Thompson in 2013. The company attracted investors by offering real estate investment opportunities through rental properties and house-flipping projects. A court-appointed inspector later found approximately $211 million had been raised from investors and that few assets remained. The company controlled more than 500 properties in Saskatoon and North Battleford before its collapse. The investigation found financial records were incomplete and highly disorganized, making it difficult to determine exactly what happened to investors’ money. Investigators also discovered company servers were missing from Epic Alliance’s offices, and security cameras monitoring the area had been disabled or had their wires cut. The inspector’s report also found Epic Alliance raised an additional $370,000 from investors after a Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority cease-trade order had been issued. The collapse prompted regulatory investigations and legal proceedings that continued for years. In 2024, Laflamme and Thompson reached a settlement with Saskatchewan’s Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority. The pair admitted to selling investments without the required licences and continuing to raise investment money after being ordered to stop. Under the settlement, the two agreed to pay a total of $300,000 in penalties and were prohibited from selling or promoting investment products for 20 years. The settlement did not include findings of fraud and did not provide compensation to investors. The Saskatchewan REALTORS Association says the Epic Alliance case should be used as an opportunity to examine the province’s regulatory framework. “Buying or selling a home is one of the largest financial transactions most Saskatchewan people will ever make,” said Chris Guérette, CEO of the association. “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 group says a review should examine Saskatchewan’s regulatory processes, governance structure and the way regulators work together. It also wants Saskatchewan’s system compared with those in other provinces. “Saskatchewan would not be alone in using a major regulatory incident as an opportunity to examine the system responsible for protecting consumers,” the association added. The call for a review comes as the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission recently handed down penalties against two Saskatchewan real estate agents following an investigation into approximately 500 transactions. The commission said Paul Chavady and Jerry Hallgrimson were found to have committed multiple instances of professional misconduct, including failing to include required information on offers to purchase, providing untrue statements to the commission, omitting material facts and failing to properly represent buyer clients in some dual-agency transactions. Each received a six-month suspension and a $100,000 fine, the maximum penalty allowed under The Real Estate Act. They were also ordered to complete ethics and professionalism training and will be subject to monitoring and audits by the commission. According to the commission, the investigation began after it received anonymous information about roughly 500 transactions of concern. No public complaints were filed in relation to the matter. Hallgrimson’s suspension took effect Oct. 1, while Chavady’s six-month suspension is scheduled to begin April 1, 2027. It says the scale of the Epic Alliance collapse, the missing records and the years required to reach regulatory decisions show the importance of ensuring Saskatchewan’s real estate oversight system is effective and accountable. --With files from Rory MacLean
