Image: Mark Leger/Huddle.
The city is considering a tax on truck traffic that companies and business organizations say will make the region a less competitive place to do business.
In a sustainability report made public recently, the city identifies a number of new ways to raise revenue. Citing the “increased wear and tear on road infrastructure due to heavy vehicle use,” the report proposes a new permit for large trucks that could bring in an additional $1-million a year.
The city council is set to debate and vote on the proposed measure, which is described in more detail in this week’s council package, during its virtual session Monday night. There will also be a motion on the table from Deputy Mayor Shirley McAlary to remove it from the list of recommendations for new revenue sources in the sustainability report.
“We are just starting to return to business after the Covid 19 crisis and I believe this additional tax will be an extreme negative on our business community,” said McAlary in the background to her motion. “Whether we believe it or not our community needs every business that we have to be successful as they employ people that live in our community. Our businesses make our city flourish and our city more vibrant.”
The proposal caught companies like J.D. Irving, Ltd. (JDI) by surprise, says vice-president of communications Mary Keith. She says the new permit is an additional burden that makes the city less competitive.
“If we’re selling our port and we’re selling our multi-modal hub as being an asset, [encouraging companies to] come and do business here, why would we make that less competitive?” said Keith.
“It sends the wrong signal in terms of business being welcome here – this perception that business is a burden. It doesn’t make sense.”
In a public statement, JDI co-CEO Jim Irving says it will impact not just large corporations like JDI, but also small businesses and non-profit organizations.
“One way or another every business small and large, many non-profits like food banks and City Hall itself depends on transport trucks,” he said. “At a time when businesses and jobs are already threatened and being lost by COVID-19, the proposed tax on transport trucks using city roads is just plain wrong.”
He says this punitive measure for commercial activity that should be celebrated, not taxed more.
The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) group also opposes the proposed permit, which it says is a double-dip on the industry, as trucks are already subject to licensing fees and fuel taxes to help maintain the roads.
Ron Marcolin, the division vice president for the CME in Saint John, says the city has a lot to lose by implementing the permit.
“It will drive money, consumers, and the population out of Saint John,” said Marcolin. “It can only hurt our reputation because clearly there are other opportunities for manufacturers to build their products in other locations.”
Other business organizations in Saint John have also voiced opposition to the proposed fee. The Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce and Port Saint John submitted letters to the council voicing their opposition.
Saint John Mayor Don Darling has spoken with the industry critics and opposes the proposed permitting fee himself. The city needs to find new revenue sources, he says, but this proposal is counterproductive and doesn’t align with an economic growth agenda for the city.
“[We need to be] very careful about putting new taxes in place and quick solutions, and I put this truck tax in that category, so I’m not supportive of it,” said Darling in an interview.
“I’ve been concern about this item all the way through [the process], but the more I hear directly from industry folks is that the negatives outweigh the positives.”
With files from Ben Burnett of Country 94/97.3 The Wave, a Huddle content partner.
A version of this story was published in Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
