The Village of Burns Lake sent a letter to the Burns Lake Legion saying they were no longer exempt as a not for profit organization from paying business taxes.
According to the letter, this was because the Legion had applied for a liquor primary license to comply with their open door policy.
“The letter that we got said that because we applied for the liquor primary license, that we’re now open to the general public as a business,” said Jeanne Parkinson, Treasure for the Burns Lake Legion
Parkinson added that the Legion has always been open as a business and that nothing changed by getting the new license.
Parkinson said their previous club license only let members of the legion in and allowed each member to sign in five guests.
This conflicts with their open door policy and could have landed them a hefty fine.
“It was felt that we needed to be compliant with the laws.”
Parkinson said that any donations to the Legion won’t be affected.
The Legion will be speaking with the village counsel at their next meeting to get the decision reversed.
MyBulkleyLakesNow reached out to the village but they were unable to provide a comment at the time of writing.
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