Trudeau says he’ll review soaring real estate prices in Vancouver

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Plus, good signs for salmon and a new aboriginal alliance 

We’ll look into it
The Tories are no longer the only party to promise to look at Vancouver’s stratospheric house prices. On Wednesday in Toronto, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau announced that, if elected, his government would “review escalating home prices in high-priced markets—like Vancouver and Toronto—to keep home ownership within reach.” As for what a review would entail, he was short on details. Trudeau also said the party plans to introduce a $125-million-per-year tax credit for developers and landlords to increase and improve rental units. It’s all part of the Liberal’s $20-billion, 10-year investment in what the party is calling “social infrastructure.” Read the release here.

Northern alliance
As Premier Christy Clark kicks off a convene with First Nations chiefs from around the province Tuesday, a new alliance of aboriginal leaders has formed in Northern B.C. Their focus: natural resource development in the northern part of the province—and the environmental risks that come with it. Fracking, for one (which is ongoing in northern B.C.); LNG, for another (still in proposals); and mega dam Site C (now in the very early stages of construction). “A more civil, legally consistent and logical approach to major project development that recognizes our laws and legal orders, and addresses the failures, is needed,” the group wrote in a letter to Clark.
 
Swimming upstream
The Vancouver Sun reports that the Fraser River is now once more a safe temperature for salmon, with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans having said water temperatures are back to normal (around 15 or 16 degrees Celsius). About 1.5 million sockeye salmon will head to spawning grounds this month, though the number of returning fish is expected to be lower than normal.