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B.C. NDP party Leader John Horgan said “AdvantageBC seems to be advantage for those that back the B.C. Liberal party. We don’t know who these companies are, or how much they’ve been able to pocket over the past number of years.” The program has operated under an NDP government, but was expanded during the Liberals current reign.

Former Liberal finance minister Colin Hansen is CEO of AdvantageBC and told Postmedia News “The tax rebate program goes back 30 years and was designed to build Vancouver’s reputation as an international financial centre.”

Hansen said the program focuses mostly on companies in China because “if you were to make a list of 1,000 companies that are global in size and want to reach out globally and regionally (and don’t already have established headquarters elsewhere) 90 per cent would be in China.”

The New York Times reported that “companies can receive refunds on real estate activities with foreigners, including mortgage loans on property in Canada for international buyers. Conducting the same domestic activities for Canadians would not qualify for the refunds. This has raised concerns that the tax refunds may encourage banks and other companies to prioritize foreigners over Canadians in Canada’s overheated housing markets.”

Ministry of Finance spokesman Jamie Edwardson, who defended the value of the program in comments to the New York Times, was asked by Postmedia if B.C.’s government knows of any foreign business-people involved in the program who have become significant investors in residential real estate in B.C.