COLD LAKE - Cold Lake has had another win in its fight to get federal compensation for a golf course, but Mayor Craig Copeland says the battle is far from over.
On Oct. 13, the City said in a media release that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has decided the Cold Lake Golf and Winter Club is eligible for federal dollars under a program called Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT). That will put about $300,000 back in city coffers – the approximate annual PILT payments for the golf course, which is a Crown facility located on CFB Cold Lake.
The decision comes after a federal court ordered PSPC in May to reconsider the city’s application for PILT. PILT provides compensation to municipalities for federal lands and buildings that don’t pay property taxes.
Copeland called the court ruling a “landmark decision” for Cold Lake, and is pleased with the result, but said part of the quarrel has yet to be resolved. The City also believes PSPC hasn’t been paying enough in PILT since 2012 and is waiting for a judgment on that.
“This has taken up a lot of resources on the City’s part to be heard and get our fair shake from Ottawa when it comes to PILT, but the dispute is still far from over,” he stated in the media release.
“While we remain hopeful that an expensive and time-consuming tribunal hearing can be avoided, we are prepared to ensure our residents are well represented and that our community’s concerns are well presented to the tribunal.”
What happened at court
The City, which has overseen the day-to-day operations of the golf course since 2012 under an agreement with 4 Wing Cold Lake, received PILT payments from 2012 to 2019 for the course. In 2019, PSPC stopped payments after reviewing the course’s eligibility for PILT, saying the golf course was not federal property.
The ensuing court challenge for 2019 and 2020 PILT payments culminated in a May 6 decision by Justice Michael Manson that PSPC hadn’t met its obligations of procedural fairness in informing Cold Lake of its decision not to issue PILT payments for the golf course, and hadn’t given the city adequate reasons for that decision.
Manson ordered PSPC to reconsider Cold Lake’s application.
Larger battle afoot
The $300,000 that Cold Lake usually receives in PILT payments for the golf course are just for the club itself, and since 2013 the city has taken the position that it is owed far more under PILT than it has received.
In May, Copeland told Lakeland Today that the municipality is owed about $1.2 million every year.
A briefing note for the City’s Oct. 12 council meeting states the federal government owes the city more than $27.7 million in outstanding PILT payments plus interest.
“The City has become very frustrated with the process and has expended a significant amount of effort in an attempt to ensure that this issue does not affect its relationship with 4 Wing,” the note reads.
“The City is increasingly approaching a position in which it will be required to tax the balance of its taxpayers an additional amount to offset the shortage created by PSPC refusing to pay its fair share of the total tax burden.”
The City won a court judgment for the 2012 tax year that it wasn’t receiving the amount it was due in PILT payments, and is now scheduled for a three-week tribunal hearing in early 2022 on the matter.
At the Oct. 12 council meeting, councillors agreed to send a letter to PSPC Minister Anita Anand updating Anand on the situation and expressing concern about it.
Last week, Coun. Kirk Soroka made that motion to send the letter, saying Cold Lake is just one of numerous municipalities fighting for PILT payments.
“For me, I think the reason why they’re pushing back is … we’re kind of like the spearhead of a lot of PILT litigation across the country,” Soroka said.
“I’m supportive of sending that letter to continue to fight to the bitter end… because it’ll have national ramifications, one way or the other.”
