The B.C. government is on the defensive after two realtors accompanied Premier Christy Clark on a trade mission to Asia.
Clark’s week-long trade mission comes amid concerns about foreign investment in B.C. real estate. Critics slammed the premier asking why realtors from Nu Stream Realty and West Coast Realty were on the trip. On Monday, Clark responded on Twitter saying, “We are focused on growing B.C.‘s economy and creating jobs. There is no promotion of B.C. residential real estate. Full stop.”
Kimberley Speers, a UVic political scientist, said the crucial issue is whether or not people have confidence in the government.
“The problem is the trust factor, do people believe what the Liberal government is saying?” Speers said.
The two realtors paid their own way for the trip and one was also doing charity work. CTV News was told both realtors were interested in commercial not residential deals.
BC NDP leader John Horgan said this difference is inconsequential.
“The notion that commercial real estate is somehow different than residential… is also missing the point because its being sold to people from somewhere,” Horgan said.
Neither Nu Stream Realty or Sutton West Coast Realty responded to CTV’s requests for interviews.
Speers said even if the companies aren’t selling B.C. homes, the optics do not look good.
“People are angry. We want to be able to afford to live here,” Speers said. “And that's what I've noted [on] social media as well. People just aren’t believing what the premier states, or the real estate agencies as well.”
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Bhinder Sajan
