The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

' -----------, - - - A " ’fi 32119175 59/19/2006 _------ T _ _ JOSEPH M LAEERGE CoLr WIN _ PO BOX 12 f _ CASTLETON on Kim mo Not l necessarily _ 1"rrirCr' f" the opinion llUlllL sais,,,,.," or... F Er, ' I See Page 8 am our: C --"--"------------------------ Serving Apple Country for over 40 years! 93 cents + 7 cents GST . --'"--'-'-'-'------.---------------------.--- 'r-u-ir/C','?.,; FF , . ll " . Iltiiiiiii WEAR- , m u sman ' "z-"------.--',-' , - , IIE! " . sir-1.559;- , w. C W.1... (' 'r"er TCette-ee', new» , l Cr-air-tCT,'-;::':)',";" fleet,." V - f"a"irtit iiiiiiErrfM MAC) , -W--.w I,, w?“ .4 trt / . Ac, KEEP V-.......... his , J \ / .‘u- l __ t, i FirF,ir1iFii", iota l l y. (ill') FIEC WA: to pro e 'iii-tsei-tsir)," 1eht ,2; EI Ci; WW? mfo o l new ra 'iiiirii , . 'RL', 1w',lircyt,' rHt- r ac ces - flu-steer is.“ ' Ir a: iii] = y ”a? " it”??? If ' ra .. ' " W, f a Mg " ttia - ' . ' C fi"] a; J . IN .1 IB, By Valerie MacDonald visit the website at wwwonibuds- _ 5' tMII, t " . . Fi I 195215;; ? " V ', i J inan.on.ca to fill outa SORT infor- 4 scf?tt / 'se _ 'lr' . , I vmacdonald’enonhumberlandtodaycorn mation form online. - , g , P. fl , ‘ ' "The taxpayers of Ontario Mr. Hazell says he has already me, i, i C C ' _ _ . M 25 ' l C ' ' 7 ' r deserve this," says the head of called the investigation) _ cette. " 5 ml Canadian Advocates for Tax "We filed a report over the C WE . t.7, Awareness (CAFTA) of the phone last week," he said. . I " - - i? . ontario's Ombudsman investiga- During that conversation an ‘ , tion into the way property assess- investigator said SORT was , t ment values are being set in this unaware that CAFTA's goal was l - province. _ . to change the existing, assessment " r "I'm ecstatic." CAFTA chair system used by MPAC __- a goal I" Paul Hazell of Trent Hills Sold that has been endorsed by more ' Monday just minutes alter than 60 municipalities. Ombudsman Andre Marin The Ontario government has tr announced he has been provided - directed the Spe- SeePa " with that same “U cial Ombudsman L' l, d8 . information, Mr. ‘ PHOTO BY PETE Fishes BeSDOPSE Team to for re ate stories Hazell said, Members of the Canadian Advocates for Tax Awareness protest Munici- 3295;155th tahses 2:183" t f “This (“Siting rt A essment Cor oration ro e valuations outside Mon- . - Sys em o assessmen an axa- T t,1,'ir?fii'trt"ie,i2 11ee2 p p rty Itent.s.ar? being valued by the tion can't go on like this," he said. _ MuniCID'al Property Assessment “How can the government. watch Coyora,tion/MPAC). people lose their homes with a . , Legal notices were served on system created by bureaucrats. P r Ov1nce won t chan e MPAC officials on Monday mom when people doit1 have the ability l l mg. . . to pay?" _ V l . “The public outcry on this During the Ombudsman"s assessment scheme issue is palpable, Mr. Marin said announcement in Ottawa. Vt'. , during a press conference lil Marin said he was “troubled by l , . Ottawa. There are profound c_on- allegations from homeowners that l ' an tlme soon . M PP cerns :expressed o01yiefr11ng MPAC has refused to recognize l .. y _ . MPAC S o?erpti?ns which has past decisions by its own staff and ', iome form ofactual value assess- caused {no to invoke the mandate the Assessment Review Board l , By Valerie MacDonald ment Northumberland MPP Lou l of the offie reducing assessments - and that , ' 1/macdronaldgnorthumberlandtoday.com Rinaldi says in defence Of the, A _ 'yylie, release from “M13 property owners are continually l, Under the current property provincial assessment-setting Mann's o/Tice states that the forced to go back to the drawing l, 'ass'Us)'r'lrent1rsi"sd)"ri" magma“, sales rules the government lyas.1e.gist [1v,t'c1iie1if,)p will locus on two board each year to appeal their 1 and like properties determine the lated for use by the MunlCIPal mains therrllias. d l k f t assessments. . . t 'actual value'ofthe property result- Property Assessment Corporation . an s ege ac 0 rans- Ottawa. Mayor Bob Chiarelli ing in ongoing assessment (MPAC). parency m the property assess- has described the current assess- increases '6: LA. "Ontario is not unique," he said. meyt1ytt,Th;iT,? . . ment system as "a mess" and l .The goal of public rallies taking At this time the Ontario provin- . the {Illegrlty and BfflClellyy informed the Ontario Premier _ _ place tn Northumberland is to sta- cial government is not. looking at ofthe decisiottm.aklng process. Dalton McGuinty of his council?) i bilize assessments C changing the system, Mr. Rinaldi) anyone With information and position. _ 5 . added, although it has 'h/l/l/sell/ concerns 11oyustteh)fi'iigiog,2; Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley 2 Across North America "the I i assessmen sys ern IS eing urgec majority” of jurisdictions use See Scheme, Page 7 to call 1-866,623-SORT (7678) or See Ombudsman, Page 7 W"