Email sent to all WRAFT members in May to launch letter writing campaign
CALL TO ACTION
On May 4 we wrote to our members to advise that our second newsletter had been posted to our website. We also sought to alert members to the need to raise the profile of our issue at Queens Park. We said that shortly we would be in touch again to seek your support in this campaign. The Ontario budget was introduced May 11 and contained no reference to property taxation or assessment. This has confirmed the need to get our story in front of MPPs across the province.
While we have presented specific reform proposals to provincial officials, we are concerned that there is not sufficient time to implement those proposals -- or any other meaningful reform -- before the 2005 assessments are issued. These will undoubtedly cause a further shift of taxation onto waterfront properties. As a result, our primary objective at this time is to defer the 2005 assessment a further year. This should provide sufficient time for study and implementation of necessary reforms if the government genuinely pursues them.
What we are asking you to do in the interim is get your members to write letters to their MPPs. Three possible paragraphs are attached which can be used in the letters, along with your members' own experiences and specifics about their property taxes. While it would be easier if we simply provided a form letter, we are advised that this approach would not be nearly as effective as personal letters. We are asking that your members send a copy of their letters or emails to us at:
WRAFT, 131 Bloor St. W., Suite 200, Box 263, Toronto, M5S 1R8
or wraft@sympatico.ca.
To get the address of your MPP, either postal or email, please go to www.gov.on.ca or call the local constituency office.
The next few months are critical in our effort to make our issue a priority concern of the government of Ontario. Over that period, we will be visiting MPPs and Ministers who are influential in establishing the government's agenda to make our case. We cannot emphasize too strongly that your members can provide a huge assist during this period by an active letter writing campaign now.
On behalf of the WRAFT Board of Directors
Bob Topp
Executive Director
Some suggested paragraphs for letter to MPPs (Word document - right click and "save target as")