Teresa Wat, MLA for Richmond North Centre, criticized Attorney General David Eby for fueling hatred towards the Chinese Canadian community through a 2015 housing report.
In 2015, researcher Andy Yan, who is now the director of SFU's City Program, published the results of a housing study based on data obtained by Eby. The report found that of the 172 real estate sales examined in Vancouver’s high-end west side, two-thirds were bought by people with non-Anglicized Chinese names.
Eby later said he regretted his role in the study, but noted that its aim was to answer the most commonly asked questions at the time: where is the money fueling the housing market coming from, and why are housing prices so disconnected from local incomes?
In fact, in July 2015 Eveline Xia held a rally at Vancouver Public Library calling on governments to "Give us the data" on foreign ownership and capital.
"At the time, I was in opposition as the housing critic. Several times, I asked Teresa Wat's colleagues in cabinet to track who was buying homes, how many homes were empty, and why people seemed to be paying so much more than local salaries could support," Eby wrote in an email to the News.
Yan was simply answering a question the B.C. Liberal government refused to answer, Eby added.
However, Wat said she doesn't think Eby's apology is sincere and accuses him of contributing toward anti-Asian hate.
"I think whatever he did is leading to the anti-Asian racism sentiments. Since the study was widely reported, everyone thought of it as our Bible,” said Wat.
This led many to believe, “Chinese Canadians are (the) culprits in (B.C.’s) rising house prices," she added.
"Now, when an Asian family moves into a nice neighourhood, people will think the mother is a big mansion housewife while the father is working in China. Some working-class Chinese Canadians have never contributed to the skyrocketing housing prices in B.C., but they still face racism and are perceived as foreign buyers."
Wat's comments came after Vancouver-Langara B.C. Liberal MLA Michael Lee introduced a motion earlier last week condemning anti-Asian racism.
In his motion, Lee referred to a Bloomberg article proclaiming Vancouver the anti-Asian hate crime capital of North America, he then segued into the topic of rising house prices in B.C. over the past few years.
“B.C. was grappling with a hot housing market, and there was a complex set of circumstances that was driving it. However, to score cheap political points, the NDP decided to fear monger, using foreign buyers as a scapegoat for all that ailed the housing market. The Attorney General was even instrumental in the work of a 2015 study on housing that has since been revealed to have an incredibly flawed methodology that is widely considered to be racist.”
Eby wasn't in the legislature to defend himself when Lee put forward his motion, but Yan told the Richmond News that it's unfortunate to see the 2015 research now being "politicized."
"The study was meant to bring about actions on how to build a transparent and accountable housing system in this global economy. This type of research isn't pointing fingers (at any group) but (aims) to create a better and more inclusive thing for all, including Chinese Canadians," said Yan, stressing that the Chinese Canadian community is as affected by the unaffordable housing market as everyone else.
The report was just answering a question that the Liberals refused to answer, said Eby
In his email to the News, Eby added that monitoring and stopping speculation in the housing market is what MLAs should do to give families from all backgrounds a chance to compete on a level playing field, which is exactly what he has done.
Eby said because Teresa Wat and her colleagues refused to collect data at the time or even admit there was any cause for concern, he worked with several academic researchers, including Yan, to try to answer those concerns.
"In June of 2016, the B.C. Liberal government finally did collect this housing data. Teresa Wat and her colleagues confirmed Mr. Yan's findings and more. The government data said that in just one month between June and July 2016, 13.2 per cent of the real estate transactions across Metro Vancouver, worth $1B, were paid for with international money. The BC Liberal government was so alarmed that they called an emergency session of the legislature that same month to pass the new Foreign Buyer Tax law," read the statement, adding that Wat also supported the foreign buyer tax.
"And despite all this, I will not level the same allegations of fueling racism towards Teresa Wat or Mike DeJong as they have levelled against me."
The Asian community isn't the problem here, added Eby. Those who blame the Asian community are the problem.
Eby also said he recognizes those willing to blame the Asian community for things like money laundering, housing prices or the pandemic are on the rise, and he and his colleagues are working together to stamp out the problem.
"We must always speak out against it (anti-Asian hate.) Every politician should be united against racism. It should be a non-partisan issue...and we need to fight that racism," said Eby.
