The issue of foreign homeowners and land speculators has taken a more upfront seat in the latter half of election campaigning.
Many believe foreign investment is helping drive up land costs in Metro Vancouver.
Independent city council candidate Dave Semple, a former city parks manager, said in a news release that farmland is being bought up by “offshore speculators” and it’s harming Richmond’s ability to produce safe, local food, vital to the region’s food security.
The issue is something Dr. Kent Mullinix, director of the Institute of Sustainable Food Systems, has called a “huge economic and policy contradiction” throughout all levels of government.
“Investing in agriculture is code for sinking your hoarded wealth in agriculture land.
“That’s one of the reasons our agricultural land is worth a million dollars an acre,” said Mullinix, who notes conversation on the subject gets unfairly “equated with bigotry.”
“There’s no agriculture that can service that level of debt. Then we wonder why it doesn’t get used and then gets developed?” asked Mullinix.
Last week Richmond First candidate Andy Hobbs said land speculation and Port Metro Vancouver are the “two biggest threats” to farmland in Richmond. He didn’t indicate the problem was specifically from foreign investment.
“What council can do about that is have constructive working relationships with all levels of government,” said Hobbs of farmland speculation.
“We have to send a loud, clear message to speculators that it will be when hell freezes over when that land comes out of the ALR,” he added.
Meanwhile RITE Richmond candidates Michael Wolfe and Carol Day are advocating for a “vacancy tax” and/or a foreign ownership tax for homeowners who don’t make Richmond their primary residence.
As part of its platform targeting improved housing affordability, RITE states on its website that it wants to “instruct staff to research the possibility of a foreign ownership tax and see if this would be a federal-only or provincial-only option. Once this information is available to the city, decide whether lobbying the (B.C.) or federal government for changes would be prudent.”
Independent candidate Janos Bergman noted in a news release he wants to lobby all levels of government “for laws and/or bylaws that will prevent non-residents/foreigners from buying multiple residential properties for investment purposes.”
He says this is done in other countries and not doing so is part of the reason why housing prices are so high in Richmond
— Graeme Wood/Richmond News
