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Page 32 Red Apron Cooks Summer has arrived and for the next two months we will be gathering with friends and family for casual outdoor dinners. If you have a cottage or enjoy entertaining in your backyard, then you will likely be planning some simple summer meals. Here are some tips for having an enjoyable and stress free summer full of great meals! If visiting friends at a cottage, bring something for the BBQ, preferably something that is already prepared and ready to go on the grill. If bringing meat for the BBQ, consider marinating ahead of time (oil, vinegar, fresh herbs) in a Freezer Bag. Freezer bags are easy to pack, easy to transport, and spill proof. Your steak or chicken will taste better after spending a few hours in the marinade. The same trick works for vegetables like sliced peppers, zucchini, eggplant & fennel, or tofu. If you are staying for a few days, bring something that is easy to re-heat like lasagna or a slow cooker stew. Prep the ingredients in advance & dump them into the slow cooker when you arrive. This will make a simple meal, paired with a salad and some fresh bread, especially on those occasions when the weather is not ideal for the BBQ. Another simple summer entertaining idea is to turn your salad into a meal. Start with good quality greens but add interest by incorporating fresh seasonal berries, caramelized apples or pears, grilled asparagus, avocado or shredded red cabbage. Add some protein like grilled shrimp, grilled chicken, steak, tuna, salmon, or tofu. Add shredded or crumbled cheese, and beautiful beans like garbanzo beans or black turtle beans. Double smoked bacon or smoked fish add both protein and intense flavour. Top your salad with nuts for added protein and crunch. One of our favourite simple summer meals is a take on a classic Salad Nicoise. We have provided the recipe and directions below. The OSCAR - OUR 37 th YEAR Deconstructed Salad Nicoise (serves 4) Keep entertaining simple by assembling a platter including local cheeses, cured meats, smoked fish, fresh bread and farm stand fruits & vegetables. Here are some suggestions for putting together a platter. At the Red Apron we have small but exciting selection of local Quebec cheeses. Our newest cheese is called Grey Owl. A dark ash rind surrounds a creamy white goat milk cheese from the Fromagerie Le Detour in Dotre- Dam-du-Lac, Quebec. The milk used to make Grey Owl comes from Saanen, a Swiss brand of goat raised about 30 kilometers from the dairy. The Chelsea Smokehouse, the Pelican Fishery and the Whalesbone produce wonderful smoked fish. The Piggy Market in Westboro carries a selection of beautiful local cheeses, and their own smoked and cured meats. I have to admit that Dave’s smoked beef brisket is one of the most wonderful things I have tried this year! Visit the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Farmer’s Market on Sunday from 8am to 3pm and pick up some seasonal fruits & vegetables to complete your platter. Serve raw vegetables with a yogurt or buttermilk dressing. Stop by the Red Apron and assemble the ingredients for a fantastic dinner. This summer we will feature whole roasted Organic chickens on Thursday through Saturday. These Quebec raised, certified Organic Chickens come from Thériault Organic Farms in Saint-Apollinaire, Quebec. Paired with an Organic Barley & Black Bean Salad, a loaf of artisanal bread, some fresh greens and a fruit pie – and you have a complete ‘Picnic-in-a-Bag’. We get asked all the time to make wine recommendations for our meals, and our website now includes a specific wine recommendation for our Thursday meals. However, the following are three wines that you might want to have on hand that will cover off most of your summer sipping needs. Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon California, United States LCBO 55517 $14.95 Aromas of blackberry, cassis, and warm spices. Also, there is an overall oak quality to the wine that adds to the earthiness of this Cabernet. Dry and medium-bodied, with woody flavours and red berries. Pair with grilled vegetables, sausages, meats, and pizza. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Malborough, New Zealand LCBO Vintages 35386 $18.95 This white wine is fantastic on its own, perfect for the deck and summer patio parties. Pair with grilled chicken, salads, and appetizers. Lively and smooth, with grassy and fruity aromas. The LCBO describes the flavours to include gooseberry, passion fruit, nettle, and citrus. Huff Estates <strong>South</strong> Bay Vineyards Rose 2008 VQA Prince Edward County, ON LCBO Vintages 63982 $16.95 This is a vibrant Rose that offers notes of pink grapefruit, and tastes of strawberries. Makes a nice pre-dinner drink or serve with a light lunch or brunch. The Red Apron will be closed on July 1, 2nd and 3rd to celebrate Canada Day and there will be no Mid Week Dinner service on June 29-30- July 1, or on August 3-4-5. Our Retail Pantry at 571 Gladstone will keep regular hours for the summer and you can stop by and pick up fresh and frozen dinners, fresh baked summer fruit pies, savoury pies, fresh bread, cakes, and Pascale’s Ice Cream. Have a safe & happy summer! July 2010 Deconstructed Salad Nicoise (serves 4) 4 100 gram portions of Sushi Grade Tuna 400 grams of Asparagus 10 ml olive oil Salt & Pepper to taste Coat asparagus and Tuna in olive oil. Season with salt & pepper and grill on the BBQ. Set aside. 600 grams of new potatoes, steamed or boiled in lightly salted water 4 free range or organic eggs, hard boiled, cooled, peeled & quartered 3 ripe tomatoes, cored and diced Vinaigrette: ½ cup lemon juice ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 green onions, minced 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, minced 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, minced 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Salt & Freshly ground pepper Whisk ingredients together and set aside. 300 grams organic Salad Greens. To Serve: Toss greens with ½ the vinaigrette and present in a salad bowl. On a platter arrange remaining ingredients and drizzle with vinaigrette. Garnish with olives and capers. Serve. Variations: Salmon: replace tuna steaks with salmon steaks, and replace asparagus with green beans. Smoked fish: replace tuna with your favourite smoked fish. Vegetarian: marinate & grill firm tofu, and add other grilled vegetables like red peppers, zucchini & eggplant. OSCAR was recently read on a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Photo by Jennifer Jones-Patull
July 2010 By Anna Sundin The OSCAR - OUR 37 th YEAR Page 33 The 2008 Changes to Ontario’s Property Assessment System Under the 2008 changes to the Ontario property assessment regime the 2008 property assessment is used as the basis for calculating property taxes for the 2009 through to 2012 tax years. The 2008 property assessment notices set out the assessed value for Ontario properties based upon a January 1, 2008 market value. The notices showed how much the assessment had changed since the last re-assessment for taxation years 2006 – 2008, where the assessment value base date was January 1, 2005. If the assessment has increased since the last re-assessment, that increase is being phased in over four (4) years and the notices showed the phase in of the increase. If a property was classified in more than one property class, the phasein was shown for each property class. By the year 2012, Ontario properties will be assessed at the full Current Value Assessment. If the assessment has decreased since the last reassessment, the property owner will receive the benefit of the decrease in the assessment immediately, without phase-in. This four-year assessment cycle will be repeated each four years, with the market value base year date being January 1st of the year prior to the first year of the cycle. by Rick Sutherland, CLU, CFP, FDS, R.F.P Have you ever ceased working for an employer who had a pension plan? You were probably given the opportunity to transfer your pension money into a Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA). This Registered investment account is designed to hold the pension money for former pension plan members. The term locked-in is used to describe these plans because the cash inside them cannot be accessed before your retirement and then normally only as an ‘Income Stream’ with restriction on the amount that can be withdrawn each year. There are some exceptions that might allow you to access the money in your Locked-In Retirement Account before retirement. You must follow and meet certain rules. 1. You have an illness or physical disability that is likely to shorten your life expectancy to less than two years, 2. You are at least 55 years of age and the total value of all your Ontario locked-in accounts is less than $18,880 (for 2010), 3. The amount of money that was transferred from your former pension plan into your Ontario locked-in account exceeded the Income Tax Act (Canada) limit, 4. You are a non-resident of Canada and at least 24 months have passed since your date of departure from Canada. 5. Application to the province When a property owner appeals the assessment, the owner is appealing the full Current Value Assessment even if it has not yet been fully implemented. If an appeal is successful in reducing the assessment, adjustments will be made to the four-year phase-in. As market values have increased between 2005 and 2008, one would expect property market value assessment to have increased. On the assumption that realty tax revenue will stay flat in any given year, a property owner would only see an increase in taxes if the assessment increased more than the average in that property’s property tax class (Residential, Commercial, Industrial etc.). Beginning in 2009, if a property owner wants to challenge a residential assessment, the owner must first file a Request for Reconsideration with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”) by the deadline date of March 31st. After MPAC has made its determination of the Request, if the owner wishes to appeal the assessment, the deadline for filing an appeal is 90 days after MPAC has mailed its determination. More information on the Request for Reconsideration and Appeal processes can be found on MPAC’s web site: www.mpac.ca. There is no requirement to first file Unlocking a Locked-In Account under the Financial Hardship Provision. In addition the Government of Ontario and the federal government have also enacted new rules to allow the transfer of up to 50% of Locked-In accounts into a RRSP. These provisions have strict rules that must be followed. You must be 55 years of age or older and you must first convert your LIRA to a Life Income Fund (LIF). Once the LIF has been established you can make an application using certain government forms to unlock and transfer up to 50% of the value of the LIF into your RRSP. Any withdrawal or transfer from your Ontario locked-in account may have tax consequences and may also affect your eligibility for certain government benefits. Be aware that when money is withdrawn or transferred from your LIRA to an unlocked account, the money may lose creditor protection. Your accountant, tax preparer or financial planner can quickly determine your eligibility and assist with the procedure and forms to make these withdraws or transfer of funds. The foregoing is for general information purposes and is the opinion of the writer. This information is not intended to provide personal advice including, without limitation, investment, financial, legal, accounting or tax advice. Please call or write to Rick Sutherland CLU, CFP, FDS, R.F.P., to discuss your particular circumstances or suggest a topic for future articles at 613-798-2421 or E-mail rick@ invested-interest.ca. Mutual Funds provided through FundEX Investments Inc. a Request for Reconsideration for Commercial, Industrial or Multi-Residential properties, although an owner may do so prior to filing the appeal. The deadline for filing an assessment appeal is March 31st. At a hearing, the burden of proof is on MPAC to show that the assessment value is correct; however, the owner will still be asked to provide evidence as to why the assessment is too high. Prior to 1998, the test on assessment appeals was whether the property was assessed equitably with others. Since 1998, the test has been whether the property has been valued at its ‘current value’ and while the Assessment Review Board was to have reference to the value of comparable properties, equity was not the driving consideration and, in most cases, was deemed to be secondary to value. For 2009 and subsequent taxation years, equity has been brought back to the appeal system. Now, in determining the value at which any land shall be assessed, the Board must not only determine the current value of the land, but it must also have reference to the value at which similar lands in the vicinity are assessed and adjust the assessment of the land to make it equitable with that of similar lands in the vicinity, provided the adjustment is a reduction in the assessment. Beginning in 2009, municipalities will be given the option to remove business properties from the capping/drawback provisions once they have reached their Current Value Assessment Taxes. This option will be applied to all properties within the tax class chosen by the municipality. BET is the education portion of taxes that are levied in the commercial, industrial and pipeline property tax classes. Education taxes typically make up about 50 per cent of total property taxes levied on business properties. When the Province first assumed responsibility for setting education tax rates in 1998, several hundred different BET rates were established across the province because they were based on existing 1997 education tax levels. There was a wide range of BET rates, with the highest BET rates being four times the provincial average BET rate of 1.85. The government will cut BET by $540 million over 7 years, lowering high BET rates to a target maximum rate of 1.60 per cent. In addition, all new construction initiated after March 22, 2007 (application for the first building permit must be received by the municipality after March 22, 2007), will immediately be subject to the 1.60 per cent maximum BET rate. Eligible property must be in either the Commercial or Industrial property tax classes. Guidance, Protection and Peace of Mind. Anna E. Sundin, Barrister & Solicitor GEnErAl PrActicE includinG: Family Law, Wills, Real Estate, Incorporations, Litigation and Collaborative Family Law – A Cooperative and Dignified Approach to Separation and Divorce.– Sundin-OSCAR-Ad-2006.indd 1 7/27/06 11:15:35 AM
Page 1 and 2: The O•S•C•A•R© The Communi
Page 3 and 4: July 2010 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Sen
Page 5 and 6: July 2010 OSCA PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Page 7 and 8: July 2010 CITY COUNCILLOR’S REPOR
Page 9 and 10: July 2010 By Carol Loop Under the l
Page 11 and 12: July 2010 The OSCAR - OUR 37 th YEA
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Page 17 and 18: July 2010 Squirrel Talk By Michaël
Page 19 and 20: July 2010 By Robert Taylor A sell-o
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Page 23 and 24: The th July 2010 OSCAR - OUR 37 YEA
Page 29 and 30: July 2010 By Rob Campbell There are
Page 31: July 2010 OCDSB TRUSTEE REPORT By R
Page 35 and 36: July 2010 M.P.P. OTTAWA CENTRE By Y
Page 37 and 38: July 2010 117ABBOTSFORD HOUSE By: J
Page 39 and 40: July 2010 MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OTTA
Page 41 and 42: July 2010 Big “0” Cake 0 fat. 0
Page 43 and 44: July 2010 By Anant Nagpur I just re

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