Hopefully, you are reading this edition of CSANews on a nice summer day. Thus far, they have been few and far between in Ontario. Before you know it, it will be time to begin preparations for our annual journey to our winter homes. A great way to prepare for our winter in the sun is by attending one of our annual Snowbird Lifestyle Presentations. This year, our tour will take us exclusively throughout Ontario. Beginning on September 10, we will begin our tour with a show in Belleville. Other Ontario shows will take place in Nepean, Owen Sound, Saint Catharines, Richmond Hill, Port Hope, Orillia and Oshawa. These shows combine live musical entertainment with current information regarding the snowbird lifestyle. Admission to all of these events is free so, if you are in Ontario this September, I would encourage you to attend a show and say hello. As we are always looking for new members, please consider bringing a friend…they are more than welcome to attend. Thank you to everyone who has already renewed their CSAmembership. If you have yet to do so, please take a moment to renew by simply mailing us your renewal notice, by visiting our website at www.snowbirds.orgor simply by picking up the phone and calling the office. We are now more than 115,000 members strong from coast to coast; that’s a number that certainly gets people’s attention when we are dealing with our elected officials. I would also like to thank everyone who made a donation to our Special Action Fund. Every dollar donated is held in a separate account and is used exclusively to fund our government advocacy efforts. We utilize this fund when the CSA does not have time to seek donations, andmust engage immediately in government lobbying and consultation. A timely example of why this fund is so critical is the Ontario government’s surprise proposal to terminate OHIP’s Out-of-Country Travellers Program. The program currently reimburses all Ontario residents travelling outside of Canada between $200 and $400 per day for emergency in-patient services and up to $50 per day for emergency outpatient services. The Ontario government’s plan is scheduled to come into effect on October 1, 2019. This proposal has enraged Ontario snowbirds and we are actively engaging the Ontario government as I write this. Rest assured, we will continue to fight to prevent the elimination of this program. At the beginning of March, we distributed an electronic member advisory to our members in British Columbia regarding the province’s speculation and vacancy tax – an annual tax paid by some owners of residential properties in designated taxable regions of B.C. Generally, an owner is exempt from the tax if the residential property is their principal residence, which is the place where the owner lives for a longer period in a calendar year than any other place. While more than 99% of British Columbians are expected to be exempt from the tax, all residential property owners in the taxable regions must complete a declaration, even if they’re eligible for an exemption.The deadline for homeowners to claim their exemption was the end ofMarch. More information regarding the speculation and vacancy tax can be found here, www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/ property-taxes/speculation-and-vacancy-tax. The Canadian Snowbird Association is continuously monitoring jurisdictions across Canada which may consider implementing a similar tax and reporting requirements. I would like to remind you about the Snowbird Currency Exchange Program. Lifetime members incur no monthly transfer fee, while annual paying members are only charged $2 per monthly transfer. Information about current and past monthly rates can be found on our website. If you are not already signed up for this popular program, you can contact the CSA office for further information. Please note that this program is not subject to the new user fees that some U.S. states and financial institutions are imposing on “international money transfers,” an added financial saving to you. As I am sure we are all aware, there is a federal election on the way in October. The federal parties are already in campaign mode. Rest assured, we will have you covered on federal issues of importance to snowbirds with the release of our Federal Election Handbook. We will have that available to you in plenty of time prior to the October 21st vote, so that you will be able to ask relevant questions of your local candidates on issues of importance to travelling Canadians. For those of you getting an early start on your snowbird travel season, we will also provide you with detailed information about how you may vote in advance polls and even by absentee ballot. Bill and I wish you a safe and enjoyable summer. President’s Message Karen Huestis CSA President 12 | www.snowbirds.org
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