YOUR PERSPECTIVE: Spec tax helps us keep up with Fraser Valley’s growth

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Thousands of vacant properties in the taxable areas are now homes, including here in Chilliwack. Independent researchers found that the Speculation and Vacancy Tax and the 2% tax rate for foreign owners and satellite families added around 20,000 condo units to the long-term rental market just in Metro Vancouver. They also found that before the pandemic, implementing the tax helped keep housing prices lower than they would have been without it.

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The benefits of the speculation and vacancy tax have been felt by all British Columbians, in part because the revenue from the tax has gone towards building more affordable housing in B.C. By opening up housing in the taxable areas for people who would otherwise be commuting from nearby communities, the tax helps ease pressure on the housing and rental markets in those nearby communities too. Now we are expanding the tax to more communities, including North Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan, Lions Bay and Squamish. This will go a long way for people, but there is still much more to do.

Tackling the housing crisis requires putting regular people first, something that Kevin Falcon and the BC Liberals refuse to do. Despite the fact that over 99% of British Columbians do not pay the speculation and vacancy tax because it doesn’t apply to primary residences, the BC Liberals are against it. They don’t want to make their wealthy friends pay their fair share even though it benefits our entire province.

During their 16 years in government, the BC Liberals only built 130 units of student housing – since 2017, we already have more than 6,800 student housing beds open or underway. They are also against other measures we’ve taken, like capping rent increases to inflation, which is saving the average B.C. family over $1,000 a year in additional rent.

Our New Democrat government is making the largest investment in housing in the province’s history – we are investing in more than 114,000 homes over a decade. Since introducing the plan, we’ve already funded nearly 34,000 affordable new homes across B.C. Here in Chilliwack, initiatives to build housing, freeze rents during the pandemic, and ban renovictions have made a difference. But we know there is much more to do to keep up with how fast our communities are growing.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of Fraser Valley Today or Pattison Media.