Richmond County wants Nova Scotia's post-fire assessment relief to extend provincewide

Sheldon Taylor's house burned down shortly after Christmas while he was out checking his coyote traps. The fire was accidental.

The fire that consumed Taylor's residence in L'Ardoise, N.S, wasn't on the scale of the 2023 wildfires that ravaged Shelburne County and the Upper Tantallon area. 

However, Richmond County council wants provincial measures recently introduced for victims of the 2023 wildfires to extend across Nova Scotia to assist people like Taylor. 

In January, the provincial government announced that a property rebuilt "substantially similar to its pre-wildfire condition" wouldn't see an increase in its capped assessed value.

'Benefiting from someone else's misfortune'

Richmond County Deputy Warden Brent Sampson agrees with what the province is doing, but would like to see people like Taylor also benefit. Taylor is one of Sampson's constituents. 

"They're already going through a devastating situation, and they get these things compounding it," said Sampson, whose motion to approach the province received unanimous approval at last week's meeting of Richmond County's committee of the whole.

"At the end of the day, municipalities are benefiting from someone else's misfortune, and I don't think that's right."

Minister says municipalities already have options

Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr says he and his department sympathize with Taylor's situation and that of anyone who has lost their home to a fire. 

"It's just a devastating loss and we realize how traumatic that was," Lohr said at Province House in Halifax. 

However, the minister added that the Upper Tantallon and Shelburne County cases were "a very large group, and it impacted an entire community," requiring specific attention from his department and the Property Valuation Services Corporation.

"Many of the types of responses and safety nets that individuals would have had if a single home burned down in that community, just weren't available in that community," said Lohr. 

The minister and department spokesperson Geoff Tobin both confirmed that municipalities like Richmond County can ask for a reassessment of a property whose owner loses their home.

Rebuilding effort continues in Richmond County

Back in L'Ardoise, the community isn't waiting for an answer from the province. 

Contractor Charlie Martell issued a call to action on Facebook hours after Taylor's home went up in flames. He quickly got several donations of materials and labour and, as a result, Taylor is slated to move into his new house in the coming weeks. 

"It's an amazing story, and I think the community should be proud of everybody stepping up," said Sampson.