LNG tax break opponents petition N.B. Legislature to kill Irving deal

FREDERICTON, New Brunswick – Opponents of a tax break promised to the powerful Irving interests by the city of Saint John presented a petition to the New Brunswick Legislature on Thursday that calls for the deal to be revoked.

Irving Oil and its partner, Madrid-based petroleum giant Repsol YPF, have negotiated a 25-year property tax break from Saint John for a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal. Its estimated tax concessions will cost the cash-strapped city as much as $125 million, the equivalent of $100 million in U.S. currency.

The deal has infuriated many Saint John residents, who are struggling with rising tax bills and deteriorating services.

“Our city is in dire straits,” said Bruce Court, a spokesman for Concerned Citizens for Fair Taxation. He presented the petition with almost 11,000 signatures. “We’re looking at a debt of about $91 million. There is no money for pension fund losses and no money for roads, water or sewage. … The Irvings know the city needs the money. Why can’t they be good corporate citizens and pay the tax?”

Officials with the city of Saint John say they are concerned that, without the tax break, Irving Oil and Repsol will build the $750 million terminal somewhere else.

Another project is proposed in neighboring Nova Scotia by Access Northeast Energy Inc. At least four other projects have been proposed in New England, including Maine, where voters in two communities have rejected plans for LNG terminals.

The Irving family, estimated to be worth billions, is by far the largest employer in Saint John, where it owns and operates Canada’s largest oil refinery, as well as a pulp and paper mill and numerous other enterprises, ranging from shipping interests to a steel plant.

New Democratic Party leader Elizabeth Weir, who represents a Saint John riding, or district, called on the Conservative government to debate the tax concession in the Legislature.

“This deal mortgages the future for the next generation,” Weir said. “Legally and morally, this 25-year deal must be brought to the floor of the legislative assembly.”

Officials with New Brunswick’s Conservative government were noncommittal. Local Government Minister Brenda Fowlie said a request from the city of Saint John for an amendment to the Municipal Property Tax Act to allow the tax concessions is still being assessed by her department.