After more than a year of Premier David Eby promising big changes, legislation has now been introduced that could have major ramifications in communities across the province.
“We know housing affordability remains a challenge here in B.C.,” said Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon at a news conference after introducing the transit-related legislation.
A “challenge” may be putting it mildly. In March 2021, as home prices were in the midst of a two-year spike, Eby told CBC News that the government was “monitoring the unexpected real estate trends,” but promised no action.
Since then, the asking price for a one-bedroom rental apartment in Vancouver has increased by 57 per cent, and the average selling price for a detached home in Greater Vancouver has increased by $400,000.
Given the amount of time it takes for new housing supply to get on the market — and the lack of detail around how the new laws will specifically impact municipalities — it will take time to see whether Eby’s long-awaited moves have the impact on affordability his government hopes for.
But one place on which it could have an immediate impact is Metro Vancouver’s transit system.
“It creates more opportunities for us to leverage dollars, particularly with the federal government,” Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon told Stephen Quinn on
The Early Edition Thursday.
Metro Vancouver mayors have
been asking for $20 billion from higher levels of government for a massive upgrade of the transit system, including an entire rapid bus network, rapid transit to the North Shore and a
gondola to SFU.
To date, response from the provincial government has been more encouraging than the federal government's. But there’s a belief that Ottawa’s interest will increase with the new guarantees that housing development around transit hubs will now accelerate.
“It creates more certainty,” said Kahlon, when asked why the legislation was needed, given that plenty of municipalities are already densifying their transit hubs.
In other words, all the housing fireworks of the last month?
It could lead to even bigger fireworks when it comes to transit.
