Status: The bill was recommended to not be reported as of April 13,
2016.
Summary: The Corporation of the Municipality of Huron Shores, a municipality in the district of Algoma, has applied for special legislation to authorize the municipality to exempt certain land from Thessalon First Nation from taxation for municipal and school purposes from 2001 to 2014.
Essentially, the municipality has not received tax dollars from the land, but they have had to pay into services like the school system, garbage collection, and other municipal services. This has caused what the municipality calls "significant financial hardship."
The land in question falls within the Thessalon First Nation whom asserts a claim as unsurrendered Indian land. The municipality has argued that this claim has effectively reduced the commercial value of the land for development to zero. The municipality went on to argue that by exempting this land for tax purposes, the government would eliminate the "financial hardship" the municipality faces, avoid constitutional litigation, and would preserve the relationship between the municipality and Thessalon First Nation.
The legislative assembly agreed with this
argument and the motion received royal assent on April 13, 2016.
Impact: While this
piece of legislation centres on Thessalon First Nation's claimed land, the
impact of the tax relief it contains holds little impact for the First Nation
itself. Instead, the impacted party is the municipality which no longer is
financially responsible for the land in terms of paying into services.
The legislation is very clear that the only land that can potentially be exempted is that which is either 1) occupied and used solely by the Thessalon First Nation; or 2) owned by the Thessalon First Nation or held in trust solely for the benefit of the Thessalon First Nation. This does not change the fiscal, constitutional, or legal relationship between the two parties.
Full text of the reading can be found here.
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