Green Party supports strong communities and working with municipalities

Toronto, Ontario – The Green Party of Ontario promises to work with municipalities to strengthen our communities.  Increasing local decision making and partnering with municipal leaders to improve our communities is a theme of our platform www.itstimeforgreen.ca.

The Green Party shares the priorities identified by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) in their twelve priority areas of concern for municipalities in the provincial election.

Accordingly, we will: 

1.             Meet the promised upload of $1.5 billion in social service and court security costs by 2018.

2.            Not download costs, or add new ones to Ontario’s limited property tax base.

3.            Create a separate, new, predictable and permanent fund for municipal roads and bridges once the budget is balanced, and we will provide funding for municipalities to invest in safe roads and trails for active transportation.

4.            Make permanent Provincial Gas Tax revenue of about $318 million for transit.

5.            Work with municipalities to revise the arbitration process to ensure transparency, and to require consideration of local circumstances and government’s ability to pay when deciding public sector wage settlements.

6.            Seek the advice of municipalities in developing solutions to protect taxpayers from excessive insurance claims.

7.            Commit to shifting the tax burden for waste disposal from municipal property taxpayers to industry through extended producer responsibility laws.

8.            Advocate for tools for collecting $1 billion in unpaid Provincial Offences Act fines

9.            Consolidate housing programs with current funding to allow more local decision making and seek innovative partnerships with the private sector to increase the availability of affordable housing.

10.          Not introduce property assessment or taxation caps.  The Green Party supports establishing a legislative committee to study best practices for reforming and improving the property tax system, with special consideration of moving to a system of Land Value Taxation in order to eliminate inaccurate and arbitrary property assessments, deter speculative land holding, reduce abandoned lots and urban sprawl, and encourage job creating property improvements. 

11.           Provide clear, fair energy policy that supports sound planning and investment in our electricity system.  The Green Party will prioritize investments in energy efficiency and conservation to reduce the effects of rising energy prices.  We will strengthen the Feed-in Tariff program to require local ownership, local decision making and local financial benefits for energy projects.  We will establish a transparent timeline for FIT pricing reviews and reductions.

12.          Support a review of the Development Charges Act so that growth pays for itself without unsustainable burdens on property taxpayers.

One of the major challenges in our current economic climate is building diverse, resilient local economies. The Green Party is committed to working with municipalities on developing sensible, long-term solutions to the challenges our communities face. 

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For our full platform please visit: 

http://www.itstimeforgreen.ca

For AMO’s Top 12 Asks: 

http://www.amo.on.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=AMO_Top_12_Asks

Media Contact:

Becky Smit
Provincial Campaign Manager
Office: 416-977-7476
Toll Free: 888-647-3366
Cell: 647-830-6486
Email: beckysmit@gpo.ca