Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Ballantyne on November 2, 1994, concerning taxation system.
There is no loophole in current government legislation regarding provision for the recovery of outstanding property taxes; provision is contained in sections 95 and 96 of the Property Assessment and Taxation Act (PATA).
The court case being referred to is, I believe, the one heard in July 1989 dealing with a tax sale that occurred in Inuvik in August 1986. The previous legislation, the municipal ordinance, was in force at the time of the tax sale, but had already been repealed and replaced by the Property Assessment and Taxation Act in January 1988, prior to this case coming to court.
In his decision on the above case, the judge did not "strike down" the municipal ordinance. Although the judge found fault in the municipal ordinance in his decision, he did acknowledge it had already been repealed and replaced.
It is true that PATA provides for the recovery of outstanding taxes through the courts, whereas the old municipal ordinance allowed for sale of land by a municipality for tax arrears.
The department is aware of Yellowknife's concern with the current Property Assessment and Taxation Act provisions in this area and is reviewing with all the tax-based municipalities the effectiveness of these provisions for collection of property tax arrears. Thank you.