City of Gatineau loses court battle over property taxes for Gatineau Park

Part of Gatineau Park is in the City of Gatineau.

The City of Gatineau. Que. has lost its court battle against the National Capital Commission over property taxes for Gatineau Park.

A federal court judge dismissed an application for judicial review filed by the City of Gatineau over the payments in lieu of taxes from the NCC for the period of 2006 to 2020. The NCC set the payment in lieu of taxes at $166,369.

The dispute involves the payment in lieu of taxes paid by the NCC for Gatineau Park land located in the City of Gatineau. Under the National Capital Act, the NCC “may pay to local municipalities grants not exceeding the amount of taxes that could be collected by them on its real property.”

The City of Gatineau was seeking a judicial review of the NCC’s decision on the payment, saying the proposed payment in lieu of taxes “were not reasonable” and didn’t follow a recommendation from an advisory committee.

In a judgment issued last Friday, Judge Yvan Roy called the city’s case a “frontal attack” on the National Capital Commission, adding the NCC can determine the payments in lieu of taxes and is under no obligation to follow the recommendations from a federal advisory committee.

Justice Roy notes the Federal Court of Appeal had already ruled to uphold an earlier Federal Court ruling on the municipality of Chelsea, Que’s dispute with the NCC over unpaid taxes for Gatineau Park. The municipality said it was shortchanged more than $900,000 a year in property taxes from the NCC.

The National Capital Commission said it welcomes the Federal Court’s decision.

“This decision supports the principles at the heart of the NCC’s position in this matter: that lands in Gatineau Park must be assessed according to their conservation purpose and not on the same basis as land available for development,” the NCC said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

In February, the City of Ottawa lost its multi-million-dollar court battle with the federal government over payments in lieu of taxes on federal buildings.

• City of Ottawa to appeal federal court ruling on tax payments for federal buildings

Federal Court Justice Panagiotis Pamel dismissed the city’s legal challenge that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and Canada Post shortchanged the city $22 million in 2021 and 2022 on federal payments for tax-exempt buildings.

The case surrounded a reduction in the Business Education Tax (BET) rate on property taxes by the Ontario government during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The BET rate reduction was intended to provide relief to businesses and was not meant to apply to the payments in lieu of taxes paid by governments.