Debates of February 14, 2005 (day 35)

Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk to you about the Housing Corporation mortgage guidelines. They aren’t making sense. I think it is time the Housing Corporation reviews them. Mortgage within the Housing Corporation is based on income. If your income goes up, your mortgage goes up. A constituent of mine has a mortgage with the Housing Corporation. Last year, the constituent was fortunate enough to receive an arts grant of $5,000 from this government, Mr. Speaker. This raised her income and her mortgage went up. My constituent went out and used the grant money to buy art supplies related to her art project; it wasn’t used to supplement her income. The next year the Housing Corporation raises the mortgage and the grant money has all been spent. Now my constituent is deeper in the hole than before she got the grant.

Why is this government giving with one hand and taking with the other? Mortgages from the Housing Corporation should come with little warning signs, like cigarette packages, that say, “Warning, this mortgage may be detrimental to your financial health.”

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, if you own your own business, the better the business does, the higher your mortgage goes up. I have to wonder what incentive is there to work harder and try to make a better life for yourself in this country and territory. The higher your income, the more money the federal government will take and if you have a Housing Corporation mortgage, your mortgage will climb higher too.

Mr. Speaker, with these guidelines, isn’t the Housing Corporation saying to people sit home on your hands and keep your income low, because the more money you earn the higher your mortgage will go? That is a real disincentive, Mr. Speaker, and that is real shame, because we all know that active, well-employed people make better lifestyle choices and, as a consequence, make better contributions to their community.

Hear! Hear!

In honour of Valentine's Day, Mr. Speaker, I’m asking the government to have a heart.

Have a heart.

It is time both the government and the Housing Corporation reviewed their financial policies and guidelines. Happy Valentine's Day and thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause