It didn't take long for out of province residents to mount a formal campaign against the Nova Scotia non-resident tax. That's the 2-dollar-per-100 assessment for properties owned by people who don't live in them. There are some conditions, like renting to Nova Scotians that would exempt them from being assessed the extra charge. But that hasn't stopped the numerous letters-to-the-editors and opinion pieces being published about the practice. It's not entirely clear if this is about freeing up more housing supply, or providing the province with another revenue stream. Nova Scotia isn't the first, or only, jurisdiction to enact a policy like this. But there's a question about what other action the government could have taken to achieve their goals. Dr. Ren Thomas was the co-author of a report on affordable housing. She's also an associate professor in the School of Planning at Dalhousie University.