Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to talk about the land lease policy of the Department of Lands. Previously, I had asked the Minister about the land lease policy and he expressed the policy was fair, yet the elders who are living on the land cannot afford it.
At this time, the land lease policy indicates that the land is based on 10 per cent of the value per year, so people who live in small houses on small lands worth about $40,000, $50,000, are paying $4,000 or $5,000 in lease costs; if they are elders, they get a 50 per cent exemption, and they pay $2,025 in lease payments.
Currently, I have many, many elders who are making under $25,000. Many of them are making much less than that, and yet they are asked to pay $2,000. In some cases, that is about a month and a half's worth of take-home pay. It is very difficult for the various elders to do.
Mr. Speaker, I think the Department of Lands needs to take a look another look at the policy so that the people have an opportunity to afford the land that they have been living on for many, many years. Currently, it is extremely high for them, and they cannot apply for the lease. My constituents cannot access the housing programs because they cannot afford the lease. Without the lease, they are ineligible for a housing program. We in the Legislative Assembly are trying to address a core need for housing, and with the policy in place, they are falling deeper and deeper into core need.
I may ask the Minister some questions on it. Currently, the programs the Housing Corporation deliver are much in need, and in order to get the programs out, I think that… sorry, Mr. Speaker, can I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?
---Unanimous consent granted