Thanks Mike. It is clearly a political move given the outrage ACORN and others voiced last year when a meager 2.2% increase was introduced. I think the provincial government felt to do an increase at this time would have been political fire. But it is clearly a slap in the face to landlords who have stepped up and done their part including paying increased costs while dealing with increased rent delinquencies. 

John and I were talking over the weekend while he was drafting this press release. He believes that Steve Clark was directed to do this but does not necessarily agree. John is hoping a wedge can be driven such that there may be a modification to the proposed legislation. I'm not optimistic about this but I applaud John for trying to be part of the solution.

In my view, the bigger issue for most of us is the expense line. Insurance has gone up considerably over the past 2 years and other government regulated expenses have gone up by much more than CPI (rent increase is based on Ontario CPI). This has a significant squeeze on our NOI (Net Operating Income). This is where we need to apply pressure and politically it impacts everyone: landlords, tenants and home owners.

I could get over the 1.5% increase issue if they allowed insurance and utilities to be covered under the AGI (Above Guideline Increase) process.

What do you guys think?