November 9, 2011
With the conclusion of the 2011 Ontario election and beginning of a new session of Parliament near, I would like to take this opportunity to update you on three issues OREA is working on at Queen’s Park.
Personal Real Estate Corporations
Working with the government to amend REBBA, 2002 to allow real estate salespeople to incorporate will continue to be a focus of OREA’s advocacy efforts during the upcoming session of Parliament.
OREA has written to the new Minister of Consumer Services (responsible for REBBA, 2002) requesting a meeting to discuss PRECs. We hope to convince the government to include an amendment to REBBA 2002 in an omnibus bill like the Budget.
While OREA has made some progress on PRECs, we recognize that the new government has many priorities on the legislative agenda including their campaign commitments, so we do not expect immediate action.
Encouraging Brownfield Redevelopment
OREA’s proposal to amend the Assessment Act, 2001 to create a new tax class for brownfield properties “under remediation” continues to garner support from a number of different industry groups. OREA’s strategy on this issue is to build a coalition of interested stakeholders who will add their collective voice in support of our brownfields proposal.
Most recently, OREA acquired the support of the Ontario Home Builder’s Association and the Northern Ontario Association of Municipalities (NOMA). In addition, the Building Managers Association of Ontario (BOMA) is in the process of reviewing our proposal and OREA will be meeting with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) next week to ask for their support.
Finally, OREA has requested a meeting with the new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (Honourable Kathleen Wynne) to brief her on our progress
Marijuana Grow Operations Registry
Prior to the election, the Provincial Advisory Group (PAG) on Marijuana Grow Operations and Clandestine Laboratories, of which OREA is a member, made a recommendation to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services to create a registry of former marijuana grow operations.
At its last meeting, PAG’s co-chairs announced that the group’s recommendations were going through the government’s internal review process. There has been no additional update from the government or PAG on our proposal. PAG is expected to meet in the coming months.
As you know, the RCMP recently announced the creation of a national registry of former marijuana grow operations. Unfortunately, due to the limited jurisdictional coverage of the RCMP in Ontario the registry shows only two properties in the province. OREA is hopeful that the provincial government will regard the RCMP registry as an impetus to forge ahead with their own registry.
OREA has written the new Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services (Honourable Madeleine Meilleur) to request a meeting to discuss PAG’s recommendations.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding these issues or the work of OREA’s government relations department feel free to contact Matthew Thornton, Manager of Government Relations at (416) 385-6624 or mthornton@orea.com.
Sincerely,
Cassandra Agnew Walker, Chair
Government Relations Committee
(905) 723-8184
(905) 723-7531
Close
Register
Log in
Mortgage calculator
