LANARK: Following a decision by the Nova Scotia Assessment Appeal Tribunal (NSAAT), a local couple had their appeal dismissed as the Notice of Appeal was filed outside of the 30-day appeal period.
Joseph Augustus MacDonald and Joan MacDonald appealed their Dec. 2022 decision before Jennifer Nicholson and Kathleen McManus, in regards to the assessment for their property located at 238 Terra Tory Drive in Lanark, claiming “the value was too high.”
The NSAAT heard and dismissed the appeal in its decision dated Dec. 15, 2022. According to documents filed by the MacDonalds, references were made to the NSAAT recorder mailing them the decision that same day.
The clerk of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) received the Notice of Appeal on Jan. 19, 2023 and by letter dated Jan. 23, 2023, the clerk advised the appellants that their appeal was filed after the deadline prescribed within the Assessment Act.
Although the act did not provide any discretion or authority to the board to extend the filing deadline, the couple could schedule a preliminary hearing to discuss this jurisdictional issue only.
As requested by the appellants, the board conducted a preliminary hearing by teleconference on Feb. 7, 2023, appearing on their own behalf, while the director of assessment was represented at the hearing by counsel, Robert W. Andrews.
“At the hearing, Mr. MacDonald stated that the Notice of Appeal was ‘lodged’ in the Government of Canada’s mail system on Jan. 14, 2023, ahead of the deadline,” Nicholson and McManus said. “He claimed that the date the board received the notice was beyond his control.”
Andrews indicated since the recorder mailed the NSAAT decision on Dec. 15, 2022, the 30-day deadline would have been Jan. 15, 2023, but with it being a Sunday, the deadline was extended to the following day.
“The board is a statutory tribunal and can only exercise the authority granted to it by statute. In appeals under the act, the board’s jurisdiction is limited to the provisions of the act,” the UARB said in their decision. “The language of section 86(1) of the act is clear that an appeal must be filed with the clerk of the board within 30 days from the date the decision was mailed by the recorder ‘and not otherwise.’ Section 86 does not authorize the board to allow a late filing of an appeal of a decision of the NSAAT.”
MacDonald suggested that he lost time to appeal as the NSAAT decision was mailed to him and the board should use its latitude to add the lost days while the mail was in transit.
“The preliminary hearing only considered whether the Notice of Appeal was filed with the board within the time prescribed by section 86(1) of the Assessment Act,” the UARB said. “For the reasons set out below, the board finds that the appellants did not file the Notice of Appeal within the time prescribed by the act and the board has no jurisdiction to hear the appeal. As a result, the appeal is dismissed.”
Through previous precedents, the board said it has no jurisdiction to extend the time to file an appeal.
“The board sympathizes with Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald’s situation,” Nicholson and McManus said. “Nevertheless, the board is bound by the provisions of the act. Even though the Notice of Appeal was received only three days later than the filing deadline, the board has no jurisdiction to extend this time.”