Fredericton — When people undertake renovations, it’s usually to get their house closer to their dream home. However, a new HGTV series hosted by SNB minister Ed Doherty is all about renovation dreams that never come true.
“I guess this flap about SNB and property taxes got the attention of the network, and they said I’d be perfect to host the show,” beamed Doherty. “They’ve been searching for weeks to find someone who has expertise in completely imaginary renovations. I guess you could call our mistake on property tax assessments a stroke of luck… at least for me.”
Dr. Ed Doherty was a well-known ophthalmologist in Saint John before winning a seat in the legislature in 2005. His time in government has been relatively scandal-free until last week, when it was revealed that Service New Brunswick used new software to estimate around 100,000 property tax assessments. The software allegedly “made up” renovations that never took place, causing many tax assessments to sky-rocket.
“According to the producers, the show will be something quite unique,” explained Doherty. “We’ll show up at a home of someone looking to do renovations. The design team will tell them about all of the wonderful things we can do, and even mock it up in 3D with computer models so they can see what it will look like. Finally, we show them an updated property tax assessment so they can see what the value of their home after the renovation will be.
“We don’t provide a plan or budget though — we show them a fabulous renovation of their home, and then we say ‘Ok bye Felicia,’ and leave! It’s sort of like a gag, like we ‘punk’d’ them — it will be hilarious!”
The show is planned to debut this fall on HGTV Canada. Check your local listings for details.