Cape Breton Regional Municipality says new provincial bill will increase taxes

CITYnews halifax / By Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s second largest municipality is vowing to fight proposed provincial legislation it contends will raise taxes for its residents.

Mayor Amanda McDougall, of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, held a news conference Friday outside city hall in Sydney, N.S., to denounce changes in the Municipal Reform Act.

McDougall said the changes will not yield the savings claimed by the province or the money needed to improve infrastructure.

“No new money has been announced for municipal financing in this bill,” the mayor said.

Provincial Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr has said the changes to what’s known as the Service Exchange Agreement, which covers 48 municipalities but not Halifax, would save them up to $50 million in annual contributions that cover such things as jail costs, surplus schools and operating losses for public housing.

But McDougall said the $4.5 million in savings her municipality will now be able to collect and use for other purposes will still have to be recouped by the province to pay for those services, amounting to a double tax on residents.

“This is absurd, not to mention unethical,” McDougall said.

The mayor said she will present her concerns during an appearance before a legislature committee next week, while the municipality will mount an information campaign with its residents that it hopes will put pressure on the provincial government.

Lohr said Friday that he doesn’t agree with McDougall’s assessment that there are no savings, but he conceded they might not be as high as the municipality had hoped.

“But certainly in terms of the 48 municipalities, they are by far the single largest benefactor,” he said.

The spat with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality follows another with the Halifax Regional Municipality over a proposed bill aimed at fast-tracking housing development in the province’s largest city.

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage has called the legislation “unnecessary and harmful” and said it was built on the “false premise” that there are unacceptable delays in advancing projects in the city.

The Progressive Conservative bill would require Halifax to work with the province to grant pre-qualified developers expedited approvals for residential units and would impose a two-year freeze on the fees the city levies on builders.

Lohr hinted Friday to possible government amendments to the housing bill, but he didn’t release any details when asked by reporters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2023.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press