There were always supposed to be two parts to B.C.’s municipal housing strategy: the carrot and the stick.

The stick has been in wide use since 2023, when the province began whacking municipalities with binding targets and deadlines on housing construction. But the carrot? Well, that promised financial aid for roads, water, sewers, transit and other critical infrastructure never quite materialized.

The latest to express frustration at the BC NDP’s ‘beatings will continue until morale improves’ municipal housing strategy is Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart. His fast-growing community was one of 10 hit with government housing targets last week, part of a growing list of 40 towns and cities. In an op-ed posted on the City of Coquitlam’s website, Stewart said he originally supported Premier David Eby’s housing target legislation in 2022, with the idea that the province would be there as a financial partner on everything........

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