Ontario bill would force Tarion to publish detailed

information about builders track records

A private members bill would give the Ontario auditor general and ombudsman the power to look into Tarion,
the private corporation created by the government to protect new homebuyers.

KENYON WALLACE / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh tabled a bill Wednesday that would bring Tarion under the jurisdication of the Ontario
ombudsman and the auditor general.
By: Kenyon Wallace News reporter, Published on Wed Dec 10 2014

The Ontario auditor general and ombudsman should have the power to look under the hood of
Tarion, the private corporation created by the government to protect new homebuyers, according to
a private members bill tabled Wednesday at Queens Park.
The bill, entitled the Tarion Accountability and Oversight Act, would also force Tarion Warranty
Corp. to publish detailed information about builders track records, require employees who make
more than $100,000 annually to be included on the provincial sunshine list, and make the
corporations bylaws subject to government approval.
For a number of years, there has been growing concern that Tarion is not living up to its
responsibility to provide consumer rights protection, said NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh, who tabled the
private members bill. Largely, the problem around Tarion is that there is no proper oversight and
accountability.
The NDP introduced a similar bill last November but the legislation died when the provincial
election was called earlier this year.
Last year, a Star investigation found that Tarion keeps secret records of shoddy or incomplete work
by homebuilders. As a result, new homebuyers arent able to get a full picture from Tarion about
builders with deficiencies on their records.

Ontario bill would force Tarion to publish detailed

information about builders track records
A Star survey of Tarions online builder directory this week reveals that the corporation continues to
keep details of specific problems a cracked garage floor or a missing exhaust fan, for example off
builders records.
David Orazietti, government and consumer services minister, said he is not opposed to more detailed
information being added to online builder records so that the public can make more informed
choices.
In an interview with the Star, Orazietti stressed that his government has worked with Tarion to
improve consumer protection over the past 10 years by doubling warranty coverage to $300,000
from $150,000, removing the majority of builders from Tarions board and launching a new builder
education program.
But I am aware that there is more work to do, he said. I am committed to finding ways to continue
to improve protection for consumers.
Melissa Yollick, a Tarion spokesperson, said Wednesday that Tarion proudly protects the new
homebuyers of Ontario.
As a private organization that administers the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, we will
continue to work closely with the Minister of Government and Consumer Services who has oversight
of our legislation, Yollick told the Star. We look forward to maintaining this partnership with the
Province, and continuing to improve the statutory safeguards for Ontarios new home buyers.
The auditor generals office told the Star last year that the legislatures public accounts committee
could ask for a review of Tarion and that the office would support such a review, subject to the
provisions of the Auditor General Act of Ontario. The provinces ombudsman, Andr Marin, whose
office received close to 300 complaints about Tarion between 2007 and 2013, has said publicly he
has long believed that Tarion lacks proper oversight.
Tarion was created by the province nearly 40 years ago to administer the Ontario New Home
Warranties Plan Act. It is funded mostly by Tarions warrantee enrolment fees anywhere from
about $435 to $1,600 that are usually passed on to buyers.
The corporation does not receive any direct government funding, meaning it is not subject to
oversight by the auditor general.
But Singh argues that because Tarion is the only provider of new home warranties in Ontario,
homebuyers have no choice but to pay these enrolment fees effectively making the charges a tax.
Tarions whole source of revenue flows from the fact that government has appointed them the
providers of the warranty, he said. Its essentially the taxpayers that are paying Tarion to exist.
Jeffrey Ferland, one of more than a dozen homeowners who attended Queens Park on Wednesday to
lend support to Singhs bill, said he has been in a dispute with Tarion for more than a year over a
cement floor in his home that he says does not meet the Ontario Building Code.
Ferland says in September 2013 Tarion originally asked the builder to repair the floor and offered
Ferland a cash settlement. But Ferland says the builder did nothing.
Then, seven months later, he says Tarion changed its position and said no offer would be made.

Ontario bill would force Tarion to publish detailed

information about builders track records
Ferland has already spent 14 days fighting Tarions decision at the provincial Licence Appeal
Tribunal (LAT), with another 18 days of scheduled hearings.
In our case, the legislation was inadequate to ensure that our builder provided what was in our
agreement and that our home was also built according to the Ontario Building Code, Ferland said.
Tarion declined to comment specifically on Ferlands issues, but said it looks forward to a resolution
in this case, and welcomes a decision from a third-party independent body like LAT.