B.C.’s Green Leader Andrew Weaver wants the NDP to drop its $400 renters’ rebate grant promised during the campaign.
“We share the same values about the importance of making rent affordable, however, their means for doing it was a gimmick,” said Weaver.
He said the NDP’s plan was a way to win votes instead of creating proper policies to address affordability.
“It is not fiscally prudent, all it does is cause rents to go up by $400 a year.”
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The renters’ rebate is estimated to cost the province around $250 million a year, which, Weaver says, would be better spent on existing programs.
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“There’s a safe program which assists seniors who spend more than 30 per cent of their income on rent, as well as the overall renters’ assistance program.”
The government hasn’t said when, or if, it’s going to implement the rebate but a statement from the Finance Ministry says the government is “working on a long-term, comprehensive plan to make housing more affordable for people.”
The ministry says it’s also working on closing speculation loopholes and reducing tax fraud and money laundering in B.C.
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