Province won't say whether $400 renters rebate will still happen

The B.C. NDP made it a cornerstone campaign promise in the last election: a $400 annual rebate for every renter in the province. 

It was part of the government's answer for an affordability crisis that was dashing hopes of would-be homeowners and hitting renters squarely in the chequebook every month. 

The New Democrats have had precisely 2.5 years in power to deliver on that promise, and so far, they have not. And now it's unclear whether it will ever come to fruition. 

A resolution urging the government to implement the renters rebate was voted on by delegates, but did not pass, at the NDP's weekend convention in Victoria. 

Follow-up questions to B.C.'s finance minister about a possible reversal failed to produce any clear answers. 

"We're continuing the work we started when we were elected," Carole James told CBC on Monday. "How much money we have, how long that takes, whether things are phased in — those are the kinds of options we have to look at."

James was pressed further on whether that means the rebate might not happen. "I'm certainly not ruling anything out," she replied. 

Marquee campaign promise criticized

The rebate was a prominent platform promise of 2017, heralded high on the NDP's first page of key policies.

But critics were quick to question how a relatively small chunk of change to renters would solve the root issue of housing affordability.

The B.C. Green Party, whose three-member caucus is propping up the minority government, has said that money could be better targeted where it's needed most. Leader Andrew Weaver has called it poor public policy in the past.

James acknowledged she continues to hear some of those same debates today about whether it's the most effective way to offset sky-high rents in parts of the province. 

"We know a large portion of people in British Columbia are tenants and they don't see the same kind of support, for example, that a homeowner does with the Home Owner Grant," she said.

"People had all kinds of ideas and approaches [at the NDP convention] that we could look at; it was a really good discussion we'll take into our decision making." 

Rebate dependent on budget

The finance minister made it clear that following through on the rebate depends largely on the money that is — or is not — available.

"We're in the budget process now, that goes through until the end of December and the beginning of January, and then we'll make those choices," said James. 

She said a definitive answer on the renters rebate should be expected in the next provincial budget in February. 

But the forthcoming financial forecast could shed some light on where the province intends to pull purse strings.

On Tuesday, James is set to reveal the province's second quarterly report for 2019-2020. 

The last fiscal update showed B.C.'s books are currently balancing on a razor-thin surplus of $179 million, down from the $274 million forecast in February.