Province increasing Crown lease fees

April 8, 2009

When John Vickery first started leasing land from the government his rent was less than what it costs to fill up a car with gas today.

His one acre plot of crown land cost him $25 a year, but that was 20 years ago and the cost went up a few times over the years.

Now the province is set to implement further increases and Vickery isn't happy about them.

"It's getting to the point where they're gonna drive us out of the woods," he said in an interview last week.

As of June 1, Vickery's annual lease payment will go from $225 to $320. If he was on a waterfront property the rent would increase from $450 to $640.

But the increases don't stop there.

The province's plan is to gradually increase the fees to 40 per cent of the market value in the first year, 50 per cent in the second year and 60 per cent in the third.

By 2012 Vickery will be paying $480 a year and waterfront renters will pay $960.

The province is also introducing increases to various fees for applications and a variety of other services related to Crown land use.

Natural Resources Minister Wally Stiles said the last increase was in 1994 and they wanted to bring the rates in line with market conditions.

The department also wanted to increase the fees to cover administrative costs in a department that spent $5.9 million to administer programs last year and brought in $4.8 million through fees, he said.

"Governments have been trying to do that for that last few years," Stiles said.

Vickery said it was unacceptable for the government to make the changes without consulting the lessees and they should be able to come up with a better solution.

"There's gotta be a compromise of something that makes better sense," he added.

Stiles said the Natural Resources Department has a habit of seeking public input, but there are 2,710 Crown leases across the province.

"It's pretty hard to go to all 2,710," he said.

But Vickery said while we are in a recession, it's a bad time to increase fees.

"The last thing you should be doing in a recession is dig into the little man's pocket. They're tearing the pockets right out of our pants."

Stiles said it might look like a bad time to increase fees, but the people of New Brunswick need to get good value for the land.

"It's the taxpayers that own that land," he said adding the department would rather increase fees than lay people off or close programs.

"That's my goal. I want to make sure people are working and we still have as many programs as we possibly can keep," Stiles said.

Southwest Miramichi MLA Rick Brewer said he has been hearing from people in his riding who are unhappy with the changes, but they needed the increase to maintain programs.

"In order for government to continue to offer all the services we offer, keep as many as we can, the revenues have to come from somewhere," Brewer stated.