Mr. Speaker, the number one priority in my city of Vancouver is housing. Why? Property values have skyrocketed in the last decade. Last year alone they went up 24%. The problem is that incomes did not go up 24%. Low and middle income families cannot afford a home or rent a place in which to bring up their kids. Yet the Conservative government did not even mention the word housing in its recent family orientated budget.
To add insult to injury, B.C. will receive no equalization payments this year or next. Why? We are considered wealthy because we have high property values.
The script could have been written by Monty Python, but it is too tragic.
B.C. Conservative ministers have nothing to say. They have either no influence or they are woefully out of touch with reality.
The new Conservative government certainly does not have the same priorities as most Vancouver families.