Phil Webb: Campaign to restore almost interest free loans demonstrates how out of touch many seniors are to the plight of youth today and the perils facing the future of this province
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In February, the B.C. NDP announced a long-overdue reform of the provincial property tax deferral program. It was established in 1973 to help “cash poor/house rich” people retire in place, but an article in this newspaper in October 2025 showed how it became a housing subsidy used by many wealthy homeowners for personal profit. Through this program homeowners over 55 could access an almost interest-free loan from the taxpayer. It was reformed in February to charge a market rate of interest. The Council of Senior Citizens Organizations of B.C. (COSCOBC) is now calling to reverse these reforms. This tone-deaf activism plays well to their base, but demonstrates how out of touch so many seniors are to the plight of youth today and the perils facing the future of this province.
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Youth in B.C. are rightfully discouraged and despondent. They suffer high taxes, low wages, high prices, low economic growth, and see an ever-increasing burden of government debt. Modest middle-class goals of owning a home and raising a family are out of reach. Meanwhile, over half of government spending benefits seniors who enjoy massive housing wealth, low unemployment, and never-ending tax holidays. At the same time, governments are using taxpayer dollars and state authority to protect homeowners’ private investments, keeping youth priced out of owning a home. While seniors and youth occupy the same geographic space, economically we live in different countries.
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The CSOCBC rightfully notes a significant portion of seniors have low incomes. This is true, but fails to provide the entire economic picture: Seniors today are the wealthiest generation in Canadian history, and some of the wealthiest people in the world. Not only have older homeowners benefitted from the housing crisis, on average seniors enjoy healthy incomes, the lowest unemployment, lowest poverty rates and net worth 20 times that of youth. The property tax deferral subsidy specifically benefits the most successful of this blessed generation: older homeowners.
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This newspaper demonstrated examples of massive wealth using this program for personal profit. But even the average household benefitting is still very wealthy. In Vancouver, the average household receiving this subsidy in 2024 was worth $3.4 million. Almost 15 per cent of homes in leafy West Vancouver, with an average value of $4 million, received this benefit. When almost everyone under the age of 40 cannot afford a home, it is economically and socially repugnant to subsidize such wealth.
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Some argue the latest reforms don’t go far enough. All other provinces exclude wealthy households from benefitting. Even with the latest reforms, there would be nothing to prevent, for example, billionaire Chip Wilson from receiving this subsidy for his $60-million waterfront estate.
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I applaud the B.C. NDP in their reforms of the program. I am hopeful it spurs a greater discussion about the subsidies and economic benefits Canada provides to seniors. Most senior subsidy programs only exclude beneficiaries based on income. Often these thresholds are absurdly high. Ninety eight per cent of seniors receive old age security. Government only begins to claw back this benefit at $95,000 of personal income and it isn’t eliminated until $153,000. Net worth is completely ignored, resulting in billions of taxpayer dollars received by wealthy seniors, with working families and youth footing the bill.
