TO: Saturna Island Property Owners Association (SIPOA)
ATTENTION: T. Murray Rankin, Vice-President |
FAX: 1-866-895-2137
FROM: Logan Wenham
DATE: 14 April 2010
| PAGES: > inclusive
SUBJECT: Letters re: SIPOA
Murray: | | :
| Following; please Minister Lunn’s response to your recent letters, and our meeting held :
at Minister Coell's office on March 31° Originals were mailed to you today from
Ottawa, but | am faxing you these copies to ensure you receive them in a timely fashion.
Sincerely, : :
Logan Wenham |
Executive Assistant :

April 12, 2010
Mr. T. Murray Rankin, QC, Board Member :
| Satuma Island Property Owners Association (SIPOA) |
514 — 737 Yates Street |
Victoria BC V8W 1L6 |
Dear Mr. Rankin: |
RE: PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES — SATURNA ISLAND
Thank you for your letter of April 6, 2010 regarding the level of compensation provided
by the federal government to the provincial government for Payments in Lieu of Taxes |
(PILTS), specifically with respect to the Gulf Island National Park properties lozated on
Satuma Island. As you note, my Executive Assistant, Logan Wenham, attended a
meeting with you on the same topic on March 31, |
As you are aware, the Provincial government has requested a review by the PILT Dispute
Advisory Panel (DAP); a bipartisan panel set up for the resolution of such issues.
As you note, SIPOA requested that the Minister of Public Works and Government ,
Services (PWGSC) investigate whether the DAP process could be eliminated, and the
federal government instead unilaterally support the appeal in full.
Failing this, SIPOA has requested the process be expedited, given the time elapued since
the case first came to the DAP in the summer of 2009, I note your suggestion ofan
Informal Review as one way that might speed up this process. -
With respect to the processing time, I can appreciate your frustration. Considerable time
has now passed, and J note from documents you provided my office at the March 31"
meeting that the mandate of DAP members expires in June, generatirig additional |
uncertainty. | | |
Accordingly, I have again raised this issue with my colleagne, the Minister of Public
Works and Goverment Services. I] enclose a copy of this correspondence. As ‘you will
. read, I have highlighted to the Minister the fact that Saturna Island has a considsrable
: amount of parkland closely situated to a relatively small population. Unlike parkland that
may be located in more remote areas, this combination makes the determination of PILT |
funding particularly important to planning the funding of local infrastructure.

| [have also requested the Minister to advise of any measures that would allow this review |
to be expedited at the DAP, including the possible use of an Informal Review which you
' suggest, |

Having said this, I do not believe removing this file from a review at the DAP is

appropriate. Ag I said in my letter of September 3, 2009 to SIPOA, it would be premature
for the Minister to make a decision with thig review incomplete.
The DAP was set up specifically to resolve differences on PILT calculation in « bipartisan |
manner. As the previous Minister of Public Works noted in his reply to me of August 17,

: 2009, this process 1s critical in ensuring payments to the Province of British Columbia are
tnade in a fair and equitable manner. The panel was set up specifically for such: cases,
and it would not be responsible to circurnvent the process. .
I] have contacted my provincial counterpart, the Hon. Murray Coell in this regard, who
agrees that itis advisable to continue with the DAP, which is a process already m place,
and. working well. : .
You can be assured that I will continue to rake clear to the Minister that my priority is to
ensure Satuma Island receives fair compensation under the legislation. It is my hope that
my intervention with the Minister of Public Works will alow a speedier review of this
particular case. I will be in contact when J receive any update, and I encourage you to
share any documentation you may receive on the file going forward.

Dear Colleague: - }
RE: PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES —SATURNA ISLAND
I write ta you today regarding the level of compensation provided by the federal
government to the provincial government for Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILTS), |
specifically with respect to the Gulf Island National Park properties located on Saturna
Island. 7 . |
7 As you will kriow, I have previously raised this matter with your predecessor, and I
| enclose related correspondence for your ease of reference.
As you will read from the enclosures, the Satuma Istand Property Owners Assoviation
| (SIPOA) has raised concern that PILTs paid on these properties do not match actual land
value. The Provincial Ministry of Finance has followed up this concern by requesting a .
review by the PILT Dispute Advisory Pancl (DAP), who I understand are an agency
under your portfolio. The file was subsequently reviewed to the DAP, where a tearing is
stil] pending, )
Considerable time has new passed, and I have recently been advised that the file has still.
not been heard, Satuma Island has a considerable amount of parkland closely situated to
a relatively small population: Unlike parkland that may be located in more remote areas, :
this combination makes the determination of PILT funding particularly importarit to
planning the funding of local infrastructure. |
Given the tune elapsed since this case was first presented to the DAP, and the unique
__- pressures of Saturna residents as they make fiscal projections for their infrastructure, J
would be interested to know if there are any measure that would allow this review to be 7
expedited at the DAP.. :

One such measure suggested by SIPOA is the possibility of an Informal Review, where a
single member of the DAP meets with both sides and provides a decision. | would be
further interested to know if such a process is possible, and if so, whether this approach is
available in this case. |
| Thank you in advance for your review of this matter.