The Vancouver area's sky-high real estate market looks even more inflated when seen in conjunction with the city's below-average incomes
A look at Vancouver-area incomes brings new clarity to the British Columbia government's moves to dampen the region's red-hot real estate market. Recent months have seen a politically charged debate over the causes and consequences of sky-high housing prices in Metro Vancouver. The pace of price increases has been unprecedented, particularly for detached homes. In some…
A tax on foreign buyers may seem like an easy fix but it ignores the fact the housing supply is not keeping up with demand
By Kenneth P. Green Steve Lafleur and Josef Filipowicz The Fraser Institute In response to the fear that foreign homebuyers are driving up Vancouver housing prices, the provincial government has decided to introduce an additional 15 per cent property transfer tax on foreign home buyers in Metro Vancouver. This move diverts attention from the underlying…
Continued inaction ultimately means fewer opportunities and less prosperity for British Columbians
By Charles Lammam and Hugh MacIntyre The Fraser Institute They say the first step to finding a solution is to identify the problem. And B.C.’s tax system represents a real problem for the province. Without more competitive tax policies, B.C. risks losing entrepreneurs and investment that may gravitate elsewhere. Inaction ultimately means fewer opportunities and…
Contrary to the “elitist” label of private schools, independent schools in B.C. offer diverse approaches to education
By Deani Van Pelt and Derek J. Allison The Fraser Institute Many British Columbians likely believe that private schools are exclusively for elite families in major urban centres. This misperception of independent schools (a more accurate term to describe non-government schools) impedes honest debate about the benefits of independent schools in the province. A recent…
Return the tax to true revenue neutrality through income tax cuts rather than gifts to special interest groups
British Columbia’s climate policy is at a crossroads. The government must decide how to move forward with its signature policy: The revenue neutral carbon tax. The last increase of the tax was July 1, 2012, just over a year into Premier Christy Clark’s tenure. Detractors want to scrap the tax altogether. Many others want to…
Unlike previous immigrants who arrived with very little, the offspring of wealthy Chinese parents are products of an alien culture
The roots of Canada’s immigration narrative run through struggle, adversity and survival. Eventually we triumph – sort of, either by channelling our remaining energies into cooperation (see Wallace Stegner’s magnificent 1962 prairie memoir Wolf Willow), or a kind of raw-boned optimism that suggests pluck might work for you eventually (see Allerdale Grainger’s 1908 classic Woodsmen…
B.C. is a rude, ill-mannered, unpleasant neighbour
Albertans love the Royal Family. So why does the Queen’s representative in British Columbia speak so rudely to Albertans? As a returned native son, after 30 years as a B.C. expat in Alberta, I find it fascinating to compare how the two neighbours talk to one another. Especially this month, in the wake of Feb.…
By Charles Lammam and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute Each year the Fraser Institute measures and ranks the performance of Canada’s premiers in terms of how well they managed provincial finances while in office. Premiers who managed spending more prudently, balanced the books and paid down debt, and reduced and maintained competitive tax rates, rank higher.…
B.C.'s strong reaction to First Nations' claims to private property may provide assurances to companies and private property owners
The muddy waters of aboriginal land claims and private property rights in British Columbia may have just cleared a little. On Jan. 15, the B.C. government stated its opposition to the Tk’emlups and Skeetchestn bands’ aboriginal title claim on land currently owned by private citizens and mining company KGHM- Ajax, saying it will "vigorously oppose…
But first, approval must be obtained from the 363 members of Tsawwassen First Nation, 170 of whom do not live on the reserve
By Ravina Bains and Taylor Jackson The Fraser Institute The Tsawwassen First Nation's proposal to build a liquefied natural gas (LGN) terminal south of Vancouver offers the kind of win-win relationship that could bring prosperity to the First Nation and all of British Columbia. On Nov. 16, the First Nation announced its interest in building…
A look at Vancouver-area incomes brings new clarity to the British Columbia government's moves to dampen the region's red-hot real estate market. Recent months have seen a politically charged debate over the causes and consequences of sky-high housing prices in Metro Vancouver. The pace of price increases has been unprecedented, particularly for detached homes. In some…
