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Or sign-in if you have an account.B.C. Premier David Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney make an announcement about housing in Vancouver, on June 18, 2026. Photo by Government of British ColumbiaIn the 2015 British election, the Labour party campaign team underlined their commitment to keeping their promises by literally carving them in stone.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.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.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorWhen the leader, the hapless Ed Miliband, showed up to unveil the eight-foot-tall limestone slab, he turned to his spin doctor and said: “Bob, doesn’t it look a bit like a gravestone?”Miliband was assured they’d put some balloons on it and it would be OK. But it wasn’t.The “EdStone” became known as a physical monument to a party and a leader that were not ready for power.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againI repeat all that, in part because it is irresistible, but mainly because it shows that when political operatives gather together, there is often little room for common sense.In the annals of political cock-ups, the announcement by the federal and B.C. provincial governments of a plan to buy up distressed condos from even more distressed developers will barely rate a footnote.But it has become apparent that both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Dave Eby now consider the idea as toxic as proposing amalgamation with the Americans.Late last week, Carney said he had not done a particularly good job at rolling out the policy that has been criticized as a bailout of developers at the expense of the taxpayer. He said the scheme had been thought up by the province and, in any case, federal involvement was limited to 10 per cent of the potential condo purchase price of $1.5 billion.That was at odds with his enthusiasm the previous week, when he said the government was taking action because developers were stuck with high-priced condos and didn’t want to take a loss.Eby’s endorsement was even more lukewarm by the end of last week.“If people hate it, that’s OK. We don’t have to do it,” he said.Trial balloons used to be potential policies that were leaked to the media to gauge public reaction before they were announced. Now, it seems, irresolute governments just throw their spending plans at a wall to see what sticks.Eby told reporters that Ottawa wanted to announce the plan before all the details had been finalized. “I think in hindsight, we should have waited and made sure all the details were available,” he said.He added that “the numbers don’t work in Vancouver,” so any purchases would be made on Vancouver Island or in the Okanagan Valley. That was certainly not the impression given by the prime minister and the premier when they made the initial announcement flanked by condo towers in Vancouver.So how did we get here? The different levels of government are pointing fingers at one another, but it remains unclear who was pushing the concept of the condo bailout.Carney denied that developers had lobbied for the policy, but the federal Liberal party and the real estate industry in British Columbia are so closely intertwined, it is hard to see where one stops and the other begins.For example, Duncan Wlodarczak is the chair of the Liberal party in British Columbia; he worked for Vision Vancouver, the party of Housing Minister Gregor Robertson when he was the city’s mayor; and he is currently chief of staff to the president of Onni Group, a Vancouver-based real estate developer that might benefit from the new policy.Wlodarczak generated some headlines last fall, when he hosted a reception for ministers and MPs at the Liberal caucus meeting in Edmonton. He is not registered to lobby the federal government but said he, not his company, had paid for the event.We don’t know whether Wlodarczak held discussions with federal or provincial officials about a bailout for B.C. condos; he did not respond to repeated National Post interview requests Monday by phone and email.Robertson’s office told National Post that Wlodarczak was not involved with the federal government at any stage during the development of the policy. Christine Boyle, B.C.’s housing minister, did not return an email inquiry about any conversations the provincial government may have with Wlodarczak about this policy.But the situation warrants further investigation by the parliamentary ethics committee.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wrote to the committee chair this weekend, saying any bailout would prevent a price correction. “Taxpayers are being forced to intervene before developers lower prices.”He said the prime minister and the premier “blaming each other” raises questions about which minister was lobbied to introduce the program.“Despite being a joint announcement with Premier David Eby, neither side will confirm who originally pitched the idea,” he said.The Conservative leader noted that during two Liberal fundraisers in Vancouver, developers were in attendance with Carney, having paid $1,750 a head to be there.This whole affair is unlikely to be as ill-fated as the “EdStone” — deemed “the heaviest suicide note in history” by Boris Johnson. (Miliband’s Labour was subsequently trounced by David Cameron’s Conservatives.)But the condo bailout highlights one of the Liberal party’s enduring vulnerabilities: the willingness of the public to believe that its elected officials are open to helping “elites and insiders,” while pushing higher costs on everyone else.It looks like this particular transfer of wealth has been stopped in its tracks by the public outcry.But the sense that something is rotten in the province of B.C. is likely to linger.National Post Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.