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Originally Posted by rubecube
I agree with you that a lot of this needs to be addressed by the municipalities, but any discussion about housing also needs to look at rentals and improvements to the Tenancy Act. That said, do you think the Liberals did or were planning on doing enough to address the issues pertaining to fraud and speculation?
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I think the Liberals did well to bring in the foreign buyer's tax. I don't think it was rolled out well, but I do think it was necessary. I don't think it's the BC government's job to police funds from foreign countries. I'm aware it can be a problem, but it isn't our job to enforce other countries' laws. As for speculation, if you gave more supply, lowered the permit time, and increased density, the speculation investors would decrease dramatically, IMO.
As for the tenancy act improvements, I wasn't even aware that there were problems with it until you brought it up. From the green party's website the only thing they talk about is rent control. I thought rent increases were already fair in BC. They can only be increased once per 12 months and is based on inflation. They must give 3 months' notice. Are there other issues with the Tenancy Act the Greens wanted changed? I read where landlords do a fixed term lease and then raise rent by an amount over the maximum to sign a new lease. I thought that was illegal if it was the same tenant. If the Greens are trying to combat this, I fully support it.
On a side note, I had a tenant that I didn't raise the rent for the 5 years they were there. My newest tenant hasn't seen an increase either. A good tenant is worth way more than the $25 per month I could make. I also make all of my leases fixed term for the first year, so it's easier to evict if I don't want them there. Luckily, my tenants have been excellent.
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Originally Posted by rubecube
Completely agree with you here. Weren't the Green Party against removing the tolls on the bridge for exactly those reasons? If the NDP were smart (and that's a big if), they'd consider putting that motion forward separate from their budget so that it can fail when the Liberals and Greens vote against it.
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Selfishly, I wanted the Greens to form a coalition with the Liberals. This would allow the Liberals to keep power, and the Greens could show they were a viable option if they worked well in government. I felt their fiscal platform more closely aligned with the Liberals, and Weaver attacked Horgan quite viciously in the debate. I'm not sure aligning with the NDP was a smart move. Any good things that happen will be attributed to the NDP, and anything bad will be the Greens' fault. The Greens were against the toll removal. NDPs were for it, and have voted against every capital improvement in the last umpteen years. You are right, that that motion should be separate if they want the budget to pass.