VICTORIA— Instead of taking real action to bring down the cost of homes for young families struggling with record debt levels, the Christy Clark government is encouraging people to take second mortgages for down payments, says B.C. New Democrat housing spokesperson David Eby.

“People can’t afford housing because Christy Clark sat on her hands for two years while prices spiraled out of control,” said Eby. “Now, instead of taking action to fix the problem by increasing the supply of affordable housing, Christy Clark thinks that first time homebuyers should get two mortgages instead of one.”

Christy Clark’s plan for first time home buyers doesn’t do anything to help affordability. Instead, it puts young people who are already facing record levels of debt further into debt, while rewarding developers and speculators, many of whom are big donors to the B.C. Liberal party.

“Christy Clark’s early Christmas present to Bob Rennie won’t make homes more affordable, it will cause prices of the homes that qualify for this program to increase. It is not a solution to the housing crisis, it is more debt for the middle class, and more cash for Christy Clark’s B.C. Liberal donors,” said Eby.

“During the two years that Christy Clark refused to believe that speculators were pricing families out of the housing market, the benchmark price of a detached home in Vancouver shot up by over $600,000. This announcement does nothing to reverse the huge cost of her neglect.”