FORE? MILD FALL MEANS GOLFERS PAGE B1 STILL TEEING UP
PRESENT PROBLEM
OUR VIEW
WHERE DOES ENOUGH END AND TOO MUCH BEGIN? PAGE A3
VIVA YELLOW JUST START OF DAVIS CHANGES PAGE A6
THE ERA NEWMARKET
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YOUR TAXES
Municipal land transfer tax scrapped Toronto remains only municipality with power to collect land transfer levy
Lights, camera ... Are you or one of your neighbours festive outdoor light enthusiasts? Are you in awe every time you drive by and see that house on the corner lit up in festive colours? Let us know where the best lights are in your neighbourhood and we’ll come by and take a photograph. Or, if you are handy with a camera, take a shot and send it in and we’ll add it to our photo gallery of Best Lights in Town. Send the address with the best holiday lighting to tkibble@yrmg.com.
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GET CONNECTED
BY LISA QUEEN
lqueen@yrmg.com
omebuyers will continue choosing York Region and other 905 regions over Toronto after the provincial government backed off plans to allow municipalities outside the city to impose a land transfer tax, the president of the Ontario Real Estate Association says. Toronto will still be the only municipality where homebuyers pay a municipal land transfer tax in addition to the provincial tax, a policy that has already driven thousands of people to purchase homes in the regions surrounding the city since it was implemented in 2008, Patricia Verge said.
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Tell us what you think about this issue. Email tkibble@yrmg.com.
“I think (the government scrapping extending the municipal tax outside Toronto) will just keep helping you guys sell homes because some people tried to avoid it, so they go outside Toronto proper so they don’t have to pay the tax,” she said. “It already has helped your area. We’ve proven with our studies that Toronto has been seriously hurt by this tax and even though they have a wonderful market and all is well, it could be that much better. We certainly know people who are
ARTS & CULTURE
looking outside Toronto proper so they don’t have to pay the tax. So, that will continue, unless it’s repealed in Toronto.” A homebuyer purchasing a $450,000 home in Toronto has to pay $4,725 to the city in addition to $5,475 for the provincial land transfer tax. On Tuesday, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Ted McMeekin announced the province is backing off plans to extend the tax to municipalities outside Toronto following a review of the Municipal Act. “While we are currently reviewing the feedback from our partners, it is clear that there has been no call for a municipal See page A10.
WEATHER
Warmer winter in store: climatologist But despite mild autumn, weather will still cool mal, he said. As of Dec. 1, we’ve only had 4.4 cm of snow, compared to an accumulation of 23 cm a year ago. While our relatively benign autumn has kept grass green, saved energy and made commuting easier, we shouldn’t believe winter has been cancelled, Phillips said with a chuckle. “Fall has been a tease. It will cool and there are no guarantees,” he said. Reiterating his department’s winter outlook, a general forecast through March 1, we can expect a friendlier, warmer winter than the last. With El Niño in play, Canada won’t suffer the polar vortex that put us in a deep freeze last winter, he said, adding we can expect less arctic and Siberian air this winter and softer, milder southern air. We shouldn’t expect any abnormal precipitation, he said. The unknown, with warmer temperatures predicted, is whether that precipitation will be rain or snow. “With it being milder, we may see less snow than last year,” said Phillips. “Snow won’t last. It’ll melt. That means less shoveling.” Will we have a white Christmas? “Can’t say,” Phillips said. “El Niño doesn’t tell us that.”
BY CHRIS TRABER
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ctraber@yrmg.com
STAFF PHOTO/MIKE BARRETT
iDance Studio dancers Tristan Wrong, left, Teresa Corsetti and Victoria Cundari are all set to compete as part of Team Canada at the Ballet, Modern and Jazz World Dance Championships in Poland.
Teens dancing their way to world championships
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BY CHRIS SIMON
csimon@yrmg.com
or Tristan Wrong, years of hard work and sacrifice are about to pay off. The 13-year-old iDance Studio member and two of her colleagues — 15-year-olds Teresa Corsetti and Victoria Cundari — will compete in the junior division at the International Dance Organization World Ballet, Jazz and Modern Championships in Mikolajki, Poland Dec. 7 to 12.
Wrong is entered into five events, while Corsetti has three scheduled and Cundari is in six. “Walking away with a medal would be great, but just making the team is pretty amazing,” Wrong said, noting the girls are among 21 junior age dancers named to Team Canada. “You really have to be passionate about it because it’s every weekend, sometimes more. It’s a lot See page A7.
hat may well be York Region’s warmest autumn on record could be a dress rehearsal for our winter, Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips predicted. “I love the fall,” the sage forecaster said. “It’s my favourite season. Problem is it’s usually only three weeks long. This year it’s been three months long. It’s a bonus. We’ve been booking tee times instead of waxing skis. “This could be the opening act for our winter to come.” Our unusually temperate autumn is courtesy of the phenomenon called El Niño, an occurrence when warm water near the equator migrates to Atlantic and Pacific shores, he explained. The changing ocean patterns create an atmospheric circulation shift, affecting weather globally. This often translates into milder temperatures and drier than normal weather throughout North America. “We’ve been on a roll,” Phillips said of temperatures since the official end of summer Sept. 23. We’ve enjoyed three balmy months to date, each between 2.5C and 3.5C higher than nor-
TRANSIT
Viva Yellow starts rolling on Davis Drive in Newmarket
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BY AMANDA PERSICO
apersico@yrmg.com
hose centre lanes along Davis Drive — that took some four years to build — now have occupants. Viva Yellow took its first ride along the new rapidway lanes, leaving at 6:52 Sunday morning from the Newmarket GO Terminal off Eagle Street, and zipped across Davis Drive over to the new GO Park and Ride lot at Hwy. 404 and Davis. It did it all in minutes flat – 14 to be exact. “It’s a quick ride,” said one Viva employee who did not want to be named. “Commuters are going to love this. Especially the students.” The new park and ride lot, built together with GO Transit, York Region and the province, is the last eastwardly drop-off for Viva and will connect with GO Transit in the new year.
“Opening this section of rapidway in Newmarket marks a significant goal in our transportation plans,” York Region chairperson Wayne Emmerson said in a statement. “The Davis Drive rapidway will further develop and create a northern hub in a seamless transit system for people travelling in York Region.” The $261-million project includes about 2.6 km of dedicated rapidway lanes along the centre of Davis between Yonge Street and Roxborough Road. The rapidway stops at three new stateof-the-art stations, Parkside-Longford Drive, Main Street and a new intersection at Southlake Regional Health Centre. The new Viva bus then merges and drives the rest of the route, about 2.3 km, to the new GO Park and Ride at Hwy. 404 in the
See page A8.
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STAFF PHOTO/AMANDA PERSICO
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