FILE
Image Credit: AP FILE PHOTO
October 25, 2019 - 5:49 PM
The Kelowna realtor who called Albertans greedy crybabies in a Facebook post has been dealing with death threats.
"Suspending Ben (Houghton's) license as a realtor with us was mutually agreed upon to mitigate escalating hate speech towards Houghton, our realtors and clients," Max Carbone, one of the managing partners of Century 21 said in a statement, acknowledging the barrage of death threats Houghton received.
"Century 21 Assurance Realty Ltd. is a strong supporter of our many friends, clients and family members from Alberta. We sympathize with Albertans about the current economic climate and appreciate their perspective. While Century 21 Assurance Realty Ltd. does not share the opinion expressed within the recent social media post, we support the right to free speech and expect our REALTORS® to abide by the Canadian Real Estate Association's Code of Ethics and to always communicate in a positive, professional, respectful manner."
Houghton also weighed in, saying that he was sorry for his insensitive comments and disrespectful language used in a recent posting on social media.
He said that he and the owners of Century 21 Assurance Realty Ltd, had mutually agreed to the suspension of his real estate license for everyone's safety and best interests.
"I will be taking time off to reflect and re-balance," Houghton said. "Century 21 Assurance Realty Ltd. is an exceptional brokerage to work with. They have always been positive, supportive, professional and are doing the best they can to help me get through this difficult situation."
Houghton's original comment was, “Alberta such cry babies .. don’t worry Alberta your greed will soon be back in full swing.”
Century 21 originally said it disagreed with the remarks Houghton made about its fellow Canadians.
"We are strong supporters of our many friends, clients and family members from Alberta,” read the reply.
“Alberta has been an economic engine for our country. We sympathize with Albertans about the current economic climate and appreciate their perspective. Our Brokerage has suspended Mr. Houghton and he is no longer a registered REALTOR® with our firm.”
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News from © iNFOnews, 2019