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Tory vows to protect Ontario seniors

September 24, 2007

Ontario PC Leader John Tory today detailed the Progressive Conservative plan to protect senior citizens and other vulnerable homeowners struggling with rising property assessments and unduly restrictive pension structures.

"Today, many seniors are struggling to make ends meet. They are penalized by a property assessment system that punishes people on fixed incomes most of all," Mr. Tory said. "Dalton McGuinty has failed to show real leadership on Ontario's assessment crisis. Too many seniors are on the verge of being forced out of their own homes."

Tory said his government will take aim at the current municipal property tax assessment system, which is facing a "crisis of credibility" according to the Ontario Ombudsman. The average assessed home in Ontario recently rose from $179,151 in the 2003 taxation year to $232,883 in the 2006 taxation year. Some assessment increases have been as high as 150%, and homeowners are receiving assessments that contain incorrect information about their properties.

A John Tory government will provide stability to homeowners by:

• Establishing a five per cent annual cap on property assessment increases for as long as a person owns his or her home (including if the property is transferred to a spouse);
• Implementing a new reverse onus appeal system so the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) will have to justify an assessment increase;
• Ensuring MPAC fully implements the recommendations of the Ombudsman, and if the serious problems he identified are not addressed, shutting down MPAC and building a better system; and,
• Addressing rural assessment inequities which currently penalize farmers who have been encouraged to have value-added production services.

Tory also announced that a John Tory PC government will give Ontario's retirees 100 per cent access to their locked-in pension income. Under the John Tory Plan, seniors would gain access to 50 per cent at age 55 and the remaining 50 per cent at age 65.

Tory indicated that when the Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions reports back in the summer of 2008, he will move quickly to implement its recommendations.

"We can, and must, do more for our senior citizens," Mr. Tory concluded. "This means adopting policies that put fairness for seniors first. Our seniors have done so much to make Ontario what it is today. In order to repay that debt, leadership matters."

Source: JohnTory.ca

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