Irving Oil headquarters negotiation

Irving Oil executives negotiated a low fixed tax rate for its new LNG terminal in east Saint John. Since a deal was struck with the approval of council in 2005 there have been many critics.

Irving Oil is now proposing to build its new headquarters in uptown Saint John. This will be good for the uptown economy and community and will benefit Saint John as a whole. Still, for this to proceed, the city needs to sell Irving a piece of land (the former sugar refinery site). The land that is needed will be swapped with the port for the land on which Irving wishes to build.

The city should sell the land to Irving Oil for what it is worth. Council should approve this. But if Mayor Ivan Court wants to win a moral victory for the citizens against the fixed assessment, he should ask Irving Oil to agree to the assessment increasing with inflation as a condition of the sale.

While Irving Oil is not the sole owner of the LNG project, and the tax bill may not change, the company could pay this additional “tax” into a special fund that the city can use for special projects (I think environmental responsibility initiatives could be a good fit).