‘Not sustainable’: NRRM requests write-off for $8.6M+ uncollectable property taxes

FORT NELSON, B.C. — Millions of dollars in property taxes will go uncollected this year by the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM), a burden staff members say uniquely affects its community.

During the October 14th regional council meeting, NRRM staff members submitted a report urging councillors to submit a request to the ministry of municipal affairs for a minister’s order to write off $8,660,467.57 in property taxes deemed ‘uncollectable.’

The NRRM’s portion of those taxes would total roughly $5.557 million, alongside about $1.669 million more in interest and penalties.

Toni Pike, the NRRM’s director of finance, called this write-off request “one of the largest” the community has ever made.

According to the report, all of the taxes are on either mobile homes or Crown-leased property. 

“Property tax on mobile homes that are situated in mobile home parks cannot be collected through the tax sale process,” the report reads. 

Tax sales allow local governments to sell properties with multiple years of delinquent property taxes as-is in an auction.

“When a mobile home is moved from the park, the owner must obtain a Collector’s Certificate verifying all property taxes have been paid,” the report explains. “When a mobile home is razed by fire, demolished or removed from the park without obtaining a Collector’s Certificate the property taxes are uncollectable.”

Mobile homes make up just $3,450.63 of the uncollectable tax listed in this report, according to a more detailed breakdown of the municipality’s 2025 tax write off requests.

The rest of the properties with uncollectable taxes are Crown-leased. Of those, the overwhelming majority — $8,650,157.52 in total — are attributed to Erikson National Energy, which entered financial insolvency proceedings in September of 2024.

According to a press release from the BC Energy Regulator (BCER) in April 2025, Erikson National has been failing to meet regulatory and financial obligations since 2020. 

The BCER inherited a number of ‘orphan wells’ from Erikson National this year. On September 19th, 2025, it was announced that WildBoy Energy — a company using oil and gas assets to power data centres — had purchased those wells.

Outside of the taxes attributed to Erikson National, the remaining $6,856.42 are attributed to companies that the NRRM claims had their tax rolls deleted by BC Assessment.

Pike went on to explain that the burden of uncollectable taxes affects the NRRM uniquely compared to other nearby communities like the Peace River Regional District (PRRD).

“When we think about other municipalities, the area around a municipality is the regional district, and they requisition their funds directly from the province, from the surveyor of taxes, and if there are amounts that are not collected, it’s not borne by the regional district.” Pike said.

“Whereas [the NRRM is] a regional municipality and we bear the brunt of any taxes that are uncollectable. Taxes on crown leases can’t be collected through a tax sale: [the companies] don’t own the property so we’re unable to follow through on that process.”

Staff members said when asked about the issue, representatives from the province argued other communities deal with similar problems without complaint, citing examples of cities like Vancouver and Richmond.

Mayor Rob Fraser said the sheer volume of industrial Crown-leased properties whose taxes end up uncollectable means it’s unsustainable for the NRRM to continue bearing the brunt of unpaid taxes.

“We got a sale for this particular property, and hopefully [WildBoy Energy] will be able to pay their taxes, but the whole situation is not sustainable over the long run and it potentially has the ability to affect our services

According to the report, the province only recovers the amount of taxes levied for school and policing through its year-end reconciliation process. 

The NRRM’s portion of that — which will reportedly sit at $4.4 million after the tax write-off request is processed and approved — is funded through an allowance for bad debts in its municipal budget. 

Council ultimately voted unanimously in favor of submitting the write-off request.