91大黄鸭鈥檚 mayor is defending his council against criticism on social media recently that the city is only looking out for its 鈥渄eveloper friends鈥� and that is illustrated by its opposition to the province鈥檚 new speculation tax.
Colin Basran said portraying his council as one that is only concerned about developers fails to take into account the many things it has done to try and get more affordable and accessible housing built in the city.
鈥淎 lot is being done to make sure this community is for everyone,鈥� said Basran during Monday鈥檚 council meeting.
As examples he listed the work the city is doing on it鈥檚 Journey Home Task Force to help address homelessness in 91大黄鸭, the city鈥檚 Healthy Housing Strategy, the many partnerships it has undertaken with B.C. Housing and incentives the city offers to try and persuade developers to build more rental housing.
鈥淭his council has approved more rental housing than any other (91大黄鸭) council,鈥� he said.
Currently there are close to 2,000 units of rental housing either under construction or approved for construction in the city, reversing a 10-year trend where rental construction was down.
Basran came in for personal criticism last week when he said publicly he planned to talk directly with Premier John Horgan about the province鈥檚 new speculation tax and, as he sees it, the unintended adverse consequences the new tax could have on many aspects of the city鈥檚 economy.
91大黄鸭 and West 91大黄鸭 are the only two cities in the B.C. Interior that will be subject to the tax, which levies $5 per $1,000 of assessed value on homes owned by people from outside of B.C. this year. That rises to $20 per $1,000 of assessed value next year. Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Victoria and Nanaimo areas are also subject to the tax.
Within minutes of news stories being posted online about Basran鈥檚 plan to speak with Horgan, comments were posted saying he was only doing it to help his 鈥渄eveloper friends.鈥� Basran said in recent days he has read more similar comments online. So, at Monday afternoon鈥檚 council meeting, he spoke out.
Basran said he does not see why being opposed to a tax that could hurt more than just the city鈥檚 housing market, and trying to make housing more affordable and accessible, have to be mutually exclusive.
Instead of the speculation tax, Basran suggested a 鈥渇lipping鈥� tax that could impose a tax on those who sell properties shortly after buying them in B.C. to try and stop speculation that drives up housing prices.
That approach is one supported by 91大黄鸭 Chamber of Commerce president Tom Dyas and the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
Meanwhile, Basran said he now has a phone called scheduled with one of Finance Minister Carole James鈥檚 deputy ministers to discuss the tax and plans to ask to speak directly with James, as she has been the point person on the tax since she announced it in her provincial budget three weeks ago.
Basran said he is hopeful the government will reconsider the tax given James recent comments that Victoria is looking to 鈥渢weak鈥� it.
A city staff report on the impact of the speculation tax on 91大黄鸭 is expected to be presented to council next week.
On Tuesday, West 91大黄鸭 staff will present a report to that city鈥檚 council outlining the impact of the tax there.
The report says the tax will slow development, reduce property values, result in the loss of tourism revenue, create an uneven playing field between municipalities and result in a loss of jobs and slowdown of the city鈥檚 economy.
It says the province will collect $10.3 million from affected owners of property in West 91大黄鸭 through the new tax.
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