Rustad wonders if he should have made ‘blackmail' claim after Opposition caucus meets
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad speaks to reporters at the legislature in Victoria, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito CAH flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: pubinfo.section: cms.site.custom.site_domain : thestar.com sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false firstAuthor.avatar :
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The Province
24 minutes ago
- The Province
Housing Minister Gregor Robertson's properties justify scrutiny
Douglas Todd: The Conservatives are pointing to how federal housing minister Gregor Robertson owns millions worth of B.C. property. We need to know the assets of every politician. A Conservative MP criticized Housing Minister Gregor Robertson in the House of Commons this month, arguing: "He says he's focused on protecting people's assets. Well now we know why!' (Robertson campaigning this year.) Photo by Jason Payne / PNG Conservative MP Scot Davidson was enjoying himself in the House of Commons this month at the expense of federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, former mayor of Vancouver. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'After telling Canadians he didn't want home prices to go down, we now learn the Liberal housing minister, Gregor Robertson, holds a $10-million real estate empire. Canadians struggling to afford a home have every reason not to trust the Liberals on housing,' Davidson said. 'The Liberal housing minister says he doesn't want house prices to go down. While every day Canadians are priced out of a home. He says he's focused on protecting people's assets. Well now we know why!' Davidson told Parliament, while MPs shouted on both sides. 'From his Vancouver penthouse, this minister is sitting atop a personal real estate empire worth over $10 million, including luxury properties in Tofino and Squamish and on English Bay. Why is it the only thing getting built under this housing minister is his personal fortune?' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In response to the Conservative MP's accusations, Robertson replied he would be following all parliamentary ethical rules about disclosing personal assets, adding, 'I will caution the member on using inaccurate facts.' The heated exchange on June 16 occurred a few days after Davidson pressed Robertson, who was mayor of Vancouver from 2008 to 2018, to tell parliament about his holdings and whether he receives rental income from them. Robertson declined to answer. Davidson, whose riding is north of Toronto, was accusing Robertson of being self-interested about his real estate in part because of the answer Robertson gave to journalists immediately after Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed him housing minister. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Asked about whether house prices need to go down, Robertson replied 'no.' That's despite prices in Canada, especially Vancouver and Toronto, being among the world's most unaffordable. The average cost of a detached or semi-detached home in Vancouver was $827,000 when Robertson was elected mayor in 2008. It was $2.3 million when he left office in 2018. Robertson told journalists during the exchange he was advocating for delivering more government-subsidized 'affordable housing.' He later clarified on X his opposition to prices declining is rooted in how, for most Canadians, their home 'is their most valuable asset.' Specifically, Davidson was going after Robertson on the strength of news articles by independent Vancouver journalist Bob Mackin that detailed his real-estate assets. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Robertson is far from alone among Canadian politicians who own second and third properties. Indeed, last year two out of five Canadian MPs, across parties, owned acreages, commercial buildings, shares in real estate investment trusts or, most commonly, served as landlords. Postmedia has confirmed Robertson, the MP for Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby, owns a highrise penthouse on Bidwell Street in Vancouver's West End, assessed at $2.4 million. The company of which he is sole director, 11 Otters Investments Inc., also recently bought a $2.8-million, 11-acre property on Pacific Rim Highway near Tofino, which includes a 'semi-custom' two-floor dwelling. In addition, Robertson is listed as an 'interest holder' in a 16-acre property and dwelling on Levette Lake north of Squamish, valued at $5.6 million. It's unclear how much Robertson's interest is worth, which means Davidson's claim he holds a '$10-million real estate empire' can't be confirmed. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The housing minister owns a penthouse on Bidwell St. in Vancouver's West End, assessed at $2.4 million. Photo by RICHARD LAM / PNG The public is set to find out more about the land and asset holdings of Canada's new housing minister, who was an executive with a green-tech company called Nexii Building Solutions before its bankruptcy sale last year, in the next month or two. That's because the deadline is fast approaching for all MPs to detail their investments and potential conflicts of interest to the federal ethics commissioner, who will post the information on the public registry. At that time voters should also find out about the holdings of Prime Minister Mark Carney, an investment banker who became leader without ever declaring his assets. In response to intense questioning before the April 28 election, Carney said his wealth had gone into a 'blind trust.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It makes a difference to know what our politicians own. The landlord status of former housing minister Ahmed Hussen prompted critical media coverage in 2023, when Postmedia reported that while he was housing minister he rented out two condos. Within months, former prime minister Justin Trudeau removed Hussen as housing minister. He was replaced by Sean Fraser. It was good optics for Trudeau to pick a new housing minister who wasn't a landlord because, according to data compiled by Davide Mastracci, one third of all Liberal cabinet ministers have made significant earnings from investment properties. Michael McDonald, former head of UBC's Centre for Applied Ethics, says it's important to question the motivations of cabinet ministers and MPs who earn money through real estate, especially those with multiple properties. They can be in potentially serious conflicts of interest. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This focus on politicians who own multiple properties comes at a contentious time — when 30 per cent of all Canadian properties are now owned by investors. More than half of all new condos in the Toronto and Vancouver regions have been bought by people who already own a home. Gregor Robertson's company owns a $2.8 million, 11-acre property with a 'semi-custom' dwelling on Pacific Rim Highway near Tofino. The real estate market's fixation on appealing to well-off investors, domestic and foreign, is a big factor behind stratospheric prices. It's also led to the construction of many small, poorly designed units in towers, which some call 'dog crates in the sky.' The price inflation caused in part by masses of investors is one reason that the CHMC has declared it will no longer try to get Canadian housing back to the affordability ratios of 2004. Instead, it's going to aim for the levels of 2019. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Alas, while that might be more realistic, 2019 is also when Demographia reported that Vancouver had the second most unaffordable housing out of about 120 cities, behind only Hong Kong. Toronto was almost as bad. As Robertson and Ottawa take on an affordability problem that has grown to crisis levels under the decade-old Liberal reign, it's difficult to tell whether Robertson is in a conflict of interest. More specifics are necessary. But it is crucial for voters to know how much all politicians own in property and other investments, so we can make informed judgments about whether they are serving us or themselves. dtodd@ Read More
Toronto Sun
25 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Parliamentary budget officer urges Carney to show numbers as spending rises
Published Jun 26, 2025 • Last updated 7 minutes ago • 4 minute read Prime Minister Mark Carney attends the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS Canada's budget watchdog urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to release an update on the federal government's finances soon or risk eroding the government's credibility with investors. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Carney is promising to spend billions on infrastructure, military equipment, housing and transportation — part of his ambitious agenda to boost the potential of the Canadian economy. Those plans, combined with slow economic growth, are causing economists to forecast a larger federal deficit this fiscal year. But the prime minister has put off the federal budget until October, citing the trade war and the shortened spring sitting of Parliament because of an election. Normally, budget documents are brought to the legislature in March or April. Yves Giroux, Canada's parliamentary budget officer, said it's 'appropriate and necessary' for the government to give 'at the very least an economic and fiscal update, to indicate what the path forward is.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'There's a lot of question marks on the government's fiscal plan,' he said. 'A budget would've been very helpful in clearing up the uncertainty and providing more detail.' Some of the government's spending plans will show up immediately: it's promised to add about $9 billion to defence expenditures this fiscal year, a move that has drawn praise from Canada's allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has estimated the deficit may rise as high as 3% of gross domestic product for the fiscal year that ends in March, which would be in the $90 billion range. That would be more than double what the government projected in December. Bank of Montreal says the shortfall could easily top $70 billion. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Carney's government is betting that planned investments will increase the longer-term growth rate of the economy, which would eventually result in stronger and more consistent streams of tax revenue. 'Canada continues to have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and is well-positioned to navigate global uncertainty,' said Audrey Milette, a spokeswoman for Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. 'We're not only strengthening our defence capacity and working towards our commitments, but we're also supporting good jobs and long-term economic growth.' 'Progress Costs Money' Most economists say there there's still room on the federal balance sheet for spending that boosts productivity and shores up the country's depleted armed forces. But investors will be watching carefully, and the government shouldn't necessarily expect a 'warm welcome' from the bond market as it ramps up borrowing, according to CIBC. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Overall, the significant amount of fiscal space available to Canada should be used, but progress costs money,' Ian Pollick, CIBC's global head of fixed income, commodities and currency strategy, said in an interview. Since the end of March, the yield on benchmark 10-year Canadian government debt has risen 38 basis points and the spread versus Treasuries has narrowed. In other words, Canada's advantage in borrowing costs relative to the U.S. has shrunk. Giroux said he expects the federal government to run a deficit of between $60 billion and $70 billion this fiscal year. The government is conducting a review of federal spending, but Carney has said he would leave social programs intact. The prime minister is looking to artificial intelligence and technological innovation to help reduce the cost of public services. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Giroux doubts that approach will yield results quickly or easily. 'Even in the medium term, it's probably optimistic to think that there'll be significant savings, unless of course the government decides to let go of certain programs, grants and contributions,' he said. CIBC's Pollick estimates the term premium on 10-year Canada bonds is 30 basis points higher since Carney's Liberal Party won the election on April 28. He attributes at least of a third of that to the government's plans to borrow more. 'The fiscal stance from Carney was pretty clear,' Taylor Schleich, a rates strategist at National Bank of Canada, said by email. 'They're not so worried about running a big deficit this year.' Deficits have often been an important part of political discourse in Canada. In the mid-1990s, the federal government made major cuts to programs and eventually achieved years of budget surpluses. But since the global financial crisis of 2008, it has rarely come close to a balanced budget. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The budget delay 'is defensible from the perspective that the outcome of trade negotiations will have a huge impact on revenues and expenses,' Benjamin Reitzes, rates and macro strategist with Bank of Montreal, said by email, 'But there's a risk future governments may use this as a precedent to do the same.' Canada is ranked AAA from S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Ratings, but Fitch, which rates the country AA+, has warned that structural deficits may add pressure to the country's credit profile. — With assistance from Thomas Seal. Read More Toronto Raptors CFL Canada Celebrity Sunshine Girls
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Two First Nations setting up encampment near proposed bridge to Ring of Fire
A political decision one thousand kilometres from Jeronimo Kataquapit's home in a remote First Nation near James Bay set the course for his summer. Now, the 20-year-old from Attawapiskat First Nation, his father, mother and older brother are headed upriver in two 24-foot freighter canoes on a 400-kilometre journey to 'reassert First Nations' presence' near the Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario. The family hopes to make it to their final stop, near a proposed bridge over the Attawapiskat River, by Saturday. There, they will meet a contingent from Neskantaga First Nation as the two communities unite to build a quasi-permanent encampment — and make a political statement. 'This is our home. This is our own territory, not just Attawapiskat's, but every nation in the area,' Kataquapit said in a recent phone interview with The Canadian Press, speaking from under a tarp in his canoe as his father navigated small rapids. They brought more than 200 litres of gasoline to run the 25-horsepower motors on their canoes. A generator also powers their Starlink kit that gives them access to high-speed internet from anywhere in order to document their travels on social media and stay connected to the outside world. The family left Attawapiskat on June 16 for the journey Kataquapit has dubbed 'Here We Stand,' which he said is a call to action to First Nations to show the federal and provincial governments they want to be consulted before any further development and mining in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire. The idea crystallized for Kataquapit in late May when Ottawa introduced Bill C-5, which Prime Minister Mark Carney's government said is designed to speed up major projects deemed to be in the 'national interest.' That bill, which was fast-tracked through the House of Commons and is now before the Senate, came on the heels of the similar Bill 5 that was rammed through the provincial legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto. A part of that legislation gives Ontario's cabinet the power to suspend provincial and municipal laws in so-called special economic zones in order to speed up projects such as mines. Premier Doug Ford has said the Ring of Fire would be the first such zone. Both pieces of legislation prompted outrage and protests at Queen's Park and Parliament Hill by First Nations who say the bills trample their rights and ignore their concerns. First Nations across the country, particularly those in northern Ontario, have warned they could turn to blockading roads, railways and mines if the legislation is not repealed. 'There's no way the governments can amend those bills,' Kataquapit said. 'Get rid of it, then maybe we can discuss other things.' Neskantaga First Nation members have already flown to the Ring of Fire encampment site to prepare it and they plan to head back there this week to meet Kataquapit and his family, said Chief Gary Quisess. About a dozen Neskantaga community members made their way by boat plane to the proposed river crossing, built a dock and are ready to dig in for the long haul. 'It's going to be a little, small community,' Quisess said. 'Our message is simple: no one will cross the Attawapiskat River without our free, prior and informed consent.' Neskantaga wants the governments to help its community first before agreeing on any development deal. Its nursing station flooded two months ago and remains boarded up, Quisess said. The First Nation also holds a notorious record — it has been living under a boil-water advisory for 30 years. 'We live in a third world,' he said. The province has proposed three roads that would connect the provincial highway system to two First Nations, Webequie and Marten Falls, as well as the mining exploration site known as Eagle's Nest inside the Ring of Fire. That proposed mine is owned by Wyloo, an Australian company. Two environmental assessments have been completed and a third one is underway for those roads. The completed reports have said the roads will take four to six years to build. Two bridge crossings of the Attawapiskat River have also been proposed. Both Neskantaga and Attawapiskat First Nations reside on the Attawapiskat River some 450 kilometres apart and they revere the waters that have provided life and sustenance for generations. They plan to live off the river and the land once entrenched near the Ring of Fire. 'The river is a very sacred area, many of our ancestors are buried along the shoreline, where they lived before,' Quisess said. In the days before his family's departure, Kataquapit held lengthy meetings with leadership to inform the rest of the community about the provincial and federal legislation. They also made several dozen Attawapiskat First Nation flags and family flags. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Those flags are painted with handprints, signatures and messages like 'Kill Bill 5.' Kataquapit has been planting them on the shore along the river route. Some days, his family travels nine hours and up to 60 kilometres. Other days are slower and shorter, with the canoes moving between four and seven kilometres per hour, he said. 'Around this time the river really starts to dry up, so it's really shallow in some parts, so we have to get off the boat and put on our long boots and drag the boats,' he said. 'It's just slow and steady travel. It's been long, it's been tough, but we are going to get there to stand with Neskantaga for all First Nations.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025.
