Pushing through a vacancy tax on empty Vancouver homes will be high on the agenda for politicians today as a special summer sitting of the legislature begins.
After months of calling on all levels of government to attack the affordability crisis, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson now has the provincial government on board with his proposal.
Lawmakers will debate making changes to the municipality’s charter, allowing them to create the tax, which does not exist anywhere else in Canada.
“We’re very grateful to the City of Vancouver that they showed the leadership to force the province to act on this issue,” said NDP housing critic David Eby. “The question is why did that have to happen, where is the province on this? Why would the solution that they’re bringing forward for a clearly regional issue, why would it just be for the City of Vancouver? And why this mechanism and not something that makes more sense to people like a non-resident tax?”
Also on the agenda at the legislature, MLAs will discuss a bill that will amend the BC Human Rights Code to benefit transgendered people.
While some socially conservative MLAs do oppose the bill, it has the support of all parties so it is expected to pass.