N.S. wildfire victim may have to pay hundreds more in property taxes. Political parties weigh in

A woman who lost her home in last year's Halifax-area wildfire says it's upsetting that a taxation issue her community has been pushing for months is being made into a political football in the Nova Scotia election.

Tricia Murray-d'Eon, chair of the Highland Park Ratepayers Association, has been working with Hammonds Plains-Lucasville Liberal candidate Ben Jessome and other community residents to get relief on their municipal property taxes.

The wildfire that started on May 28, 2023, tore through the suburban communities of Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains and destroyed 151 homes, causing an estimated $165 million in insured damage.

Murray-d'Eon said residents who lost their homes in the fire are facing significant increases in the assessed values of the homes they have rebuilt because they are considered new builds. As an example, she said her new Highland Park home in Hammonds Plains will be worth double the one that was razed by the wildfire, up to an estimated $750,000. That means she'll be paying hundreds more a month in property taxes.

"I know some people who are afraid they'll have to leave," she said. "They won't be able to sustain that extra cost on top of the increases in the cost of living right now. It's just not sustainable."

Murray-d'Eon said the tax increase will have a further negative impact on people who've already had to rebuild their lives after losing everything in the fire.

"This is not an example of someone who destroyed their property or destroyed their home on purpose because they wanted to rebuild it in a better image," she said. "We did not choose to destroy our homes, only to rebuild them."

Jessome, who represented the riding of Hammonds Plains-Lucasville before the Nova Scotia Legislature's dissolution, proposed a bill in March to amend the Assessment Act and prevent properties rebuilt after natural disasters from being reassessed for property tax.

But the PCs refused to support it and the bill did not get beyond second reading.

Parties weigh in

N.S. party leaders were asked about the issue at Thursday's debate hosted by CTV News. 

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston said his campaign was in the area "listening very carefully to what the residents were saying."

"The way it was explained to me on those doorsteps was certainly different than the Liberals explained. I just have to say it is, it is something that those discussions did make an impact on me," he said.

In response, Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said his colleague Jessome has supported the homeowners of that community since he was elected in Hammonds Plains-Lucasville, accusing Houston of only talking about the issue now because of the election.

"I don't think anybody should be surprised by Tim Houston coming in five days before a vote and telling them, 'Oh, no, we're going to look into it,'" said Churchill.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender also took a swipe at Houston, saying the PCs made the "wrong choice" when they voted the proposed bill down.

"I think there's no conscionable way that those people should have to pay more property tax because they lost their home," said Chender.

Murray-d'Eon said she is happy with the increased interest in the issue but is critical of Houston's response and how long it took him to acknowledge the problem.

"His repetitive statement that he's been through seven disasters is offensive. He has not been through seven disasters, we've been through these disasters. He's been looking at them from the outside," she said.

"And he says after the fact, 'I feel these as premier, I feel every one of these cases.' No, you don't. If he did, he would have been willing to meet with us last spring."

She said she hopes some relief can be given to members of the community who lost their homes, saying many are "on the verge of panic."