I’m reaching out to every property owner in Quebec with an urgent plea: sign our petition by September 11. This may be your last chance to make your voice heard on an issue that could profoundly impact your financial future.
All summer, we’ve been working to fight an unfair component of the provincial assessment process known as the comparative factor, which has caused property values in Alleyn-et-Cawood to soar by as much as 370% — an unrealistic reflection of their true market value. Higher evaluations mean higher property taxes. Luckily municipalities can reduce the mill rate to soften the blow, which is what Alleyn-et-Cawood committed to do, but this should not fall on municipal councils.
Despite our efforts and gathering nearly 1,500 signatures for our petition, we are still far from reaching our goal. I’m very disappointed by the lack of interest and involvement from property owners across Quebec.
If you think this issue won’t affect you, think again! The comparative factor can be applied to any community in Quebec, and if it’s not addressed now, your municipality could be next.
Our next step is to take this issue to Quebec City. Our MNA André Fortin will present our petition to the National Assembly in mid-September, and we’re again requesting a meeting with Minister Andrée Laforest. We’re asking for a simple administrative change: eliminate the comparative factor. However, the Minister hasn’t even acknow-ledged our concerns.
Politicians talk about the affordability crisis and lack of housing endlessly, but when it comes to taking real action to protect voters, we’re met with silence. Shifting the responsibility to municipalities isn’t fair when a simple change at the provincial level could solve the problem.
If people and municipalities don’t care, our elected officials won’t care either. We need the voices of Quebec property owners to make this change happen. Signing the petition takes just a few seconds but could make a world of difference for fair property evaluations across Quebec. If you care about protecting your financial future, now is the time to act. Your voice matters, and together, we can demand fair property evaluations for all.
The petition is available online at: https://m.assnat.qc.ca/en/exprimez-votre-opinion/petition/Petition-10859/
Julie Vaux
ALLEYN-ET-CAWOOD
