Tues Dec  6	9:30 – 12:30	3CEC’s	Forms 2012
Tues  Dec 6	1:30 –  4:30	3CEC’s	Clause Writing To Show Representation
Wed  Dec 7	9:30 – 12:30	3CEC’s	Introduction to Income Tax for Real Estate Professionals

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone
Your BREB office will be closed on Monday Oct 10, 2011 to enjoy this day with family and friends. We will be back in the office Tuesday Oct 11th at 8:30AM to serve you.

 October 1, 2011

Chris Luxemburger, President

The Brampton Real Estate Board

35 Van Kirk Drive, Unit #10

Brampton, ON

L7A 1A5

Dear Mr. Luxemburger:

Thank you for your letter and the enclosed questionnaire from the Brampton Real Estate Board (BREB). I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Ontario Liberal Party.

Working together, the number of homeowners in Ontario has grown to an all-time high — increasing by hundreds of thousands — since 2003. According to the most recent census, more than 71 per cent of Ontarians have achieved the dream of owning their own home.

Ontario Liberals recognize the close link between a strong economy and a healthy real estate market. That is why we have worked hard over the past eight years to modernize our tax system, reduce red tape, develop a skilled and well- educated workforce, and invest in critical infrastructure neglected by the previous PC government.

Today, our schools are rated among the world’s best, our health care ranks first in Canada, and old jobs are coming back while new jobs are being created in emerging industries like advanced manufacturing and clean energy. This can only strengthen the economy and, in turn, our real estate market.

Our plan is getting results and Ontario is solidly on track. The Hudak PCs would take us off track and put our fragile recovery at risk with their reckless schemes.

We need to keep moving forward, together. We look forward to continuing to work with the Brampton Real Estate Board to strengthen our economy and build an even brighter future for Ontario.

Yours truly,

Dalton McGuinty

Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party

Premier

 Enclosure

Brampton Real Estate Board

1. Does your party have a strategy to support home ownership in Ontario?

The number of homeowners in Ontario has grown to an all-time high — increasing by hundreds of thousands — since 2003. According to the most recent census, more than 71 per cent of Ontarians have achieved the dream of owning their own home.

The most important thing we can do to encourage homeownership is to focus on economic growth and job creation. Despite being hit hard by the global economic downturn, Ontario is now emerging from the recession stronger, having regained more than all of the jobs lost during the downturn. Our Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth, which cuts the tax rate on new business investment in half, is showing results. In 2010, for the second year in a row, the Financial Times of London ranked Ontario second only to California in North America as a recipient of foreign direct investment. To secure an even brighter economic future for our children and grandchildren, we need to keep building the best education system in the world so we can compete with India and China. To ensure our workforce is healthy, we need to keep building a strong, sustainable public health care system, and we need clean, reliable energy.

Given the significant risks that remain in the world economy, and the ever-increasing forces of global competitiveness, it is more important than ever that we stay on track with our long-term economic plan, and reject both the deep cuts proposed by the PCs and the job-killing taxes offered by the NDP.

Ontario Liberals also took specific measures to help Ontarians with the costs of homeownership. We introduced a rebate so that first-time home buyers can get up to $2,000 back on their land transfer tax. We helped with home energy costs by reducing hydro bills by 10 per cent through our Ontario Clean Energy Benefit. We introduced the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, as well as the Northern Ontario Energy Credit. Our Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant helps seniors stay in their homes by providing them up to $500 per year to help with the cost of property taxes.  

2. How would a government make home ownership more affordable for first time buyers?

Ontario Liberals have long been committed to ensuring that low- and moderate-income families have access to safe and affordable housing options. Down payment assistance offered under the Homeownership component of the Affordable Housing Program Extension (2009) helped low- and moderate-income households purchase affordable homes, while encouraging new affordable ownership housing development.

In response to feedback from service managers, we also ensured that resale units were included as an eligible unit type for down payment assistance. This change acknowledged the positive economic impact of resale home purchases and sales, while addressing the concerns of service managers in areas where newly built homes lack affordability.

Also, a land transfer tax rebate has been available to first-time home buyers who purchase newly constructed homes. The first-time home buyers’ program was expanded in 2007 to include purchases of resale homes.

Ontario Liberals are also committed to continuing to reduce costs for Ontario builders so that homeownership is affordable for Ontario families.

3. Does your party support energy efficiency retrofit rebates for home owners?

Ontario is a North American leader in conservation and we are committed to achieving the conservation targets — 7100 megawatts (MW) by 2030 — outlined in our Long-Term Energy Plan. The four-year Ontario Home Energy Savings Program (HESP) helped homeowners, supported jobs and improved Ontario’s environment. The program supported over 354,000 energy efficiency retrofits and will save an approximate $4.5 billion in lifetime energy costs.  

It also supported 9,400 jobs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 557,000 tonnes per year. Ontario Liberals were proud to continue to fund this program until March 2011 despite the federal government’s early and unexpected withdrawal of support in March of 2010.

Although HESP did end as planned at the end of March 2011, we continue to fund the cost of half an energy audit, up to $150. We have also introduced a suite of comprehensive conservation programs aimed at residential, commercial and industrial users. These programs are part of the new saveONenergy program, which is being delivered by the local distribution companies and will empower a wide range of Ontario electricity consumers with the tools they need to use less energy and to save money. For more information, please visit https://saveonenergy.ca/

4. Does your party favour the creation of a permanent Ontario home renovation tax rebate?

Ontario Liberals are the only party committed to a home renovation tax credit.

Ontario Liberals will create a Healthy Home Renovation Tax Credit to help seniors make the renovations they need to meet their changing needs so they can remain at home as they age.

The credit — which is worth 15 per cent of up to $10,000 in renovations per year — can be claimed by seniors for their own home or by a family member who is providing a home for an elderly relative. The credit covers changes that allow seniors to continue living independently, such as a chair lift to upper floors or a walk-in shower to prevent falls.

Ontario’s tax plan will deliver $12 billion in temporary and permanent tax relief for people over three years. Ninety-three per cent of Ontario income taxpayers received a permanent personal income tax cut, saving the average family $355 per year. We also introduced a range of tax credits to help with family finances, including the Ontario Sales Tax Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, the Children’s Activity Tax Credit and the Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant.  

5. What is your party’s plan to eliminate the deficit and pay down Ontario’s debt?

When the global economic downturn hit, Ontario Liberals responded, creating jobs through strategic infrastructure investments and maintaining public services for people and communities in need. Now that the economy has turned the corner, we must confront the challenge of returning to fiscal balance while protecting health care and education. An Ontario Liberal government would build on its track record of fiscal responsibility to address the debt and deficit challenge, ensuring that government lives within its means over the long run. Just as we eliminated the $5.6-billion deficit we inherited in 2003, delivered three consecutive balanced budgets and surpassed our fiscal targets since the onset of the global economic downturn — Ontario Liberals are the only party with a plan to balance the budget by 2017-18 by focusing squarely on making government more efficient, effective and responsive.

Ontario Liberals are ahead of schedule with our plan to eliminate the deficit while protecting health care and education. Ontario’s deficit in 2010-2011 was $5.7 billion lower than projected in the 2010 budget. This progress is mainly due to the delivery of better front-line services as we work to control costs. More than three-quarters of all ministries found savings or spent less than had been projected.

This is the second consecutive year that Ontario has done better than the projections in the Balanced Budget Plan. The Ontario economy has now grown for seven consecutive quarters and jobs are coming back. This year, 63 per cent of the full-time jobs created in Canada have been in Ontario.

So far, we have saved by undertaking major initiatives such as harmonizing our tax system, reforming our generic drug system and shrinking the size of the public service.

We have also saved by spending less on consultants, travel, telecom, fuel, office equipment and paper. And we have reduced the number of government agencies, asked our major agencies to deliver efficiencies of $200 million, and reduced public-sector executive office budgets by 10 per cent.  

An Ontario Liberal government would build on the recommendations of the Drummond Commission, and on the 2011 Budget, by introducing further reforms that drive efficiencies while protecting the services that matter most to Ontarians.

Instead of addressing the long-term fiscal challenge, the PCs have produced a platform containing a $14-billion hole — that is $14 billion in uncosted promises on top of the existing budget. This is a recipe for deep, across-the-board cuts to health care and education — cuts that will derail Ontario’s ongoing recovery and make our economy less competitive in the long run. The NDP, with their disappointing platform, are calling for a crushing $9 billion in new taxes, which will kill jobs, slow growth and lead to higher deficits.

6. What is your party’s plan to expand the supply of rental housing?

Since 2003, Ontario Liberals have invested more toward the creation and repair of affordable housing than any previous government. After years of neglect by the previous PC government, Ontario Liberals began investing in a cash-strapped system that was left depleted and in need of necessary repair.

To date, we have provided more than $2.5 billion toward housing. Our unprecedented investments, committed in both good and lean economic times, have helped us create 22,000 new units while repairing more than 250,000 others.

These investments have assisted more than 680,000 Ontarians to date, but have also helped us create more than 53,000 person years of employment, both prior to and during the economic downturn.  

7. Does your party support the creation of a broad based portable rental housing allowance?

Ontario Liberals are committed to ensuring that low-income families have access

to safe and affordable housing. Unlike the PCs, who downloaded the responsibility for affordable housing and homelessness onto the backs of local municipalities, and drastically under-funded the housing portfolio during their time in office, Ontario Liberals have invested more than any previous government, providing in excess of $2.5 billion to date.

Our investments have helped us build and repair more units than any previous government, but have also assisted us in providing more than 35,000 rent supplements to date.

We are also the first government in Ontario history to move forward with a long-term affordable housing strategy, which will greatly improve the ability of municipalities to address local needs by providing them with the flexibility to utilize housing dollars in local priorities that they determine. Rental housing allowances is certainly one area that providers will be able to invest in.

8. If elected, would your government create a provincial registry of former marijuana grow operations and clandestine laboratories?

Ontario Liberals believe that the most effective way to reduce crime in our province is to get tough on crime, while also getting tough on the root causes of crime. Our goal is to reduce and ultimately eradicate crime in our communities — in particular gun, drug and gang activity from Ontario’s landscape.

Since 2003, we have put over 2,500 additional officers on the street, including 150 for targeted drug enforcement. We have created a first-ever coordinated Guns and Gangs Strategy to support our law enforcement in the fight against drugs, guns and gangs. Included in this strategy is the $2-million Crystal Methamphetamine Elimination Project, aimed at dismantling clandestine operations.

In 2005, Ontario Liberals enacted Bill 128, which gives electricity distribution companies the authority to cut power without notice at any property where they believe the property is being used as a grow op or drug lab. The legislation requires municipalities to inspect a property after being notified by police that it had been used as a grow op, and to order remedial work where the property is found to be unsafe.

We also strengthened the Civil Remedies Act (2005) to allow for the seizure of drugs and equipment from grow ops and drug labs, and divert them into a special victims of crime fund.

The results have been remarkable. We have reduced crime in Ontario, and it is now the lowest in Canada. Since 2007, there have been over 9,000 investigations, $750 million in drugs seized, 1,500 grow ops dismantled and hundreds of thousands of marijuana plants destroyed.

By focusing on enforcement and intervention, we are reducing illegal gang, drug and weapon activity, thus preventing the expansion of drug operations in our communities.

While Ontario Liberals have made significant progress, we still have more to do. We created a Provincial Advisory Group on marijuana and clandestine grow operations representing input from fire, police, industry and relevant experts to provide advice on reducing the prevalence of these operations in our communities. We are enthusiastic about working with you as we move forward on a number of its important recommendations.

Thank you for the opportunity to share with BREB the Ontario Liberals’ plan for a brighter future for Ontario.

TheBramptonReal Estate Board

Political Party Survey

 

 

Andrea Horwath – NDP Party ofOntario

 

1. Does your party have a strategy to support home ownership inOntario?

The NDP has a plan to make life more affordable for Ontarians. The Harmonized Sales Tax hit struggling families at the worst possible time. Instead of making life more affordable for people struggling with the recession, it made life more expensive. It shifted more of the tax burden off large corporations like banks and insurance companies and onto household budgets.

 

The HST takes a big bite out of the average family budget. That’s hard to cope with, but what hits hardest are new taxes on your daily household essentials: your electricity, your home heating, gas for the car. You can cut a lot from your household budget, but everyone needs to heat their home, keep the lights on and commute to work. 

 

The HST was negotiated behind closed doors. This backroom deal has a huge impact on affordability of everyday essentials, such as electricity and home heating, that impact housing affordability. 

 

We will take the HST off essentials such as electricity and home heating. We will start removing the HST from gasoline by one percentage point a year. These are daily essentials that don’t need a new tax.

 

We’ve also released a detailed home retrofit program that is detailed below. We’ll also ban credit scoring by insurance companies so property owners can get the coverage they need at a price they can afford.

 

Finally we’ve also announced an ambitious 10 year affordable housing strategy that is detailed below.

 

1. How would a government make home ownership more affordable?

The HST has made the overall carrying costs of home ownership much more expensive.  Ontario’s NDP will take the HST off essentials such as electricity and home heating. We’ll also ban credit scoring by insurance companies so property owners can get the coverage they need at a price they can afford.  In addition we plan to make housing more affordable, as detailed below.

1. Does you party support energy efficiency retrofit rebates for home owners?

 

Yes, we released a detailed program recently:

 

Ontario’s NDP will provide a rebate of up to $5,000 on home improvements that make homes more energy efficient. Combined with eligible federal rebates, a household could save up to $10,000.

 

Eligible expenses would include everything from high efficiency furnaces to Energy Star windows and doors.

 

Low-income households will also be eligible for supplemental grants of $3,000-$5,000 for energy efficiency improvements.

 

Rebates would be bolstered by low-interest loans of $10,000 or more for approved energy efficiency improvements that have a 5 to 15 year payback period.

 

In order to be eligible for the loan program, homeowners will be required to conduct an audit of their home, and will qualify if energy savings would offset loan repayment costs.

 

Homeowners can save as much as $700 a year on a $2,000 annual heating bill by implementing home retrofits.

 

The rebate program is expected to retrofit 400,000 homes while the loan program is expected to help 160,000 households over 4 years.

 

 

1. Does your party favour the creation of a permanentOntariohome renovation tax rebate?

 

Yes, we support a permanent home renovation rebate for renovations that contribute to energy efficiency. Please see above for more details.

 

 

1. What is your party’s plan to eliminate the deficit and pay downOntario’s debt?

 

New Democrats realize better than most that we can’t confront tomorrow’s challenges under a massive debt burden. AcrossCanada, New Democrats have a tradition of balancing budgets – NDP governments have run fewer deficit budgets than any other party.

 

Andrea Horwath and Ontario’s New Democrats have proposed a fiscal plan that is responsible, cautious and verified by independent economists.  Our growth forecast is more cautious than that of the Liberals and Tories. Unlike the other parties, we won’t give away $2 billion in across-the-board corporate tax cuts because these cuts simply haven’t created jobs in the past and won’t in the future. We won’t forego another $1.3 billion in future revenues by expanding corporate tax credits for meals and entertainment. And we will save over $800 million a year by cutting high-priced consultants, capping public sector CEO salaries, and conducting an expenditure review.

 

As a result of these and other measures, our fiscal commitments – on public investments and tax reductions – are actually lower in the last year of our mandate than those of the Liberals and Conservatives. And we have left $1 billion over four years unallocated to protect against the potential impact of lower economic growth. In sum, by putting people first – rather than corporations and well-connected insiders –Ontario’s NDP plan is practical, effective and fiscally prudent.

 

 

1. What is your party’s plan to expand the supply of rental housing?

 

1. Does your party support the creation of a broad based portable rental housing allowance?

Over five years, we will phase in a new housing benefit that will help almost 200,000 low-income individuals and families to better afford their rent. The average amount of the benefit, when fully phased in, will be $96/month for individuals and $120/month for families. The program will cost $240 million a year when fully implemented. We are investing $545 million in the housing benefit over the next four years.

 

We are committing to a 10-year affordable housing plan to build 50,000 new affordable housing units. With sustained provincial funding reaching $150 million a year, we will build over 14,000 units in the next four years. 

 

These ambitious targets will be achieved through:

• Partnered funding with the federal government (starting with a 3-year, $480 million bilateral agreement).
• Improved housing provider access to low-cost financing through the expansion and reform of the Infrastructure Ontario Affordable Housing Loan Fund.
• Legislation enablingOntariomunicipalities to implement inclusionary housing policies that require a minimum percentage of affordable units in new housing developments.

 

1. Does your party support a Provincial grow house registry? 

Yes

 

 

 

401-19 Duncan St, Toronto, ON M5H 3H1 | P: 1 (800) 903-6453 | F: (416) 861-9593 | http://www.ontariopc.com

 

September 28, 2011

 

Brampton Real Estate Board

10-35 Van Kirk Drive

Brampton, ON L7A 1A5

 

Dear Members of the Brampton Real Estate Board,

 

Thank you for your survey about the issues facing home owners in Ontario and for the

opportunity to tell you about the ways changebook will support and protect home ownership.

 

I have long championed the Canadian value of home ownership. As Premier, I will continue to make it a priority.

 

I believe a home is a place of comfort and security, not a commodity to be taxed. It’s a place to raise our children, and it is also the single biggest investment most of us will make in our lifetime.

 

As families build equity in their homes, that investment triggers other economic activity through renovations, additions, or even the purchase of a new home. Sadly, the dream of home ownership is slipping away from many young families.

 

On the same day Dalton McGuinty put the 8% HST tax grab on the price of new homes, home renovations, real estate commissions, moving costs, home inspections, appraisals, and a host of other services, he also had the audacity to sneak in thousands of eco taxes on the items we use around the house – on everything from batteries to fire extinguishers.

Dalton McGuinty has gotten so used to new taxes, he no longer sees how hard it is on people. I was recently greeted at a community BBQ by a senior named Jim. Jim told me that he and his wife are on the brink of having to put their family home of 37 years up for sale, because they can no longer afford to keep up with the rising costs of living – especially skyrocketing hydro bills.

 

In addition to the HST on hydro and home heating, Dalton McGuinty’s smart meter tax machines have made the air conditioning more expensive, a load of laundry more expensive, and turning on the TV more expensive. Jim told me he is fed up with all of these taxes, and I don’t blame him.

 

I believe Ontario seniors and families deserve better.

 

To make life more affordable for home owners, we’re going to scrap those sneaky eco taxes and leave more money in the household budget.

 

When it comes to the household essentials, we’re going to provide relief and remove the HST from home hydro and heating bills. We’ll also take the Debt Retirement Charge off of residential hydro bills. Taken together, our home energy relief measures will make the costs of homeownership more affordable and give Ontario families $275 in yearly relief from rising energy bills.

 

And to leave more money for the purchase of a new house, condo, or home renovation, we will lower the overall tax burden on middle-class families by reducing income taxes by 5% on the first $75,000 in taxable income, saving a middle-class taxpayer $258 each year. For couples, we will change the tax system to allow them to share up to $50,000 of their income for tax purposes, which could save a family up to $1,400 per year in income taxes.

 

Buying a home is the biggest investment most families will ever make. And for all the sacrificing and saving that families do to afford a home, I believe they deserve a government that will take decisive action to protect them when they go to purchase a home. That is why we will establish a registry to allow realtors and future homeowners to know whether or not a property was ever used as a grow op or meth lab.

 

These are just some of the ways we’re proposing to make home ownership more affordable. To read more about the change we’re proposing for Ontario families, I encourage you to visit www.changebook.ca

 

 

Sincerely,

Tim Hudak

Ontario PC Leader