Madam Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to address my colleague, the hon. member for Nepean--Carleton, on his concern regarding a rent increase for the Queensway Carleton Hospital, a hospital in Ottawa that sits on lands owned by the National Capital Commission.
The hon. member is concerned that there will be a massive rent increase and the hospital has stated that it could cost jobs for as many as 40 nurses.
He would also like to know why the government does not resolve this problem by selling the land to the hospital for $1.
I will answer both those questions at this time.
First, on the matter of the rent increase, I would like to assure my colleague that while the National Capital Commission is a crown corporation that is responsible for its own day to day management, it calculates its rents in accordance with Treasury Board guidelines.
The Queensway Carleton Hospital currently pays an annual rent of approximately $23,000 per annum based on the leasing policies in effect when the 40 year lease was negotiated in the early 1970s. The rent is set well below market rates and will continue for another nine years, until July 12, 2013.
The lease provides for a renewal term of 35 years and stipulates that the annual rent is to be determined by mutual agreement between the National Capital Commission and the hospital and will be based on the appraised value of the land at that time.
A recent newspaper article stating that the revised rent beginning in 2013 would be $3.4 million, was wrong. It was based on the incorrect assumption that the annual rent in 2013 would be a percentage of the assessed value of the 114 acre property, including all buildings, improvements and grounds. In fact the annual rent will be negotiated based on the value of only 50 acres of land actually occupied by the hospital and its facilities, not on the value of the entire property.
It would not prudent for me to suppose what the new amount of rent will be but I understand, as the hon. member has said, that the National Capital Commission and the Queensway Carleton Hospital have already begun discussions and will actually review a variety of options for the lease of the land. I have tremendous confidence that these two parties will reach a suitable agreement before 2013.
Now I would like to address the hon. member's second question as to why the National Capital Commission does not simply sell the land to the Queensway Carleton Hospital for $1.
The 50 acres of land upon which the Queensway Carleton Hospital is situated are owned by the National Capital Commission on behalf of the people of Canada. The land is part of the national capital greenbelt and the national interest land mass.
The national capital region greenbelt was designed in 1949 to prevent urban sprawl and to provide open space for the future development of farms, natural areas and government facilities.
Today the greenbelt's 200 square kilometre crescent of farms, forests, natural areas, recreational facilities and public and private research complexes provide the capital with a rural landscape unequalled in any other North American city.
The NCC and national capital region greenbelt includes national interest land mass properties which, as the name implies, are held in the national trust.
These lands that the Government of Canada, mainly through the National Capital Commission, has gathered together over the past century include monuments, public places, heritage buildings, shorelines and large areas of green space. They combine to create a capital that will inspire Canadians with pride and be passed on as a legacy for future generations. Therefore to sell the people's land for $1 would be inappropriate.
However, once again I thank the hon. member for presenting me with this opportunity to respond to his questions.