Hudak lost in 2014 provincial election to Kathleen Wynne
By
Mark Schadenberg
He
was once a rising star in Ontario politics and after reaching the leadership
chair of the provincial Progressive Conservative party, Tim Hudak has changed
directions and is now the boss at the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA).
Hudak
shook hands and received a few hugs yesterday (Sept. 15) as he officially
departed Queen’s Park.
It
was his last day in the Legislature.
His
first day was when he was just 27 – back in 1995.
The
new CEO of OREA was the current riding rep for Niagara West – Glanbrook, but
will always be known best as the former PC Leader of Ontario, and the 21 years
he spent in Toronto representing not only his constituents, but for a good
portion of that time all Ontarians as PC Leader from 2009 – 14.
Tim Hudak with Pelham fire department representatives
and Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman (Second from left)
as they promote mandatory CO detectors in Ontario homes.
As
an upstart he rose through the ranks quickly as a cabinet minister in both the
Ernie Eves and Mike Harris governments. Among his portfolios was minister of
Business and Consumer Services, which should bode well for his new role.
When
Dalton McGuinty was Premier under the Liberal flag, Hudak had the important
role as finance critic for the PC opposition.
As
PC Leader, Hudak would lose provincial elections to both McGuinty and Kathleen
Wynne. In the 2014 vote, Hudak had announced plans to cut up to 100,000 public
sector jobs during his hopeful term – if elected – and that issue or promise
seemed to be the ideology that led to his defeat, and obviously a lack of support
from anyone under the umbrella as having the province as its boss.
As
work and life usually cross paths, his wife Deb was a key adviser of the Harris
office.
After
losing the previous election, Hudak resigned as PC Leader. As a back-bencher I
find it interesting that among the issue he was in favour of was creating a
plan for Uber to exist in the taxi business.
Myself,
as a full-time Realtor, who serves the public with a very important service
which requires knowledge, dedication and client duties, I find this allegiance
to the Uber cause (in any form) as interesting and always I like to ask the question
about de-regulation of any industry. (Note: I’m from the old school and dislike
the idea of electronic signatures to buy a home, but they are permitted. I
think electronic signatures are terrific for amendments or even a mutual release
but not an Agreement Of Purchase And Sale. I do digress within parenthesis)
TIM
HUDAK’S RESUME
Hudak’s
education, according to many online sources, includes a degree in economics at
Western University in London, and a masters in economics at the University of
Washington in Seattle.
There’s
no doubt Hudak is a brilliant thinker, and all Realtors in Ontario are
expecting this forward thinking to be mirrored in our industry as real estate certainly
has its challenges in the future.
I’m
not one to be controversial in my writings here, but with far too many
Woodstock area homes being sold by out-of-town Realtors, I believe the time has
arrived to explore and discuss regional real estate lisences. I don’t know the
best neighbourhoods in the Tri-Cities area of K-W and Cambridge. I don’t know
the ‘small print’ guidelines about accessory apartments in university towns
like London and Guelph. I also am not educated in the breakdown of boundaries in
Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Maple, North York, Aurora, Newmarket . . .
Even
locally, I believe I have a good thorough background in rural residential
concerns and village living, but what about soil types, acreage, dairy quotas,
barn construction and yield returns? I know my limitations.
If
you’re truly representing your client, you should be an expert in your field,
farmer’s field (or not) and geography.
Other
real estate concerns include the tougher requirements for mortgage
qualification, percentages for CMHC (federal guidelines) fees, intensification
of residential neighbourhoods in all cities, and brownfield remediation. Also,
the simple fact home ownership is becoming unaffordable in the GTA, which has
trickled down to a radius including Woodstock.
Great
news for home ownership was announced last year and I know Hudak was part of
the group of MPP’s which defeated the idea of allowing municipalities to add a
land transfer tax as currently Toronto has such a system in place.
I
welcome Tim Hudak aboard. As the CEO of the OREA he will be on the other side
of the government door – standing in the lobby or vestibule with a line of MPP
appointments in hand. Remember, one of OREA’s mandates is to lobby both for Realtors
for favourable legislation, but to also therefore protect – to a major degree –
the interests of the home-buying consumer.
It
was announced on August 9 that Hudak would assume the reins of OREA as Chief
Executive Officer. Even with his long tenure at Queen’s Park, it’s interesting
to note that at the age of 49, Hudak is younger than I am.
OREA
president Ray Ferris wrote this in the official press release last month: “Tim brings over 20 years of public service and executive
management experience to OREA. Throughout his time at Queen’s Park he has been
a strong advocate for Ontario home owners and issues that our association
supports. Tim’s leadership will be a great asset to Ontario Realtors and home
owners.”
Since
I’m an optimist and the glass is usually brimming near its meniscus type of person,
the future always looks good. Gazing ahead then, I know the importance of home
ownership and the key reasons why the real estate industry must be well ‘organized’
and ready for change and evolution.
Yesterday
(Sept. 15), Hudak received his farewell ovations and a political sendoff as he
departed Queen’s Park wearing a MPP hat, but will soon be a familiar face at
the provincial legislature wearing a different hat.
With
the vacant seat in Toronto requiring a representative, Ontario will now have at
least two by-elections in December as there is also an Ottawa-area riding
requiring a rep.
LINKS:
Mark Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist
(SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
Independently Owned & Operated, Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
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