If dealing with housing affordability in Metro Vancouver is the biggest issue heading into this year’s provincial budget, the government’s response failed to impress local politicians.
Burnaby-Deer Lake NDP MLA Kathy Corrigan slammed the budget, suggesting it did nothing to address the issue of skyrocketing real estate costs.
“The announcements on housing affordability were dismal,” she told the NOW. “There’s very little there to help the average person.”
Corrigan added the budget failed to help out renters who are also facing increasing costs.
Included in the budget was a new full exemption from the property transfer tax on newly constructed homes (including condominiums) priced up to $750,000, with the cost offset by adding a third tier to the property transfer tax rate, increasing the rate to three per cent from two per cent on the fair market value of property above $2 million.
But the measures don’t go far enough for at least one outspoken Burnaby city councillor.
“It was a pretty weak response I think,” said Coun. Nick Volkow. “There was far more that could be done.”
The councillor has been speaking out on the issue in recent months after his own home’s assessment increased by 35 per cent.
Volkow suggested there is a huge amount of speculation and deception within the real estate market, and when it comes to foreign investment, he repeated his call for a “serious onerous tax” on the practice.
“It just seems to me they’re (provincial government) completely out of touch with the reality on the ground for hard working families in the province,” he said.
Other highlights from the budget include a balanced budget, $1.6 billion in increased spending over the next three years in core services and a three-per-cent increase in the health ministry budget.
Specifically, the province announced changes to MSP premiums that include exempting all children from the program, while reducing premiums for another 335,000 people, according to a press release.
But Corrigan was critical of the budget for not including items related to Burnaby, including funding to replace or fix Burnaby Hospital, or a bigger increase for post-secondary education.
The NDP MLA argued the governing Liberals continue to favour the highest income earners but offer nothing for families that are struggling.
“The suggestion that everything is wonderful in B.C., that is simply not true,” she said.
The NOW reached out to the lone Burnaby Liberal MLA Richard Lee for comment on the budget, but he did not return calls prior to press deadline.
However, the provincial budget did find some support locally in the Burnaby Board of Trade.
The organization praised the provincial government for bringing in another balanced budget, the fourth in a row.
BBOT said it was also encouraged that the budget signalled the potential for provincial sales tax (PST) reform through a commission on tax. The business organization has been advocating strongly for PST reform over the past years.
The organization also applauded the creation of a $100-million tech-sector investment fund.
