British Columbia

For anyone wondering this is a rich person trying to get a tax exemption by pretending they're a public religious gathering place. If they were actually religious they would have gotten the exemption.

The Shin Mei Spiritual Centre's website says the island is open to the public with a free water taxi on weekends making the 15-minute crossing from Sidney, B.C.

The court upheld the decision of the property assessment board in finding that the principal use of the home and the apartments was for Rev. Evans, her spouse and their guests.

The court also agreed that the "possible uses of the other improvements as places of public worship would be somewhat unclear," when viewed by anyone passing the property from the water.

"The transition from private use to public use would not be readily apparent from the water, which is the closest a person would be able to view the improvements without entering onto what a passerby might consider to be private property," the decision said.

"This may be even more so, given that the 'PRIVATE HARBOUR' sign at Knapp Island’s only access point may deter some passing members of the public who may not otherwise see or notice the smaller and less prominent sign welcoming the public to meditate, study, and pray."

In addition to rejecting the foundation's tax exemption appeal, the court awarded costs for the legal proceedings to the property tax assessor.