Qualicum Beach Permissive Tax Exemptions

Almost a full year has gone by since I first wrote to council requesting the Town of Qualicum Beach to institute a policy with respect to permissive tax exceptions. Further, on several occasions through the the year at Committee of the Whole meetings, the subject has been raised reminding council that these exemptions should not be automatic and that council has some discretion to amend the amount that is exempted...all to no avail.

By way of background, the Community Charter permits municipalities to exempt properties owned or held by non-profit organizations from payment of property taxes (known as a permissive tax exemption) if, as stated in the Community Charter, council considers that the properties are used for a purpose that is directly related to the purposes of the non-profit. Further, the Community Charter exempts the payment of property taxes by churches (known as a statutory exemption). The statutory exemption for churches is primarily for the church and the land on which it is located. Further property held or owned by a church may be exempted by way of a permissive tax exemption granted by the municipality.

When the June15th 2026 council meeting agenda landed in my in box I was surprised to see the bylaw amendment for 2027 property tax exemptions and when reading the staff report it became evident that the town still does not have a policy. I wrote to council again illustrating how other municipalities deal with the issue.

Today council gave first, second and third reading to the bylaw for the 2027 tax exemptions with no apparent change to process or assessment by staff and council. To be fair, some councilors had read my letter. Counsellor Skipsey asked for clarification related to exemptions for churches. Councilor Young questioned if the matter could be deferred to further examine the process. The Director of Finance stated that deferral was not an option given tight deadlines and limited scheduled council meetings due to the August break and upcoming election. The Director also stated that amending the process in the future would require staff resources and would be best considered during the 2027 strategic planning sessions. No formal motion was made to bring this to the strategic planning process so this issue will likely not be dealt with by the new council unless they put it on their agenda.

The amount being shifted from non-profits and churches onto other Qualicum Beach property tax payers for 2027 has now ballooned to $833,000. Council does not need to reinvent the wheel, one only needs to look at Campbell River or Parksville to see well thought out policies. Clearly this issue is not high on either the town staff priority list nor has it been given sufficient direction from town council despite our efforts to elevate the issue. I guess my writing campaign is not over yet.

Here is a link to an earlier article on this issue.

Jim Noel

July 15th 2026

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