Sunday, December 28, 2025
    ADVT 
    National

    Eby defends B.C.'s speculation tax increase, says it will create more needed rentals

    Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Oct, 2024 12:09 PM
    • Eby defends B.C.'s speculation tax increase, says it will create more needed rentals

    New Democrat Leader David Eby is defending plans to increase British Columbia's speculation tax on empty homes because he says it works.

    He says the tax saw 20,000 vacant homes in Metro Vancouver rented out since its introduction in 2017 and he expects more rental opportunities will result from the increase.

    The NDP's election platform calls for the tax on vacant second properties to increase to one per cent of assessed value for Canadian owners from the current .5 per cent.

    The New Democrats say the tax will increase to three per cent of assessed value for foreign property owners from the current 1.5 per cent.

    Eby says they don't actually want people to pay the tax and the best loophole people can use is to rent our their home. 

    Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau is in Cowichan Bay with two of her candidates to announce what they're calling "a new vision for B.C.'s forests," which includes a ban on old-growth logging and making big firms pay their fair share in taxes, while stopping industry subsidies. 

    The announcement comes after she spent Thursday promoting her party's promise to increase social and disability assistance rates to $2,400 per month, and provide a guaranteed income for youth aging out of care.

    B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad is in Kelowna to make an announcement after the Conservatives said they would eliminate B.C.'s nearly $9-billion deficit within two terms of government.

    British Columbia's election day is on Oct. 19.

    Prev Next

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Woman with a knife arrested at New Westminster post-secondary school

    Woman with a knife arrested at New Westminster post-secondary school
    Police in New Westminster, B.C., say they were called to a post-secondary school in the city when staff reported that a woman armed with a knife was inside the building. The woman was not a student at the institution and police say students and staff feared for their safety. 

    Woman with a knife arrested at New Westminster post-secondary school

    B.C's auditor general to review government's response to 2021 Lytton wildfire

    B.C's auditor general to review government's response to 2021 Lytton wildfire
    British Columbia's auditor general says his office is doing a review of the province's response to the 2021 wildfire that devastated the community of Lytton, B.C. Michael Pickup says in a video statement that the report will focus on the B.C. government's roles and responsibilities for disaster recovery, its support for Lytton, including funding, challenges that came with rebuilding and how the province can improve.

    B.C's auditor general to review government's response to 2021 Lytton wildfire

    LNG company's plan for floating work camp is rejected by Squamish, B.C.

    LNG company's plan for floating work camp is rejected by Squamish, B.C.
    Plans to use a renovated cruise ship to house more than 600 workers as they build a liquefied natural gas facility near Squamish, B.C., have been voted down by the local council. The ship arrived in B.C. waters in January after a 40-day journey from Estonia, where it had sheltered Ukrainian refugees, but Woodfibre LNG didn't obtain a permit from the district to operate the so-called "floatel."

    LNG company's plan for floating work camp is rejected by Squamish, B.C.

    Second pro-Palestinian protest camp set up at UVIC

    Second pro-Palestinian protest camp set up at UVIC
    A second pro-Palestinian protest camp has been set up at a university in B-C, two days after the establishment of the first camp at U-B-C in Vancouver. Protesters say students at the new encampment at the University of Victoria are demanding that the school divest itself from investments linked to Israel.  

    Second pro-Palestinian protest camp set up at UVIC

    B.C. to provide $155.7 million to recruit and retain specialized health workers

    B.C. to provide $155.7 million to recruit and retain specialized health workers
    The British Columbia government is spending more money to recruit and retain health-science workers, especially those in rural and remote communities.  Health Minister Adrian Dix says $155.7 million has been set aside at a time when B.C. has a "significantly increasing population" and more skilled health-care staff are needed, particularly in remote communities.

    B.C. to provide $155.7 million to recruit and retain specialized health workers

    Ottawa 'urgently' waiting for info from B.C. before deciding on drug criminalization

    Ottawa 'urgently' waiting for info from B.C. before deciding on drug criminalization
    The province is one year into a three-year pilot project to decriminalize possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. A Health Canada exemption was issued to allow the pilot to proceed. Last week, B.C. Premier David Eby asked Health Canada to recriminalize the use of those drugs in public spaces, such as hospitals and parks. Possession in private spaces would still 

    Ottawa 'urgently' waiting for info from B.C. before deciding on drug criminalization

    PrevNext