George Affleck, the BC Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Fairview, voted against affordable housing, empty homes tax, Airbnb regulations, and prioritizing presales for local residents, the former Vancouver city councillor’s voting record shows.

Affleck, who served as city councillor from 2011 to 2018, voted against a slew of motions aimed at improving housing affordability in a city grappling with a housing crisis.

On November 15, 2016, NPA councillor Affleck voted against a motion that directed staff to “provide clear priority to affordable housing projects, particularly those in partnership with BC Housing and the Federal Government, in the regulatory process, including both planning and permitting, to expedite delivery of affordable units to the largest degree possible.”

The same day, Affleck voted against a motion that directed staff to “staff to examine policy that would expedite development permits for purpose built rental housing; using affordability as a metric, to determine projects most suitable to be fast-tracked for development permit approval, providing applicants meet all City of Vancouver standards.”

A day later, Affleck voted against the motion that imposed a 1% tax on vacant homes in the city.

The stated aim of the tax is to “return empty or under-utilized properties to use as long-term rental homes for people who live and work in Vancouver” and to “help relieve pressure on Vancouver’s rental housing market, as our city has one of the lowest rental vacancy rates and the highest rental costs in Canada.”

On November 14, 2017, Affleck voted against a motion regulating Airbnb and other short-term rentals in Vancouver, whose stated objective was to “to protect the supply and

affordability of Vancouver’s long-term rental housing stock.”

On October 17, 2017, Affleck voted against a motion to “bring forward a policy framework for new development applications that gives residents who live and work in Metro Vancouver the first opportunity to purchase new pre-sale homes in Vancouver.”

Affleck is the CEO of Curve Communications, a marketing agency that counts real estate developers among its clients.