THE BC Liberals say Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson is refusing to confirm that the signature NDP election promise of an annual $400 rental credit is actually going to happen.
When asked in Question Period where the $400 renter’s rebate promise stood, the minister would not even acknowledge its existence. Furthermore, the NDP budget update suspiciously lacks any mention of the renter rebate.
“It’s obvious that the backroom deal between the NDP and Greens included sacrificing the NDP’s integrity on their promises,” said BC Liberals housing critic Sam Sullivan. “Many renters in the Lower Mainland voted for the NDP based on the promise of a rent relief. Now it looks like the NDP have no plan to ever keep that promise.”
“There is no money in the budget for the promised rebate, and the minister won’t even mention it when asked in Question Period,” added Sullivan.
The minister also refused to confirm today that the NDP will be able to build their promised pledge of 114,000 affordable housing units.
“From what we can see, the NDP don’t have anywhere near enough money budgeted to keep this promise,” said BC Liberal Interim Leader Rich Coleman. “They’re not even able to fund what the previous government was building. They haven’t put out any tenders for contracts, they don’t have any place to put the units, and the numbers prove that they don’t have any idea how they’re going to pay for any of it.”
The previous BC Liberal government made the largest affordable housing investment in Canadian history. The NDP made major promises to build more, but British Columbians have been waiting since the spring campaign to hear anything about it, say the BC Liberals.