Correct Answer: a plan to raise the province’s tax on foreign buyers
Passage Reference: I think our province is about to raise its tax on foreign home buyers
Why this is correct: The columnist opens by saying the province is about to raise its tax on foreign home buyers. Every view in the column is about that plan.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, look at the vote the writer mentions in the first sentence. Each speaker is reacting to that one proposal.
Why the other options are wrong:
- why hydro bills in downtown condos are rising: Hydro records show that condos use almost no electricity. Nobody says bills are rising.
- how to attract more international students: Students come up only in Brandt’s warning about who the tax could catch, not as a group to attract.
- whether realtors should pay a new licence fee: Messier speaks for realtors, but no licence fee is discussed in the column.
Correct Answer: Ikenna Brandt
Passage Reference: could catch temporary workers and international students who later settle here
Why this is correct: Ikenna Brandt warns that vague rules on who counts as a resident could catch temporary workers and students who later settle here.
Tips: Several speakers talk about who should pay, so read each worry to the end. The question is about people who come for a while and then stay.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Sabine Drouin: Sabine Drouin wants the gap closed and the money used for housing. She does not worry about catching people who settle.
- Ottilie Lambrecht: Ottilie Lambrecht worries that the tax will not lower prices without more building, not about people who later settle.
- Rafferty Messier: Rafferty Messier wants a refund for newcomers who live in their homes. But the warning that vague residency rules could catch people who later settle comes from Brandt.
Correct Answer: records of condos that sit dark all winter
Passage Reference: pointing to hydro records showing that hundreds of condos use almost no electricity all winter
Why this is correct: Drouin says dark towers do not house anyone. She points to hydro records showing hundreds of condos using almost no electricity all winter. Records like these support her.
Tips: Find the proof Drouin gives for her view. The right choice is the same kind of proof, said in different words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- students who settled after years on permits: Students who later settled would support Brandt’s warning about the tax catching them, not Drouin’s point about empty condos.
- a study linking prices to new construction: A link between prices and building would support Lambrecht’s point about supply, not Drouin’s.
- families who bought homes after moving for work: Families moving for work would support Messier’s call for clear rules and refunds, not Drouin’s case.
Correct Answer: newcomers living in their homes would be refunded
Passage Reference: as long as newcomers who move into the home they buy can claim the tax back
Why this is correct: Messier backs a higher rate for investment buyers. His condition is that newcomers who move into the home they buy can claim the tax back. So it calls for refunds to those newcomers.
Tips: Messier’s condition follows “as long as”. Read that part and notice which buyers it protects.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every buyer would pay the higher rate: Messier wants newcomers who live in their homes to get the tax back, so not every buyer would pay.
- investors would be spared the higher rate: Messier backs the higher rate for buyers who only want an investment, so investors would pay it.
- the tax would apply only to downtown condos: Messier never limits the tax to downtown condos.
Correct Answer: wary, preferring to close the gap first
Passage Reference: Closing that gap is overdue, in my view. ... A bigger rate can wait until we know who actually owns the dark towers.
Why this is correct: The writer says closing the gap is overdue, but a bigger rate can wait until we know who owns the dark towers. That is a wary view that puts the gap first.
Tips: Compare what the writer wants done now with what can wait. The short orders in the last paragraph show the order of steps.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eager to see it passed this month: In the last paragraph, the writer says the bigger rate can wait, so they are not eager to pass it now.
- opposed to any tax on foreign buyers: The writer wants the gap closed now and only delays the higher rate. So they do not oppose the tax itself.
- indifferent, since prices will fall anyway: The writer cares a great deal and says a higher rate alone will not bring prices down. So prices falling anyway is not their view.
Correct Answer: non-profits buying apartment buildings
Passage Reference: She wants the tax money set aside for non-profits to buy apartment buildings
Why this is correct: Drouin wants the tax money set aside for non-profits to buy apartment buildings.
Tips: Find the sentence where Drouin says where the tax money should go. Notice the words “not poured into”, which tell you where it should not go.
Why the other options are wrong:
- lower hydro bills for renters: Hydro records are Drouin’s evidence about empty condos. She never asks for lower bills.
- the province’s general revenue: Drouin says the money should not be poured into general revenue.
- new transit lines downtown: Transit comes up only in Lambrecht’s point about zoning. Drouin never asks for transit lines.
Correct Answer: thirty percent of the price
Passage Reference: The plan would lift the tax from twenty to thirty percent of the purchase price
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, you read that the plan would lift the tax from twenty to thirty percent of the purchase price.
Tips: Two numbers appear in the sentence about the plan. The comment asks where the tax would go to, not where it starts.
Why the other options are wrong:
- twenty percent of the price: Twenty percent is the rate now. The plan would lift it to thirty.
- half of the price: No one proposes a tax of half the price.
- a flat fee on every sale: The tax is a percentage of the price, not a flat fee.
Correct Answer: zoning near transit stays frozen
Passage Reference: any tax will disappoint if zoning near transit stays frozen
Why this is correct: Lambrecht, the economist, says any tax will disappoint if zoning near transit stays frozen.
Tips: The comment calls her “the economist”. Find her sentence and read the part that comes after “if”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- buyers can still hide behind relatives: Hiding behind relatives is the gap the plan would close. It is not Lambrecht’s reason the tax could disappoint.
- interest rates keep climbing: Interest rates are never mentioned in the column.
- students keep moving to the city: Students come up only in Brandt’s warning. Lambrecht’s point is about zoning.
Correct Answer: rules they can plan around months ahead
Passage Reference: families relocating for work need rules they can plan around months before they buy
Why this is correct: Messier says families relocating for work need rules they can plan around months before they buy.
Tips: Messier talks about families relocating for work. Look at what he says they need and when they need it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a lower rate for their first year: Messier never asks for a lower first-year rate. He asks for clear rules and a refund for those who live in the home.
- a realtor approved by the province: Approved realtors are never mentioned in the column.
- a year to sell their old homes: Selling old homes is never discussed. Messier talks about planning before they buy.
Correct Answer: half the windows were dark for months
Passage Reference: Years ago I rented an apartment in a building where half the windows stayed dark from October to April
Why this is correct: The columnist once rented an apartment in a building where half the windows stayed dark from October to April. That is several months.
Tips: The comment asks about the writer’s own past. Look for “Years ago I rented” in the last paragraph and read what the writer saw.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the heating never worked in winter: Heating problems in the old building are never mentioned.
- the rent doubled in a single year: The column says nothing about the columnist’s rent going up.
- most of the tenants were students: The column never describes the other tenants. Only the dark windows are mentioned.
