Thread by @P_Ratchford

Long Thread. Version 2 of the War on Capital highlights a major failure of leadership on the part of our political leaders, academic leaders, and the media which has resulted in a dizzying array of anti-capital measures. #bcpoli #vanpoli #vanre 1/

The spark which has set off a barrage of anti-capital measures is housing. Nowhere is the collective failure of leadership more evident than on this file. 2/

This failure has placed the prosperity of everyone in British Columbia at risk. BC is akin to a supertanker which takes time to turn but once it does is difficult to stop. Unfortunately, we are turning/have turned the supertanker straight for the rocks. 3/

There are 6 pillars supporting the “War on Capital” in BC.
-Provincial Policy
-Municipal Policy
-Bureaucratic inertia
-Media
-The politicization of money laundering
-Selective academic research focused on foreign capitals role in housing 4/

It’s time for a leadership renewal on multiple fronts here in British Columbia. Looking forward to seeing some new leaders with constructive visions for the future of BC emerge in the coming years. 5/

Please note that none of this is intended as a personal attack on members of the list. it is simply a recognition of publicized work which has fuelled a troublesome narrative that is now firmly entrenched in British Columbia. 6/

The initial list I put together quickly and I was surprised by how much interest it received from numerous parties. Thank you for all the feedback, I’ve included notes below regarding changes from version 1 below. 7/

Added a section for municipal policy whose role in driving away capital has been significant. 8/

Added a section for the media. Its role in focusing on a singular narrative on housing (which emphasizes the role of foreign capital) while failing to use its megaphone to amplify the positive impacts of capital flowing into BC represents a significant journalistic failure. 9/

Added a section for bureaucratic inertia. Example of this include long delays for permitting and increasingly complex building code. 10/

Added a section for the “politicization of money laundering”. Tackling criminal behaviour in our society = good. Whipping up hysteria around the topic and turning money laundering into a political football to try to score points on = bad. 11/

Added line item on “conflating of foreign capital with crime and illegal activity”. The vast majority of foreign capital is not linked with crime and yet that is a story that seems to be lost. 12/

Added line items for securities regulation tightening, union monopoly on construction contracts, short term rental regs, numerous municipal policy line items, and line items highlighting the role of prominent local media and academic figures. 13/

Added details around various line items such as rent controls (elimination of fixed term tenancies, elimination of geographic rent increase, and reduction in maximum allowable rent increase). 14/

Eliminated the political affiliation column completely. There is no need for it and I believe it makes the document overly partisan which it shouldn’t be. I’m not going to hide my political affiliation though (as many do), I support free enterprise. 15/

Eliminated the line about 19 new and additional taxes and broke out the relevant taxes. Thanks to @bobmackin for his critique on this.

Fixed a couple of typos and some other minor tweaks were made to the document. 16/

This list is by no means complete it is a living document, this is a 2nd draft and I’ll continue to collect feedback and refine in the coming weeks and months.

Thanks again to everyone for their contributions and to those who offered critiques. Additional feedback welcome! 17/

We can address the spark to the anti-capital movement (structural housing affordability challenges) with mkt based solutions, additional density across Metro Van, and transit to connect us. Let's also welcome capital back into BC to ensure our future prosperity. Final

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