The NDP candidate for New Westminster-Burnaby and party are calling on Justin Trudeau to answer for a Metro Vancouver Liberal candidate who allegedly flipped more than 40 houses since 2005.
Peter Julian and NDP Vancouver-Granville candidate Anjali Appadurai held a press conference this afternoon (Aug. 30) in Vancouver, saying people and families have paid the price as a result of home flipping by Vancouver-Granville candidate Taleeb Noormohamed.
BC Assessment records appear to show details of purchases and sales of 41 properties that Noormohamed made close to $5 million on.
The NDP claim since Trudeau was elected in 2015, Noormohamed sold 17 homes and profited $3.7 million.
“Justin Trudeau has spent six years letting speculators off the hook as prices skyrocketed,” Julian said today (Aug. 30).
"Mr. Trudeau should tell Canadians if he knew about this and if he thinks it’s ok for his candidates to flip homes and drive up prices for everyone else."
Jagmeet Singh and his party say under Trudeau, the average cost of a home has gone up $433,100 in Greater Vancouver and $300,000 across the country.
“Justin Trudeau’s housing crisis has driven prices out of reach for so many people in Vancouver and across Canada," added.
“Homes are for living in, and Canadians deserve better."
During the first week of campaigning, Singh made an announcement in Burnaby on Aug. 18 saying he would implement a 20% foreign buyer's tax on the sale of homes to those who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents. He added the NDP would also target money laundering and organized crime within the housing sector.
Singh claimed Trudeau has allowed rent and housing prices to grow more than 20% in less than one year in Vancouver.
"He has let investors and corporations, often from overseas, take over the market and drive up the cost of housing in communities across Canada," he said. "In many cases, they leave the houses empty while families struggle to find a place to live."
He also pledged the NDP would build roughly 500,000 affordable houses in 10 years if elected on Sept. 20.
“Every day, I hear from young people and their parents who worry they will never be able to afford to own a decent home.
“They can barely afford to pay rent, let alone compete against big money investors in the housing market. Justin Trudeau will keep protecting the interests of the ultra-rich, but I’m ready to make the dream of owning a home a reality for Canadian families.”
