BILL 117

An Act Respecting Heavy Industrial Property

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

Assessment Act

1( 1) Section 1 of the Assessment Act, chapter A-14 of the Revised Statutes, 1973, is amended

(a)  by repealing the definition “non-residential property” and substituting the following:

“non-residential property” means (biens non résidentiels)

(a)  heavy industrial property, and

(b)  all other real property except residential property;

(b)  by adding the following definition in alphabetical order:

“heavy industrial property” means (biens industriels lourds)

(a)  real property that is used or is intended to be used primarily for

( i) milling pulp and producing paper or textiles,

( ii) processing timber and manufacturing secondary wood products, in the case of a mill that, over a 5-year period determined in accordance with the regulations, has an average wood consumption that exceeds the amount prescribed by regulation,

( iii) manufacturing or processing products, materials or substances prescribed by regulation,

( iv) manufacturing or processing products, materials or substances, in the case of a building or structure that exceeds the square footage prescribed by regulation or in the case of buildings and structures located on the same land that together exceed that square footage,

( v) manufacturing or processing products, materials or substances prescribed by regulation, in the case of a building or structure that exceeds the square footage prescribed by regulation for the prescribed product, material or substance or in the case of buildings and structures located on the same land that together exceed that square footage,

( vi) mining,

( vii) oil extraction or refining,

( viii) gas extraction or refining,

( ix) liquefied natural gas holding, storage and processing and includes any pipe lines supplying the holding or storage tanks and any pipe lines connecting the holding or storage tanks to a terminal,

( x) crude oil storage, in the case of crude oil storage tanks connected to an oil refinery, and includes any pipe lines connecting the storage tanks to the refinery,

( xi) electricity generation but does not include a wind farm or solar farm, or

( xii) any other use prescribed by regulation; and

(b)  real property that forms an integrated site with real property referred to in paragraph (a), whether that real property is located on the same site or on another site;

1( 2) The heading “Property both residential and non-residential” preceding section 7 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

Property classification to be determined by Director

1( 3) Section 7 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

Property classification to be determined by Director

7( 1) If real property is used partly for residential purposes and partly for non-residential purposes, the determination of the portion of the total assessment attributable to residential property and to non-residential property shall be made by the Director.

7( 2) If non-residential property is used partly for heavy industrial purposes and partly for other non-residential purposes, the determination of the portion of the total assessment attributable to heavy industrial property and to other non-residential property shall be made by the Director.

1( 4) Subsection 40(1) of the Act is amended by adding after paragraph (a.1) the following:

(a.11)  for the purpose of subparagraph (a)(ii) of the definition “heavy industrial property”,

( i) determining the 5-year period, and

( ii) prescribing an amount;

(a.12)  prescribing products, materials and substances for the purpose of subparagraph (a)(iii) of the definition “heavy industrial property”;

(a.13)  prescribing a square footage for the purpose of subparagraph (a)(iv) of the definition “heavy industrial property”;

(a.14)  prescribing products, materials, substances and square footages for the purpose of subparagraph (a)(v) of the definition “heavy industrial property”;

(a.15)  prescribing uses for the purpose of subparagraph (a)(xii) of the definition “heavy industrial property”;

(a.16)  defining any term or expression used in the definition “heavy industrial property” but not defined in this Act for the purposes of this Act, the regulations or both;

An Act Respecting Local Governance Reform

2( 1) Paragraph 5(3)(a) of An Act Respecting Local Governance Reform, chapter 44 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2021, is repealed and the following is substituted:

(a)  in subsection (2)

( i) by repealing paragraph (a) and substituting the following: 

(a)  each year, every municipality shall, by resolution of its council adopted under subsection 99(2) of the Local Governance Act, impose a tax on all real property that is within the municipality at the following rates:  

( i) for the residential property that is within the municipality, at the rate fixed by the municipality; and

( ii) for the following real property:

( A) for the non-residential property referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition “non-residential property” in section 1 of the Assessment Act that is within the municipality, at the rate fixed by the municipality of not less than 1.4 times and not more than 1.7 times the rate fixed under subparagraph (i); and

( B) for the non-residential property referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition “non-residential property” in section 1 of the Assessment Act that is within the municipality, at the rate fixed by the municipality of not less than 1.4 times and not more than 1.7 times the rate fixed under subparagraph (i);

( ii) by repealing paragraph (a.1) and substituting the following: 

(a.1)  each year, every rural community shall, by resolution of its council adopted under subsection 99(2) of the Local Governance Act, impose a tax on all real property that is within the rural community at the following rates: 

( i) for the residential property that is within the rural community, at the rate fixed by the rural community; and

( ii) for the following real property:

( A) for the non-residential property referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition “non-residential property” in section 1 of the Assessment Act that is within the rural community, at the rate fixed by the rural community of not less than 1.4 times and not more than 1.7 times the rate fixed under subparagraph (i); and

( B) for the non-residential property referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition “non-residential property” in section 1 of the Assessment Act that is within the rural community, at the rate fixed by the rural community of not less than 1.4 times and not more than 1.7 times the rate fixed under subparagraph (i);

( iii) by repealing paragraph (c) and substituting the following: 

(c)  for the purposes of subsection 176.8(1) of the Local Governance Act, each year, the Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform shall impose a tax on all real property that is within a rural district at the following rates: 

( i) for the residential property that is within the rural district, at the rate fixed by that Minister; and

( ii) for the following real property:

( A) for the non-residential property referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition “non-residential property” in section 1 of the Assessment Act that is within the rural district, at the rate fixed by that Minister of not less than 1.4 times and not more than 1.7 times the rate fixed under subparagraph (i); and

( B) for the non-residential property referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition “non-residential property” in section 1 of the Assessment Act that is within the rural district, at the rate fixed by that Minister of not less than 1.4 times and not more than 1.7 times the rate fixed under subparagraph (i);

( iv) by repealing paragraph (d) and substituting the following: 

(d)  for the purposes of section 110 of the Local Governance Act, each year, the Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform shall impose a tax on all real property that is within a rural community at the following rates: 

( i) for the residential property that is within the rural community, at the rate fixed by that Minister; and

( ii) for the following real property:

( A) for the non-residential property referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition “non-residential property” in section 1 of the Assessment Act that is within the rural community, at the rate fixed by that Minister of not less than 1.4 times and not more than 1.7 times the rate fixed under subparagraph (i); and

( B) for the non-residential property referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition “non-residential property” in section 1 of the Assessment Act that is within the rural community, at the rate fixed by that Minister of not less than 1.4 times and not more than 1.7 times the rate fixed under subparagraph (i).

2( 2) Subsection 11(2) of the Act is amended

(a)  in subparagraph (e)(iii) by striking out “the rate” and substituting “the rates”;

(b)  in paragraph (f) by striking out “the rate” and substituting “the rates”.