PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — A surge in interest in how the province will regulate the short-term rental market has led to a third information session on the matter under the direction of the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce.
Tuesday's gathering in Baddeck, like others before Christmas in Cheticamp and Inverness, will shed some light on regulations the province plans to bring online April 1 that will amend the Tourist Accommodations Registration Act.
“There’s a lot of questions, a lot of concerns,” said Amanda Mombourquette, executive director of the chamber.
“I think that in general, the tourism industry, the feedback we are getting is that they welcome the development of regulations because they feel like we need to level that playing field a little bit between our traditional bricks and mortar hotels and motels and the new short-term rentals in terms of taxation, standardization.”
Despite welcoming the regulations, Mombourquette said concerns surrounding how the regulations will unfold.
“These sessions, they really provide an opportunity for the Department of Business, who is leading the developing of these regulations, to communicate directly with tourism operators so they can hear first-hand the direction of the regulations but also for the tourism operators to provide their feedback and concerns to the Department of Business so that they can take that into account, not just with this iteration of the regulations but hopefully with any future iterations with them.”
IF YOU GO...
- What: Small Halls/Big Ideas
- Subject: Updates on short-term rental regulation
- Where: Baddeck Courthouse, 497 Chebucto St. No. 481
- When: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2-3:30 p.m.
- Cost: Free
- Registration: 902-625-1588; online straitareachamber.ca
Last week, Minister Geoff MacLellan told reporters in Halifax that the province has not yet defined what a small-scale operation is but that will be well defined before April 1 when new regulations are put into place.
“It’s about multiple land owners, multiple dwelling owners, developers who are using this to avoid the normal regulations,” he said.
“I still don’t feel the need to identify primary residence holders under this registration system.”
Regulations will also offer data on who is operating a commercial operation, said MacLellan, the MLA for Glace Bay.
Though Mombourquette suspects the regulations are "pretty well shaped," she doesn’t anticipate the April 1 introduction will be the province’s first-pass at regulating the short-term rental industry, so it will be important for tourism operators to continue to offer their input.
Tuesday's session will be from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Baddeck Courthouse and include an overview of the impacts across Cape Breton Island from Destination Cape Breton, along with an update on regulation development from the Department of Business.
The session is free to attend but registration is encouraged by phone at 902-625-1588 and online at straitareachamber.ca.
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