" Another tax of dubious effectiveness. What is Stéphane Boyer really proposing to get things moving?" - Claude Larochelle, interim leader of Parti Laval
Laval, Thursday, July 11, 2024 - Following the Boyer administration's tabling of a draft by-law imposing a royalty to encourage the recultivation of unused farmland, Parti Laval elected officials Claude Larochelle and Louise Lortie strongly criticize the mayor's inconsistency and lack of dynamism when it comes to land consolidation and recultivation. " This new tax alone will only add another layer of bureaucracy without bringing about any real change. It's all smoke and mirrors! A tax of $0.10 per square meter won't encourage anyone to sell their land worth 4$ or 5$ per square meter. We need strong, concrete measures to get things moving "says Claude Larochelle, interim leader of Parti Laval.
Boyer, the mayor of all taxes
For Parti Laval's elected officials, this new tax, which should enable the city to collect $1 million a year, is insufficient and unlikely to have the desired effect. " Another tax of dubious effectiveness. It makes for good publicity and media hype for the mayor, but the main result is, once again, to increase the tax burden on homeowners. "Instead, he believes that the administration should be more proactive and dynamic when it comes to fallow land.
" There should be clear incentives and subsidies for purchase and recultivation. These lands could be purchased at a reasonable market price, allowing them to be grouped together for recultivation. When you impose a tax, you have to make sure it's effective. And yet.., the only trend we can observe is that the Boyer administration is multiplying small taxes with no concrete effect. Such is the case with taxes on mineralized surfaces and the tax on oil-burning appliances. "added Marc-Aurèle-Fortin councillor Louise Lortie.
Incoherence and lack of dynamism
For Parti Laval, this new measure, announced with great fanfare, demonstrates the inconsistency and lack of dynamism in encouraging the recultivation of our agricultural land. In their view, the Boyer administration is taxing more and more, while the population is still waiting for neighborhood services and infrastructures worthy of Quebec's third-largest city.
" The Boyer administration is inconsistent. On the one hand, it claims to want to reorganize and increase the area of cultivated land, while on the other, it struggles to implement effective, innovative measures and authorizes the construction of a colossal industrial cinema complex on 2.2 million square feet of arable land in eastern Laval. It's totally hypocritical and incoherent. "says the interim leader of Parti Laval. As for his colleague from Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, she points out that " despite the multiplication of Boyer taxes, needs are still crying out in neighborhoods where citizens are demanding more community infrastructure such as arenas, swimming pools, neighbourhood libraries and dog parks, as well as more police surveillance to ensure the safety of our streets ".
Source: Responsable des communications - Office of the Official Opposition of Ville de Laval
Information: Tommy Vallée │438 875 8663 │t.vallee@laval.ca