Ontarians head to the polls to vote on Wednesday October 10th, 2007. As a province, we are concerned about a wide range of issues, and each of us will vote for the policy mix that is right for us.
However, given that Move Smartly is obsessed with all things housing, we thought we'd provide you with a snapshot of each party's housing platform highlights.
Our summary is not comprehensive, so please take the time to examine each party's plan for the future of housing, schooling and transit in Ontario (we've provided the links).
Remember, you have all day to vote so please do!
Ontario Liberal Party
- Expand the new home tax credit to all first-time homebuyers
- Create a new homeowners grant for seniors who have trouble paying for property taxes
- Join with financial institutions to create a new program to help low-income families build equity or save for a home, save for children’s education or start a small business
- Provide rebates and tax incentives for energy efficient appliance purchases and energy saving investments in homes
The Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party 
- Fix property tax assessment system (including 5% cap on annual increases) or replace it altogether
- Establish a drug grow-op registry to inform potential homebuyers and renters
- Revitalize public housing projects in Regent Park and Don Mount Court
- Increase supply of co-operative housing
- Require new homes to be more energy efficient and offer incentives for upgrades to existing homes
- Require home energy audit before the sale of every house to reward energy saving homeowners
Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP)
- Ensure fairness for condominium owners and protection from unscrupulous developers
- Increase affordable housing including 10,000 new rent supplements at $4450/unit; 7,000 affordable units annually, including at least 1,500 co-op units; 750 supportive housing units; and another 500 units for seniors
- Introduce Rent Control to prevent high rent increases and end “vacancy decontrol” so rents stay low even when a unit is vacated
Green Party of Ontario
- Prevent urban sprawl including moving the boundaries of the four GTA regions inward
- Double the provincial energy-efficient grant to $10,000 per household
- Implement legislation requiring all new construction to have solar water heating by 2010
- Advance the dates for Ontario Building Code (OBC) energy efficiency compliance targets to reduce energy costs for homeowners
- Allow electricity rates to rise to reflect unsubsidized costs to promote conservation; create programs to mitigate resulting impact on low-income renters and homeowners and northern communities
Happy Voting Day!
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