May 11, 2022
Dear Editor,
I have never in my life heard such crying to the Government of Nova Scotia over this seasonal property tax. People are saying thanks to the Premier Tim Houston for cancelling the tax.
Premier Tim Houston, in the May 6th Chronicle Herald, explains that Cape Breton could not survive without people from other provinces and countries.
Mr. Premier, the reputation of the people in Cape Breton does not stand on outsiders.
Our reputation is strongly felt by all Cape Bretoners. These outsiders come into our province with thick wallets and offer thousands of dollars above the asking price for property in Cape Breton, which the average Cape Bretoner could not afford. Now the outsiders are crying over a two per cent tax on assessment value.
If I were in your position, I would have raised the tax by 10 per cent. These seasonal outsiders come here for a month or two and do not contribute to the exorbitant prices of food, gas, diesel, and everything else that we pay for all year.
Mr. Premier, sir, I am now crying. Hopefully you will fix all the pot holes on the highways and please give us some gravel for the back roads. I am sure I can get a few more people crying.
You could at least stop letting these outsiders buy farms and turn the land into lots for sale, and make the land useless for farming which we are going to need in the future.
Keith McNeil
River Denys