Tiffany Crawford
Vancouver Sun
A group of homeowners crowdsourcing to raise money to fight B.C.’s new speculation tax on empty homes has hired a lawyer for a potential class-action lawsuit.
The group — called Canadians Against the B.C. Speculation Tax — has started a Go Fund Me page with plans to start a class-action lawsuit against the government to stop the levy.
As of Friday evening, organizers had raised almost $9,300 of a $300,000 goal. The group said the funds will go to a public advocacy campaign to pressure the government to withdraw the proposed tax.
In a letter to B.C. Ministry of Attorney General, law firm Gowling WLG states that the firm has been hired by a group of concerned homeowners in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada to commence a class action against the province with respect to the speculation tax.
The letter said the firm also intends to include American homeowners who are affected by the proposed tax.
“In light of the proposed class action and the recent news that several of Premier John Horgan’s top staff improperly deleted all of their sent emails for months, we write at this time to put you on notice to preserve and not destroy any documents relating to the proposed class action,” the letter states.
Edmonton lawyer Ryan Callioux is one of the organizers of Canadians Against the Speculation Tax. He and his wife bought a home in Victoria so his wife could regularly visit the place where she grew up. He said they stay there often when they are on vacation on the Island, and plan to retire there some day.
He said they rent it out short term to help pay for the mortgage.
“People think it is all rich people who are affected by this tax but that is not the case,” he said.
“We were stretched to buy this [Victoria] home, and one day we would like to live there but we still have to pay the mortgage and the upgrades.”
Callioux said the speculation tax has nothing to do with speculation and so they are raising money to put pressure on the government to repeal the proposed levy.
He confirmed that the group has hired a lawyer for a potential class action suit, but noted that no legal challenge has been filed in court
The group argues the tax, which the B.C. government announced in February, unfairly targets residents and out of province Canadians who own a second home.
It contends the proposed levy does little to reduce speculation and hurts those who may have inherited or have owned a second home for decades.
The group is concerned the tax will drive away residents from neighbouring provinces who invest in and support B.C. communities.
Another of the group’s organizers is Blake MacKenzie, a Victoria resident who runs a licensed vacation rental agency.
He said the tax will hurt local economies because many of the regions that are subject to the tax are tourist destinations. “We understand that there is a shortage of rental stock, but there are other ways to solve this problem,” said MacKenzie.
He said many of his clients are homeowners in B.C. and Alberta who love Vancouver Island and want to live in their homes eventually. But he believes the tax will force many of them to sell.
On Wednesday, B.C. Finance Minister Carole James said almost two-thirds of those who pay the new housing speculation tax will be British Columbians.
The tax applies to Metro Vancouver, Capital Regional District (excluding the Gulf Islands), Kelowna, West Kelowna, Nanaimo-Lantzville, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission.
Opponents of the tax have also started a petition at Change.org.
A spokesperson for the B.C. Ministry of Finance did not reply to a request for comment.
