Statement from finance minister Michael de Jong:

“The changes B.C. made this summer are intended to address a number of the issues raised in today’s story on real estate by the Globe and Mail.

The Province of British Columbia has successfully issued an Indian Rupee denominated bond on the London Stock Exchange, making it the first-ever foreign government to issue a bond in the Indian offshore market and strengthening increasingly important trade and investment ties with India.

Legislation introduced creates new measures to help make home ownership more affordable, establishes a fund for market housing and rental initiatives, strengthens consumer protection, and gives the City of Vancouver the tools it requested to increase rental property supply.

The initial board of directors for the Capital Markets Regulatory Authority has been chosen and new timelines for implementing the authority have been set, announced Finance Minister Michael de Jong on behalf of the Council of Ministers.

Detailed information on total compensation for senior public sector executives, demonstrates the effectiveness of ongoing measures to increase affordability, transparency and accountability in public sector compensation.

The Province is engaging the public to help ensure British Columbians understand the impact of the proposed Canada Pension Plan (CPP) enhancement.

Canadian economist Bev Dahlby has been named as chair of the B.C. Tax Competitiveness Commission.

The Province released the first set of data resulting from new measures to track the extent of foreign real estate transactions.