The Assessment Appeals Committee of the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (the “Committee”) did not err in holding that it had jurisdiction to hear an appeal from the decision of the Secretary of the Prince Albert Board of Revision (the “Board”) since the decision of the Secretary was a decision of the Board within the meaning of section 260 of the Urban Municipality Act

Administrative law – Municipalities – Municipal boards – Property assessment – Judicial review – Administrative decisions – Appeals – Jurisdiction

Prince Albert (City) v. Riocan Holdings Inc., [2004] S.J. No. 337, Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, May 17, 2004, Vancise, Sherstobitoff and Lane JJ.A.

A taxpayer filed a notice of appeal of an assessment with the Secretary of the Board pursuant to the Urban Municipality Act, 1984, S.S., 1983-84, c. U-11 (the “Act”). The Secretary wrote to the taxpayer advising that the notice of appeal was deficient. The taxpayer then sent a fax to the Secretary purporting to provide information to rectify the deficiency. The Secretary believed the notice of appeal and the supplementary information failed to meet the requirements of the Act and declined to put the appeal on the list of appeals to be heard by the Board of Revision for 2002. The taxpayer appealed that decision to the Committee.

At issue was whether the decision of the Secretary was a decision of the Board within the meaning of section 260 of the Act, such that the taxpayer had a right to appeal to the Committee. If it was not, there was no right of appeal. The Committee found that the Secretary’s decision was a decision of the Board. The Municipality appealed.

The court held that the position of Secretary was not a statutory office separate from that of the Board and that the powers given to the Secretary by the Act, when exercised, were acts of the Board. Everything the Secretary was empowered to do was done on behalf of the Board. As such, the Committee did not err in finding that it had jurisdiction to hear the appeal of the taxpayer. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

To stay current with the new case law and emerging legal issues in this area, subscribe here.