Robert Pickton stabbed with toothbrush and broken broom handle: victim's family
The family of one of Robert Pickton's victims says the convicted serial killer suffered an incredibly violent death at the hands of another inmate.
As Canada announces a two-year ban on foreign homebuyers, real estate experts offered mixed reactions when discussing the impacts on the market.
On Thursday, Canada’s federal budget included several measures with the goal of cooling Canada’s red-hot housing market, including $4 billion to help municipalities with planning and delivery of housing projects, and a $1.5 billion commitment over two years for as many as 6,000 new affordable housing units. Additionally, among the announcements is a two-year ban on foreign home purchases, though there are several exceptions, including students and refugees, among others.
“I think we've seen this before in 2017,” Nicola St. John, with Bosley Real Estate in Ontario, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. “I think it did have an impact then, and my sense is it'll probably have an impact now.”
St. John is referring to the Ontario provincial government’s 15 per cent tax on foreign homebuyers purchasing property in the province’s Golden Horseshoe. Ontario has since expanded the tax to 20 per cent across the province.
It’s this tax, and a similar levy in British Columbia, that leads Elan Weintraub, co-founder of Mortgage Outlet, to wonder how effective the federal ban will be at all. He argues that middle-class families will still have no chance of getting into the housing market without drastic changes.
“I don't think that this will help first-time buyers, and I don't think it helps Canadians get into a home,” he said.
“A lot of the measures and a lot of the plans, it's really a red herring. It doesn't accomplish much. I think the government needs to be much more clear on what their goals are in terms of housing.”
St. John said foreign home buying isn’t a huge issue in Canada, but it can make it hard for Canadians to purchase a home, because foreign buyers can sometimes offer significantly more than the other bidders.
“A lot of times the highest offer will come from a foreign buyer, so if that's taken out of the equation, I think that is going to affect the prices,” she said. “I think still there will be a lot of people offering, but I think that definitely it's going to curtail some of some of the spending.”
For privacy reasons, St. John couldn’t provide an estimate on how many purchases she’s seen that go to foreign buyers, but said the number is “not insignificant.”
Instead of a ban on foreign homebuyers,Weintraub suggests strict levies on all real estate investors, regardless of citizenship.
“The big one is homeowners versus investors, does the government not care that someone owned eight properties and someone else is struggling to buy one, their first property?” he said. “I think that really that’s the philosophical idea that they need to articulate and then execute against.”
Both St. John and Weintraub believe that the real issue in Canada is supply, and the promises the government has made to expand housing projects will help cool the market, provided they actually are completed.
“It’s fantastic, absolutely,” St. John said. “Let's have more homes. Let's have more possibilities for people.”
St. John also suggested further increased interest rates and a ban on blind bidding -- where perspective homebuyers are unaware of how much other bidders are offering -- would also help cool the market. A ban on blind bidding was among the promises the Liberals made in advance of the 2021 election.
___
What do you want to know about the budget? Email dotcom@bellmedia.ca.
The family of one of Robert Pickton's victims says the convicted serial killer suffered an incredibly violent death at the hands of another inmate.
Hundreds of love letters from decades past are up for grabs, offering a peek into days when pen and ink were conveyors of connection when miles apart.
Few people can say they accidentally purchased a nude beach — but Shelley can. When she saw a piece of land she could fondly remember camping on was up for sale, she inquired about it and ended up purchasing it. She soon found that there were already inhabitants on it.
The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers are both one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup final.
As weight-loss plans go, it's easy to see the allure of intermittent fasting: Eat what you want, but only during certain windows of time — often just eight hours a day.
A daughter of actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt filed paperwork to legally remove "Pitt" from her name on the day she turned 18.
A Mennonite father who killed his one-year-old son with an axe may be allowed to travel to parts of southern Ontario in the coming months
Tick season is well underway and there is a new species of ticks causing new diseases, which is why you need to take steps to protect yourself.
Canada is getting not one – but two – celestial shows over the next few days. Keep an eye on the sky for the northern lights and parade of planets!
A hefty donation by a renowned local activist to the University of Winnipeg has created what is believed to be the most comprehensive two-spirit archives in all of Canada.
Leanne Van Bergen discovered a skulk of 10 baby foxes, and two mothers, had made themselves at home on her property in Beausejour.
An 81-year-old Waterloo, Ont. woman thought she’d never ride a horse again after a brain bleed led to severe physical complications.
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Edward Island is celebrating its first-ever International Day of Potato on Thursday.
The president of Covered Bridge Chips in New Brunswick is hoping to have his factory rebuilt for late 2025 following a devastating fire last year.
Students and staff at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate had a unique problem to solve this month; how do you lead ducks to water from the school’s courtyard when 12 of them can’t fly yet?
Debby Lorinczy remembers her father as an amazing person and as a man who also made an amazing discovery.
Abigail Strate is a member of the Canadian national ski jumping team and an Olympic bronze medallist. She's also a certified beekeeper.