News release

Amendments Introduced to Oil Refineries, LNG Plants Municipal Taxation Act

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations (Oct. 2000 - March 2014)

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations Minister Jamie Muir introduced amendments to the Oil Refineries and LNG Plants Municipal Taxation Act, today, Dec. 4.

These amendments reflect an agreement between Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and Imperial Oil Limited.

"These amendments will make the act easier to interpret and add clarification where required," said Mr. Muir. "The changes are a result of consultations involving HRM, the Imperial Oil Refinery, and the province."

The amendments include:

  • clarifying wording to avoid misinterpretation on area rates
  • establishing an escalator clause to increase Imperial's municipal taxes over time while remaining comparable with other refineries in the Maritime provinces and Ontario
  • providing HRM with a one-time goodwill payment of $450,000 in exchange for providing Imperial Oil with a level of certainty for its municipal taxes over the next five years.

The Imperial Oil Refinery employs more than 200 skilled workers in HRM with an annual payroll of $23 million.