Premier Brian Gallant says a call by Progressive Conservative opposition leader Blaine Higgs for him to step down over the property-tax assessment controversy is “political opportunism at its worst,” and insists he will not step down.
“Blaine Higgs said he would do politics differently — he clearly is doing politics differently,” Gallant told reporters at a Thursday afternoon news conference. “He and his party have now requested four resignations in as many weeks.”
READ MORE: New Brunswick getting out of property assessment business following controversy: premier
The conference came only a few hours after Higgs, in a release by the PCs, called on the premier to resign because he “played THE role in making this happen.” He also accused Gallant for “covering up his involvement” in the scandal.
“It was his decision to fast-track it; he needed to take ownership for it,” Higgs said in the release. “But he tried to hide it, deflect it, and blame others… not take leadership or accountability.”
Higgs went on to say that Gallant has “caused an enormous amount of stress” in the civil service, including Service New Brunswick.
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Gallant said the property-tax assessment issue is a “serious matter.”
“We all should be focused on what we’re going to do to make sure we fix this problem for the people of our province — we should not be trying to take political jabs at each other,” Gallant said.
The call came only a day after the New Brunswick Union said Gallant’s office was to blame for more than 2,000 property owners allegedly receiving improper or inflated tax bills, and three days after the premier said the government was getting out of property-tax assessment.
READ MORE: N.B. Premier’s office to blame for inflated property assessments, not assessors: union
Earlier this week, Gallant told a news conference that the government would exit the tax-assessment business following the allegations. He had also told reporters that an “arbitrary formula” was used by assessors in both 2011 and 2017 to estimate property values, a statement that prompted NBU’s response.
Service New Brunswick Minister Ed Doherty apologized at the conference for the situation.
The hikes were a result of findings in February 2017, when officials found some properties with high assessment increases would be unable to undergo quality-control procedures before the billing cycle occurred. To lower the assessments, the “arbitrary formula” was developed.
In March, several residents told Global News they saw high tax hikes in their assessments, with one property owner saying he was hit with a 30 per cent increase.
On Wednesday, NBU president Susie Proulx-Daigle said in a statement that elected officials who decided to fast-track an automated assessment system should take responsibility.
Opposition finance critic Bruce Fitch also called for the resignation of someone from the government, specifically pointing to Doherty or the premier.
READ MORE: New Brunswick premier says property tax scandal will be investigated
Gallant also said last week that the property-tax issue would be investigated.
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