The Jasper Legion is requesting it be exempt from municipal taxes—as well as provincial school taxes—in an attempt to cut costs and keep its doors open.
Although a seemingly straight forward request—especially considering the Legions in both Banff and Hinton enjoy such exemptions—the issue is more complicated than it seems.
During a committee-of-the-whole meeting, Sept. 9, the municipality’s director of finance took council through the provincial legislation and regulations for exempt properties. Alice Lettner had the mayor and council flip from one section of the legislation to the next, highlighting each point that would pertain to the Legion.
And as she did, things got murky. So murky, in fact, that Mayor Richard Ireland wasn’t even sure if council had the authority to make an exemption. Rather, he said, judging by what he was reading, it seemed like either the Legion is exempt or it’s not and the answer lies within the legislation.
“There’s a request before us to do something I’m not sure that we’re empowered to do,” he said, as he grappled with the Municipal Government Act (MGA) and the Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation.
The MGA is the legislation that governs the province’s municipalities, and—as well as many other things—determines whether or not a property can be exempt from property taxes. The Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation determines how exemptions can be given.
Within the MGA, Legions are specifically mentioned as exempt, unless council passes a bylaw to say otherwise.
The Municipality of Jasper has no such bylaw. But, the Legion has been paying taxes on a third of its building—the segment that’s used as a bar—while the other two-thirds, formerly used by Ecole Desrochers, is exempt.
Lettner noted that, although in one instance the Legion is listed as exempt, there are complicating factors. The first is the fact that the Legion is licensed under the Liquor and Gaming Act, which according to the legislation, means that the property cannot be exempt.
The Legion’s use is the other complicating factor. Within the legislation, it states that in order to be exempt, a building must be used for its primary purpose 60 per cent of the time.
“The key words in here are use of the facility and liquor licensing, those two in conjunction determine whether or not it can be exempt,” said Lettner. She noted, though, that she does not know enough about the Legion’s use to make a determination on whether it falls within that 60 per cent.
After an hour-long discussion, council determined that it would not be prepared to vote on the Legion’s request at the next council meeting, as it is still unclear whether that decision is theirs to make.
Rather, it was left to Lettner and Mark Fercho, the town’s new chief administrative officer, to do further research. Lettner said she will talk to municipal advisors and see where the municipality stands on the issue, and Fercho said he would contact the Legion and ask that the board do its own research to find out how other Legions have become exempt.
The Legion has been searching for ways to cut its costs since École Desrochers moved out of its building on Sept. 1 to relocate to the new joint school facility.
It has also been trying to find a new tenant to take the school’s place, ensuring a monthly rent cheque to help the Legion pay its bills.
But, according to the Legion’s president, Ken Kuzminski, every idea it’s brought to Parks Canada has been shut down.
The issue is that, like most Legions in Canada, the building is zoned institutional. That limits what the space can be used for—and rezoning is out of the question as it would require an amendment to the Canada National Parks Act.
Discretionary uses for institutional lands include everything from community recreational facilities to childcare facilities, government services, medical treatment services, public education services, religious assemblies, special needs housing and staff accommodation.
After having numerous ideas quashed by Parks, Kuzminski filed an application for a demolition permit as a last resort last month. The Legion’s intention—if it can’t find a suitable tenant soon—is to tear down two-thirds of the building to reduce the utility and maintenance costs.
Of course, that’s not the Legion’s preferred outcome, but Kuzminski said “the bleeding has to stop sometime.”
“The longer that we bicker about what we can put in there and what we can’t, the less likelihood that the Legion will actually survive. This is not an open-ended discussion. There is a definite end.”
Since news of the possible demolition hit the news last month, support has been pouring in for the Legion from musicians across the country. Canadian folk legend, Stephen Fearing, even joined the fight, sending letters to Parks, MP Rob Merrifield and council.
Merrifield has since requested further information from the Legion, so that he can present it to Minister of Environment Leona Aglukkaq—the minister responsible for Parks Canada.
In an interview last month, Cathy Jenkins, manager of municipal and reality services for Jasper National Park, said Parks is open to reviewing any proposals that the Legion brings forward.
Kuzminski said he hopes to have some new proposals in the coming weeks.
Nicole Veerman
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