The Conservatives are calling for a probe by the parliamentary ethics committee into the federal and B.C. provincial government’s plan to buy up empty Metro Vancouver condos and either resell them or rent at affordable prices.
Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a release Sunday that he had written a letter to the chair of the committee. He asked the chair to hold a meeting to launch an investigation into potential conflicts of interest from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan.
“Mark Carney is building an economy of carve-outs, bail-outs and hand-outs for the Liberal Club; and higher costs, debt and taxes for everyone else,” Poilievre said in a statement.
The plan, according to Carney and B.C. Premier David Eby, is to boost the supply of affordable housing.
But critics say buying up the unsold condos at market prices is a “bailout” for developers who made bad decisions in the first place.
On Thursday, Carney told reporters that developers did not “directly” ask him to pursue the plan, adding the initiative was also not pursued with the industry in mind.
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The prime minister said governments would look to provide about 10 per cent of the “overall dollar value contemplated” for financing the available units, which he estimated at about $1.4 billion.
Poilievre noted Carney’s comments, and in the release questioned if another minister was “lobbied” to introduce the program.
“I’m calling on you to hold an urgent meeting of the Ethics Committee so it can investigate this bailout,” Poilievre said in his letter, posted on X.
The partnership announced Thursday between the two governments includes spending more than $5 billion on B.C. infrastructure, $3.2 billion to lower development charges for multi-unit housing — reducing costs by up to 50 per cent in communities that are deemed a priority — and $284 million to reduce barriers for new construction.
The letter by the Conservative leader is addressed to Conservative MP John Brassard, who chairs the committee.
Such a probe will face a barrier because while Brassard is chair, the Liberal government’s restructuring of the committee following its return to majority status means Liberals hold the most seats. As the chair is not given a vote unless there is a tie, the ethics committee has five Liberal MPs and four Opposition voting members, meaning the government can defeat any Opposition vote if they choose.
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