Victims of the 2023 wildfires in Nova Scotia who rebuilt their homes after the natural disaster are avoiding an additional tax burden.
The Nova Scotia government announced Friday that disaster victims who have made repairs or renovations to their property will not be subject to an increase in their capped property assessment — as long as the size of their home has not increased by 25% or more, basement not included.
The changes to the regulations that the province has just approved create a new category of owners specifically for citizens of the municipalities of Barrington et Shelburnein southwestern Nova Scotia, and those ofUpper Tantallona community in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
The largest forest fire in the history of the province, the blaze which ignited the lake sector Barrington on May 26, 2023 burned for weeks, destroying more than 23,000 hectares and nearly 150 residences.
The wildfire around Halifax raged around the same time across some 950 hectares, destroying 200 structures.
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Tricia Murray-d’Eon lost her home in the spring 2023 wildfires. (File photo)
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For those who have experienced these environmental disasters, Friday’s announcement comes as a relief.
It was very, very stressful
said Tricia Murray-d’Eon, who lost his house in the area Hammonds Plains of the Halifax Regional Municipality. We take it as a victory, and we are very happy.
The citizen and others in her situation demanded such changes to protect them from a property tax increase.
In spring 2024, Ben Jessomethen Liberal MP forHammonds Plains-Lucasvillehad tabled a bill to this effect, but the Progressive Conservative government did not support it.
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The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources released this May 28, 2023 photo of the wildfire near Barrington Lake in Shelburne County.
Photo: Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources
In a press release on Friday, the Prime Minister Tim Houston claims that, during the electoral campaign which resulted in his re-election in November, he spoke with residents who lost their homes and learned more about how the assessment process [foncière] affected them negatively
.
The changes are now in effect and affected property owners will see them when they receive their 2025 property assessment at the end of January.
With information from Michael Gorman, CBC
