The Chilliwack
Progress Thursday
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Black Powder
Slow Food
Pickleball
Enthusiasts gather for 40th annual Buffalo Shoot
Honey and more at cycle tour
Great game with a strange name
Eye Site
Scene
Sports
Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R • F O U N D E D I N 1 8 9 1 • W W W. T H E P R O G R E S S . C O M • T H U R S D AY, J U LY 2 6 , 2 0 1 2
Farm building tax exemptions create budget shortfall Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Changes to the way farm buildings can be taxed by municipalities across B.C. will have “huge implications” for Chilliwack, said Chilliwack Mayor Sharon Gaetz. About 87.5 per cent of the assessed value of outbuilding improvements on agricultural land will now be exempt from taxation. As a result, a $400,000 tax shortfall for Chilliwack is being predicted for 2013, according to a city staff report from the City of Chilliwack finance department. It means taxes could go up for some or all rate classes, or services could be cut. These are the options being studied at city hall to deal with the expected shortfall. Chilliwack MLA John Les said flat out he was surprised to hear the dollar figure pegged so high. “First of all I’m a little surprised to hear the estimate (for Chilliwack) is as high as $400,000,” said. The tax changes in question arose from a provincial review of taxation in the agriculture sector. Starting next year, the exemption will be the greater of 87.5 per cent, or $50,000 of assessed value, whichever is higher. It used to be capped at $50,000. Abbotsford is predicting a $900,000 shortfall. The Farm Assessment Review Panel studied the issues and recommended the changes now being implemented. “Quite a number of farm folks felt that having all their farm buildings subject to residential assessment was unfair,” said Les. It was conducted in consultation with the Union of B.C. Municipalities, the MLA said, so it couldn’t have been a complete surprise to city officials. “The good news is this provides us with an opportunity to talk to the province about the future of farming, and farmers,” Mayor Gaetz told The Progress. “It may provoke a more thorough discussion about agricultural land, who pays for it, and who supports the taxation of it.” Continued: TAXATION/ p15
Pipe Up Network spokesman Mike Hale says given the similarities between the Enbridge and the Kinder Morgan proposals, he believes First Nations will eventually oppose both pipeline projects. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Sto:lo opposition to pipeline a question mark But Fraser Valley opposition growing, says Pipe Up Network spokesman Robert Freeman The Progress Sto:lo opposition to the Kinder Morgan pipeline may not be the “silver bullet” that kills the company’s proposed pipeline twinning project in the Fraser Valley, says Ben West. But the constitutional obligation to consult with First Nations supercedes even federal environmental regulations weakened by the Conservative government, and that alone could cause lengthy delays in approval, said West, an organizer at the Western Canada Wilderness Committee opposed to the Kinder Morgan pipeline project. But to date, the Sto:lo Nation and the Sto:lo Tribal Council, like the City of Chilliwack, the B.C. New Democratic
Party and B.C. Liberal government, have not taken a formal position on the Kinder Morgan proposal. Six Sto:lo bands in the Fraser Valley have signed the ‘Save The Fraser Declaration’ in opposition to the Enbridge pipeline proposal in northern B.C., and although the declaration refers to other pipelines carrying tar sands, it does not name the Kinder Morgan proposal specifically. Soowahlie Chief Otis Jasper said not much was known about the Kinder Morgan project at the time the declaration was signed, and the leadership of the Sto:lo Nation and Sto:lo Tribal Council both said they have not received direction from their band chiefs on what policy to take toward Kinder Morgan. Grand Chief Doug Kelly, president of the Sto:lo Tribal Council, said the council
$1.25 1-12T CS17
has not formally discussed the Kinder Morgan project, but “I expect we will be looking at this proposal in due course.” “Our leadership makes informed decisions on these matters,” he said in an email to The Progress. “We rely on the advice of our Aboriginal Rights & Title team, and make our decisions at duly called Council meetings,” he said. “We have also recently signed onto an arrangement with the Province of B.C. to deal with referrals on projects of this nature.” Grand Chief Joe Hall, president of the Sto:lo Nation, also said band chiefs there have not formally discussed the Kinder Morgan proposal, but “a cautious exploration is going on.” Continued: PIPELINE/ p9