A request from a local businessman to get a belated $180,000 tax rebate may be dead in the water.
At their committee of the whole meeting on Monday, Tantramar council heard for a second time about an application from Right Coast Realty to belatedly qualify for an economic development incentive program that would rebate them roughly $180,000 in municipal taxes over five years. Right Coast is owned by Mike Wilson of AIL Group, and the application was regarding a plastic pipe factory built by the company in 2023 on Walker Road.
Staff had previously rejected the application based on program rules which require developers to apply for the incentive rebate in advance. The Right Coast Realty application was dated January 2025, years after the company filed building permits for the project. Despite the staff rejection, Wilson requested a council decision on the matter, and after a discussion in January, councillors asked staff for more information on their options in the matter.
On Monday, staff presented advice from the municipality’s lawyer, warning that council would set a “practical and dangerous precedent” if it chose to clearly defy its own policy. The lawyer also said that making an exception for Right Coast Realty would create an expectation from future applicants that they also can miss the program deadline with no impact.
Manager of Tourism and Economic Development Ron Kelly Spurles told council that according to Plan 360, there is one other development that could have qualified for the development incentive, if they had applied in time.
The building permit for a commercial building at 95 Bridge Street was approved in August 2021, after the town of Sackville incentive program had been approved. The fitness centre and offices was estimated at $750,000 in construction costs.
Goal to incentivize development
The economic development incentive program was passed by the former town of Sackville in 2020, and aims to incentivize large developments in mixed use, highway commercial, industrial or higher density residential (R3) zones by offering hefty municipal tax rebates. Developers qualify for the incentive if they apply during the planning stages of their project, before applying for a building permit.
Right Coast Realty bought the Walker Road property for just over $500,000 in 2022, a few months after Tantramar council changed its zoning rules to allow development using on site water and septic systems. That decision prompted considerable opposition from neighbouring residents concerned over the impact on their wells and the potential for environmental contamination surrounding the factory.
A Tantramar staff report says the company spent about $4.3 million on the development. The assessed value of the Right Coast property rose to about $2.5 million in 2025, the year that the company submitted its application for the incentive program.
Councillors concerned over process
Council reactions to the report from staff and solicitor were mixed.
Councillor Allison Butcher said she was concerned the municipality failed in its promotion of the program. “Somehow, somewhere, we didn’t do our due diligence with making sure that the program information was available,” said Butcher.
Councillor Barry Hicks also expressed disappointment in the process.
“I don’t see how this happened. I think the developer couldn’t have been notified of it somehow, or they wouldn’t pass up free money,” said Hicks. “So I want something in place so it never happens again.”
“I don’t like not giving them something,” said Hicks, “but I see what the lawyer said.”
We need to ‘make this right’
Deputy Mayor Matt Estabrooks agreed with Hicks, saying he would follow the lawyer’s advice, begrudgingly.
“I understand the implications of us doing something that we shouldn’t do,” said Estabrooks. “And I certainly understand and respect the legal opinion that was obtained. That said, I’m not happy.”
Like Hicks and Butcher before him, Estabrooks called for a review of the incentive program policy, and indicated that Right Coast was not being treated fairly.
“I feel we need to do something to make this instance right,” said Estabrooks. “I don’t know what that is, or how we can do that legally… but it doesn’t sit well with me that something that should have been available to the developer—and an employer in area—was not available.”
‘It’s their responsibility’
Councillor Josh Goguen took a different view of the matter, saying that he believed it was the responsibility of Right Coast Realty to know about the programs available to them.
“It’s up to an individual or a company to know what rebates or incentives are available to you,” said Goguen. “If I’m applying for the Canada Greener Homes grant, it’s up to me to know that this needs to be done before the work gets done. So it’s up to an individual to take the responsibility.”
“I can understand that they’re coming to us to ask us, can you guys give us a leniency?” said Goguen. “But in the end of the day, it’s their responsibility to take ownership of this and realize that maybe some things weren’t done. So to me, I can’t approve this. It’s not even an option.”
Incentive program review needed
Councillor Michael Tower suggested a review of the incentive policy could include some application timeline leeway for developers. He also suggested increasing the minimum qualifying amount of the project from $500,000, to reflect rising building costs.
CAO Jennifer Borne responded to some of council concerns by promising that the town’s new director of community and corporate services, who will start in April, would have a “very proactive approach to economic development.” Borne said the municipality could work with Plan 360 to help make developers aware of the incentive program, but noted that Tantramar developers may apply for permits in any Plan 360 office in the southeast, where Tantramar programs may not be known.
Borne said Monday’s report was for council’s information only, and would not come forward at a future council meeting.
Unless a councillor decides to put forward their own motion on the issue, the staff decision to reject the tax rebate incentive application from Right Coast Realty will stand.
