✨ My Story: Why I’m Speaking Out

My husband and I built our home in Port Colborne, dreaming of raising our family in a safe and stable place. The original project for our home was 3,800 sq ft, but later MPAC raised it to over 4,300 sq ft, claiming that because we have an “open concept,” the extra space counts as a livable area. It feels absurd—as if we are Superman or Spiderman, able to live in thin air just because the design is open.

At the time we built our house, no one told us that the taxes would be this outrageous. If we had known, we would never have built here; we would have stayed away from Port Colborne. Now, on a household income of around $30,000 a year, we pay around $21,000 every year in property taxes for our property. That’s more than half of what we earn, before even covering food, utilities, or daily living costs.

We have three children, and they are scared that one day we may have to sell the house because we cannot afford both the property taxes and the mortgage we needed to build it. Our oldest is at university, with all the expenses that come with it. Our middle child is in high school and will be going to university soon, with more costs to come. And our youngest still has a few years before university, which is a little relief—but the pressure is constant. 

When the children ask for something, 80% of the time I have to say I can’t afford it, because I must pay debts and taxes first. They understand with sadness, because they don’t want to lose the house. It is heartbreaking to see how the taxes affect not just our finances but also our daily family life and their sense of security.

I keep asking: what is MPAC for? What they are doing, the City could already do. MPAC has huge salaries but little real help. They sometimes say, “We will help,” yet my monthly payment was again $1,800. MPAC always says it’s not their fault—it’s the City’s—and the City blames MPAC. It’s always a fight between MPAC and the City, and in the meantime, families like mine suffer.

I have tried reaching out for help. I wrote to the Mayor—he didn’t respond. I wrote to Premier Ford—he answered, but that was it; he could not help. I even wrote to the Prime Minister—he replied, but nothing changed. Mr. Jeff Burch, our MPP, tried to assist us (and I thank him), but even with his support, no one can get through to both the City and MPAC. They do only what they want. 

We need someone from the provincial government who can actually intervene—not just for my family, but for all families in Ontario struggling under unfair property taxes.

What makes this even harder to accept is the unfairness we see around us. In Port Colborne, I know of houses similar to mine that pay much less. In other cities, families with much larger homes pay only half of what we do. Waterfront homes sometimes have smaller taxes than ours, even though we live in the countryside.

This shows a broken system. Everyone I’ve spoken with says it’s outrageous, yet nothing changes. Property taxes should never be so high that they force families into financial crisis. They must be fair, balanced, and reflect what people actually earn.

I’m sharing my story not just for my family, but for everyone who feels ignored and crushed by unfair property taxes in Ontario. It’s time for change.