Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the Standing Committee on Finance. I appreciate the opportunity to make this presentation. I'd like to welcome the members of the committee to Nova Scotia. I hope you may have the opportunity to explore Halifax while you are here.
If you leave the hotel and turn right, you can walk up Hollis Street. Here you will find many sturdy homes built by early Scottish and Irish settlers of Nova Scotia. Some of these are built of wood and some of stone. Many have five-sided Scottish or oriel dormers, which are characteristic of Halifax. The oldest documented house in Halifax is just about a block and a half up the street on Hollis.
You will also come to the Brewery Market. This complex was built as a brewery, starting in the 1800s. About 30 years ago it was converted into a commercial complex. This is a good example of the rehabilitation of a building for a new use. Here you will find some excellent restaurants where you can have lunch or supper.
As you walk, you may see tourists, even in this weather. Certainly yesterday I saw tourists carrying cameras and taking pictures of our historic buildings. Tourists bring $1.3 billion to the Nova Scotia economy each year. Other than walking and shopping, visiting historic buildings and sites is the biggest activity of tourists in Nova Scotia. Our heritage buildings are major contributors to the economy and to our way of life.
As you walk, you may also see vacant sites. These were once the sites of fine buildings. They are demolition sites. They do not contribute to the economy. This is December, a big month for demolitions. Often demolitions occur in December because the owner of a building is trying to record a loss on paper in order to be able to deduct it from the income for the year and reduce their taxes. One of our recommendations is to remove this deduction.
As you walk, you may see plaques on the faces of the buildings. These plaques have been placed by municipal and provincial governments to recognize the historic and architectural importance of the buildings. The municipal government makes financial commitments to the owners of buildings to assist with repair. I'm pleased to see Bob Harvey, councillor in the Halifax Regional Municipality and member of the heritage advisory committee, here today to indicate that commitment.
If you were to walk down a similar street in New England you would also see federal plaques on the buildings. These plaques state that the owner of the building received funds under a program established by President Ronald Reagan. This program provides a tax credit for the restoration and rehabilitation of heritage buildings. The program has been very successful.
We need a similar program in Canada. We need to see the federal government acknowledge the great importance of heritage buildings as tourist attractions, as economic generators, as contributors to our quality of life, and as an essential part of our legacy to future generations. The owners of the heritage buildings accept substantial restrictions in their use of those buildings. We invite the federal government to join with the owners of heritage buildings in providing financial support to keep those buildings standing.
In our brief, the Heritage Trust has made five recommendations, which I'll just briefly read.
Canada should establish a tax credit for the commercial rehabilitation of heritage buildings.
Canada should establish an individual income tax credit for the repair of heritage buildings.
GST and HST on the cost of qualified repairs to heritage buildings should be rebated.
An owner who demolishes a heritage property should not be allowed to write off its value in order to reduce the taxes payable.
Volunteers should be allowed a deduction for the expenses entailed in their volunteer work.
Please forward these recommendations to the Minister of Finance.
Thank you for your attention.