Pictou County Council is seeking legal advice as they look to collect a tax bill for the prison in Priestville.
The Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility has over $700,000 in unpaid taxes going back to at least 2022. The province, which operates the facility through the Department of Justice, claims that taxes do not have to be paid under a loophole where they are collected “in the name of the king”.
Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Priestville. (Nova Scotia Government photo)
When discussion began on a motion about writing the taxes off, Warden Robert Parker noted that the County provides sewer and water infrastructure and services to the facility, and there should be some way to be fairly compensated for that.
Council unanimously voted to table the write-off until they get a legal opinion from their lawyers