'It may go into fraud': Higgs says inquiry may not be enough after property tax mess

Opposition LeaderBlaineHiggssays theunravelling of the government's property tax methods and its evolving response to the shocking tales from property ownerssuggest more than an inquiry may be needed.

"It may go into fraud," Higgssaid Thursday during the weekly CBC political panel. "It may go into deception orgoes into a situation where if you can't be upfront and straight and honest. ... There's adeeper story here than just this tax issue itself."

The Gallant governmenthas been tryingto fight off criticism since it was learned Service New Brunswick invented renovation amounts for 2,048 homeowners with large assessment increases this past spring.

Premier Brian Gallant apologized for the fiasco andasked Joseph T. Robertson, the former New Brunswick Appeal Court justice, to head a "review of all policies and procedures related to recent assessment processes."

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Eventually, Gallant's office acknowledgedit gave the final go ahead for a fast-track adoption of a new trouble-plagued property assessment system.

On Thursday, no one from the Liberal Party took part in the weekly political panel, which normally includes representatives from all parties. A governmentemailto CBC Newson Wednesday said Minister Serge Roussellewouldn't attend.

"There are a lot of legitimate questions being asked by media and NewBrunswickersalike and government has some of the same questions," theemailsaid.

The email said it would be premature for the government to comment on things that will be part of the Robertson review, which is to finish in August.

'On the backs of civil servants'

"The government has chosen to run and hide," Higgssaid. "They have tried to deflect. They've tried to blame. They've tried to take this issue and place it on the backs of civil servants.

"We don't need to make a meal out of this. It is a pure case of a wrong decision being made and an attempt to cover it upfrom the very beginnng."

Green Party Leader David Coon said a public inquiry needs to take place under thePublic Inquiries Act, where a judge can call witnesses, including politicians who wereinvolved in the process of implementing the new assessment system.

"We need to get tothe bottom of it there's a lot of work that needs to be done to build trust in this system," said Coon.

Power structure not complex

He also said the chain of commandin government is not as complex as the province has suggested,

"You've got the head of property assessments, who's the director, then the deputy minister and then the premier's office," Coon said. "That's a pretty short chain for people not to be in the know."

I'm convinced governmentwas fully aware of what was going on in thatsystem.- Kris Austin

Kris Austin of the People's Alliance called the Liberals'emailresponse, a "pathetic excuse from this government" and called the property tax system"a scandal and corrupt."

He saidNew Brunswickers are fed up with the way government is beinghandled and says Service New BrunswickMinister Ed Doherty needs to resign andbe held accountable.

"I'm convinced governmentwas fully aware of what was going on in thatsystem," said Austin.

Andrew MacLean of the NDP said he's hopeful the government will take theinvestigation seriously.

"The problems are here, they've arisen. ... If they choose to recognize this and fix this, this would be great for all New Brunswickers."