Liberals shut down debate over Carney condo 'bailout' probe at ethics committee

Liberal members of the House ethics committee shut down debate Tuesday over an Opposition motion to investigate the Carney government’s controversial plan to purchase thousands of unsold B.C. condos from developers.

An “emergency” meeting was called by the Conservatives during the summer recess on Tuesday to launch an ethics probe into the program, which would see Build Canada Homes and BC Housing partner to convert 2,200 unsold condo units in the province into affordable housing. The plan, announced unexpectedly, has received significant criticism from housing advocates and opposition parties, who have called it a “bail out” for developers that made bad calls speculating on rising real estate prices.

However, a Liberal MP moved a motion to adjourn debate on the issue, on the basis that summer is not the best time to tackle the issue, and members of the committee should be in their constituencies.

The motion carried with the Liberal majority in support.

Conservative MP Aaron Gunn had tabled the motion to summon Vancouver developer Bob Rennie, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, B.C. Housing Minister Christine Boyle to testify before the committee, as well as representatives from Build Canada Homes, BC Housing, and Brookfield Asset Management, among others. Prime Minister Mark Carney had previously been chairman of Brookfield Asset Management before entering politics.

Gunn’s motion also called for Duncan Wlodarczak, chair of the Liberal Party of Canada in British Columbia, to testify. Wlodarczak worked for Vision Vancouver, the party Robertson represented when he was the city’s mayor. Wlodarczak is currently chief of staff to the president of Onni Group, a Vancouver-based real estate developer.

Gunn’s motion stems from a letter sent to the committee by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, where he alleges several developers attended a Liberal party fundraiser in February in Vancouver, paying $1,775 per ticket.

“Canadians have very real concerns about the Liberal plan to bail out billionaire condo developers in the fifth most unaffordable housing market in the entire world,” said Gunn.

“All this begs some pretty obvious ethical questions that I think deserve answers, such as if the Liberals didn’t campaign on this policy, why are they suddenly deciding to pursue it now?”

Liberal members of the committee criticized Conservatives for calling for an investigation on a program where the full details are not fully public yet.

Liberal MP and vice-chair of the committee Linda Lapointe said Opposition MPs were making baseless accusations.

Liberal MP Fares Al Soud said the 2,200 homes would not be an insignificant addition to the affordable housing supply, and that only $150 million of federal taxpayer money is allocated towards the initiative, before moving the motion to adjourn.

“Canadians are intelligent, and they will make their own minds up through the facts, and that is exactly how it should be,” he said. “With that chair, I move to adjourn debate.”

Al Soud then attempted to table another motion to set the agenda for the proceeding committee meetings, that would include a statutory review of the Lobbying Act, the use of artificial intelligence in algorithmic pricing and a review of the Privacy Act.

The committee chair, Conservative MP John Brassard, then moved to adjourn the meeting without debate on Al Soud’s latter motion.

Several concerns were raised by opposition MPs over the course of the two-hour meeting.

Carney was asked by a reporter last month if any developers had pushed for the buyout. He replied that developers had not lobbied him “directly” for the program. Carney also acknowledged his government did a “poor job” rolling out the $1.45-billion program .

The prime minister and B.C. Premier David Eby have also said that these purchases would be for distressed assets bought at “below market rate,” although few details have been made public. Eby also said the city of Vancouver would not be included in the program, which would target the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, and the Okanagan.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan questioned the federal government’s track record on funding for affordable housing, adding that the condo initiative does not pass “the public smell test.”

“Make no mistake, this latest announcement of the condo conversion is massive bailout for developers, even though the prime minister wants to pass it off as affordable housing,” said Kwan. “No one is buying it.”

Conservative MP Gabriel Hardy also brought up that on June 3, Brookfield Asset Management, the firm Carney chaired prior to becoming prime minister, partnered with Concert Properties, to invest in eight industrial properties in British Columbia. The $1 million-deal occurred just a few weeks before the condo conversion program announcement. Hardy pointed out that Concert Properties owns interests in several condo properties in Burnaby, B.C.

Bloc Québécois MP Luc Theriault suggested that the committee should get in touch with the lobbying commissioner’s office, adding that even the appearance of a conflict of interest warrants an investigation.

National Post

jgowling@postmedia.com

• Carney admits he did poor job rolling out $1.45 billion B.C. program panned as 'condo bailout'
• John Ivison: Carney shifts to damage control on his condo developer bailout

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