JURISDICTIONAL UPDATES

Manitoba

Lloyd Funk

Director, Provincial Municipal Assessor, Municipal Relations - Assessment Services, Government of Manitoba

Manitoba Property Assessment Services Branch (PSAB) recently delivered 2023 assessment values to 136 municipalities and areas under the jurisdiction of Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations. Assessments were updated from an April 1, 2018 reference date to reflect market values as of April 1, 2021 and will form the basis for property taxation in 2023 and 2024. Assessments for the over 442,000 properties outside the City of Winnipeg increased from $104 to $115 billion in market value. Manitoba has a two-year cycle and the next reassessment is scheduled for 2025.

PSAB is finalizing its annual winter desktop review program for over 26,000 properties through utilization of oblique, high-resolution imagery. More than 135,000 properties have been reviewed through the program during the past eight years, ensuring accurate property assessments are delivered to municipalities and Manitobans are provided with a fair and equitable property assessment and taxation system.

Manitoba property owners now have the opportunity to access their property assessment notices through the MyPropertyMB website portal. Owners that sign up for eNotices through the portal will receive electronic notification that a new assessment notice has been issued for their property and is available in their web account rather than receiving a notice through traditional mail delivery. The initiative is one of several innovation initiatives PSAB is embarking on to modernize the property assessment system in Manitoba.

Ontario

Greg Martino, M.I.M.A.

Vice-President and Chief Valuation & Standards Officer at MPAC

This year, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) continues its work to maintain Ontario’s property database, including efforts in support of data collection and market analysis to ensure we have a strong understanding of how property sectors are evolving. We are also providing additional opportunities for engagement and information exchange with industry stakeholders. Earlier this year we hosted a virtual Industry Advisory Group (IAG) meeting to share updates on a variety of initiatives, including plans to re-engage with property sector subcommittees as a means to exchange information and ideas on topics of common interest.

Ontario’s Assessment Base

Ontario’s property assessment base continues to grow. In 2022, MPAC:

• Added more than $37.8 billion in new assessment

• Assessed more than 48,000 new residential homes with an assessed value of close to $24.7 billion

• Mailed more than 770,000 year-end Property Assessment Notices to property owners across Ontario, reflecting changes in assessment

Capturing Property Changes & Collecting Data

In April, MPAC also commenced the mailing of Property Assessment Change Notices to property owners. Property Assessment Change Notices are mailed to property owners throughout the year to reflect changes to a property, such as a new addition or a change in classification. These efforts also support the currency of our property assessment database.

Another key initiative is MPAC’s Assessment Information Request Program. The most significant campaign for MPAC is our annual Property Income and Expense Return (PIER) sent to more than 35,000 business properties.

Having complete, accurate and up to date market and property data is critical to MPAC’s work and our annual collection program allows us to collect rental, income and expense information from income-generating properties that will support our ongoing analysis of the market. This year’s campaign begins May 12, and property owners who receive a PIER request letter from MPAC are required to submit their information by July 14. More information is available at mpac.ca/PIER.

Industry Engagement

Strengthening our stakeholder relationships and establishing clear channels for collaboration is important for MPAC. We are undertaking proactive outreach this year through the formation of industry subcommittees for various property sectors to discuss methodology, assessment changes as a result of an appeal or legislative change, to collect information or insights or to improve programs or services, support quality assessments to ensure we’re best meeting stakeholder needs. We are also looking to hold an Industry Stakeholder Forum later this year, to provide an opportunity for our industry stakeholders to meet face to face with our assessors.

If you have question about our industry engagement this year or would like to express your interest to get involved, please reach out to MPAC through industry@mpac.ca