Land tax reform uncertainties leave many unsatisfied: new value assessment to hit in 2009.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: NEWS

Seasoned outfitter Dick Harlock has no shortage of criticism for the province's new assessment system for unincorporated territories, a shift that will cost him tens of thousands of dollars when it comes into effect in 2009.

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"It's more than a little frustrating," says Harlock, owner of the Gogama Lodge and president of Derry Air.

"It's already nearly impossible to get Americans up here, what with soaring gas prices and the problems they're having with their economy. My insurance costs have also gone up, and with prices skyrocketing all around, I don't know what we're going to do."

While properties in unincorporated areas are being assessed at 1940s rates, the move to bring them to current values, or the current value assessment (CVA), is having many impacts on different people.

For Harlock, this is directly felt through the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), which is bringing up the value of properties on Crown land for the purpose of charging fees for their use.

Through negotiation with groups like the Northern Ontario Tourism and Outfitters (NOTO) association, all commercial outpost camps have been assigned a value of roughly $16,000.

In exchange, permit holders have a 10-year period in which to phase into a 30-year renewable lease, which will allow for holders to seek mortgages and provide the security of long-term tenure.

This new cost represents a significant jump for Harlock, who has run commercial camps for more than 40 years and operates 18 throughout the North.

Whereas the standard 5 per cent fee for the land use permit had previously been $125 per property, it now stands at $800 each. For 18 a camps, this translates to nearly $14,400 per year, up from $2,250.

What's more, each property now needs to be officially surveyed, which carries a cost upwards of $2,000 apiece.

Doug Reynolds, executive director with NOTO, says the $16,000 value represents a weighted average of camps across all of Northern Ontario, which varied widely from region to region. He hails this component of the deal with the province as being fair, particularly as prior fees were minimal and could hardly be seen as representative of the property's true worth.

Harlock acknowledges that although the previous value had indeed been a bargain, the sudden jump is simply too much, too fast.

"Had the government gradually moved it up, even bringing it to $350 or $500 over time, nobody would have said a word," Harlock says. "Now I'm expected to pay...