Mr. Speaker, there is a sea of blue in B.C.'s lower mainland and it has nothing to do with the Pacific Ocean.
Hundreds of large blue tarps are hanging from condominiums in a last ditch attempt to protect properties from extensive water damage during repairs due to second-rate building practices. The Condominium Owners Association of British Columbia estimates the repair costs to be in the neighbourhood of $1 billion—similar to Canada's other recent natural disasters.
These disaster victims are looking for help now. It is a serious crisis and not even the Minister of National Revenue, whose own constituents are many of the troubled condo owners, has spoken a word about it in this House.
The minister has the power to lend a hand: allow owners to use RRSP funds, make interest payments on loans deductible, or even permit emergency repairs to be GST exempt.
Let us have a B.C. minister finally do something for B.C.