Last week was a big week in Ontario! Bill 169 was introduced. Here is a link with the full Bill here: https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-169
CPBH is excited that, if passed, this Bill would end Tarion's monopoly, something that so many have worked hard to see!
But this Bill actually goes beyond what Justice Cunningham proposed, e.g., if you feel that Tarion wrongly dismissed your claim, if passed, this Bill could allow you to resubmit it. (The criteria for this provision still needs to be established.) This is the first time that any politician has introduced a provision in law to try to restore justice for those whose claims were wrongly dismissed by Tarion. Thank you, MPP Rakocevic!
Bill 169 goes much, much further for Ontario's consumers than Minister Thompson's recent Bill proposed. Bill 169 is what Ontario needs, and CPBH fully supports Bill 169.
Here is the NDP's news release re Bill 169:
Ontario NDP Consumer Protection critic tables bill to fix new home warranty system
QUEEN’S PARK — Tom Rakocevic, Ontario NDP critic for Consumer Protection, said Ontario families can’t afford to wait any longer for real protection from bad builders, and that’s why he tabled a bill Thursday to tear down the Tarion Warranty Corporation and rebuild the province’s new home warranty system from the ground up.
The Home Warranties to Protect Families Act proposes to end Tarion’s monopoly on new home warranties and replace it with a multi-provider warranty system, as recommended by Justice J. Douglas Cunningham in his 2017 report on Tarion. A new Crown agency would be established to assume responsibility for Tarion’s existing warranty enrolments.
An administrator would also immediately take over Tarion to help home buyers who have been failed by Ontario’s broken warranty system.
“Too many Ontario families are moving into the new home of their dreams, only to watch that dream become a nightmare as they discover things like bad foundations, mould, and leaky windows,” said Rakocevic. “It compounds the unfair burden when the new home warranty system that is supposed to protect them badly fails them — allowing bad builders to refuse to fix serious problems.
“For 15 long years, the Liberals left Ontario families on their own to fight uphill battles with bad builders to get their new homes fixed. Now, the Conservatives want to keep Tarion more or less as is.”
Tarion has been protecting bad builders instead of consumers, according to a recent report from the Auditor General. The report prompted NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath to call on the Ford government to turf Tarion’s board and CEO right away, then bring in this new, improved system.
“Ontarians deserve better protection when they buy a new home today, not a year from now,” said Rakocevic. “That’s why I’m urging the government to support my bill so we can immediately help families — like the ones in Cardinal Creek — who are struggling to get serious construction deficiencies corrected.”
Quotes
“We are delighted to express full support for MPP Tom Rakocevic’s private member’s bill today. This bill describes a complete overhaul of consumer protection in the purchase of newly built homes, unlike PC MPP Lisa Thompson’s recent Bill 159, which tinkers with uncertain change in the future, while devoid of the real protections consumers deserve and need in Ontario. This PMB reflects immediate change and relief for homeowners through a fair, transparent and unbiased regime for new home regulation, warranty and dispute resolution — much of which was proposed to the Ontario government by Justice Douglas Cunningham in 2016. It is the most comprehensive proposal of its kind that we have seen in over 15 years.”
Dr. Karen Somerville, President, Canadians for Properly Built Homes
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Media contact: Michelle Ervin, 416-735-0741