Posts by Marc Lee

About Marc Lee

Marc Lee is a Senior Economist at the CCPA’s BC Office. In addition to tracking federal and provincial budgets and economic trends, Marc has published on a range of topics from poverty and inequality to globalization and international trade to public services and regulation. Marc is Co-Director of the Climate Justice Project, a research partnership with UBC's School of Community and Regional Planning that examines the links between climate change policies and social justice. Follow Marc on Twitter

Rising housing costs in Vancouver: New evidence from the Census

Nov 27, 2017

By Marc Lee

Vancouver’s housing affordability crisis is full of jaw-dropping anecdotes about home prices and rents. But with almost a million households in Metro Vancouver, there are both winners and losers from the boom. A recent Statistics Canada release on housing affordability from the 2016 Census allows us to put some numbers to the crisis. Almost two-thirds… View Article

Big transportation investments needed now in Metro Vancouver: Budget 2018

Nov 20, 2017

By Marc Lee

In Metro Vancouver, as the region’s population has grown so has its congestion problems. Whether enduring a long wait to cross a bridge or get on a bus, everyone can relate to the additional time and stress caused by a transportation system under strain. Metro Vancouver is, for all intents and purposes, at “peak car”:… View Article

BC Budget 2018 should use progressive tax options to deliver on affordable housing promises

Nov 7, 2017

By Marc Lee

BC’s real estate boom has created winners and losers and has led to a growing housing affordability crisis with tremendous social and economic consequences. Metro Vancouver continues to have a massive housing affordability problem—in both home ownership and rental markets—that threatens to undermine the region’s long-term prosperity. Moreover, the 2017 Homeless Count revealed that homelessness… View Article

The end of Site C? BC Utilities Commission finds “tension cracks” in BC Hydro’s case for the mega dam

Nov 3, 2017

By Marc Lee

The BC Utilities Commission final report on Site C is a bombshell. It now seems very likely we will see the termination of the BC Hydro mega-project by the end of the year. I had anticipated a final report that was more equivocal, which would result in a difficult decision for the BC government. But… View Article

BC Budget must go beyond small carbon tax increases to fight climate change

Oct 30, 2017

By Marc Lee

After many years of inaction, BC needs a new climate plan. The previous government’s August 2016 Climate “Leadership” Plan was more than a disappointment. Not only did it do little to reduce BC’s greenhouse gas emissions, the plan was written hand-in-hand with the fossil fuel industry. For many British Columbians, climate action is synonymous with… View Article

Climate justice and the BC carbon tax: 20th Anniversary retrospective

Oct 27, 2017

By Marc Lee

BC’s carbon tax was announced in February 2008, a year after the landmark February 2007 Throne Speech that focused extensively on climate change. That set in motion a whole-of-government exercise out of the Premier’s office aimed at developing a climate action plan. (See my ten-year retrospective here.) At the time, a carbon tax was widely… View Article