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The “racist” label continues to be used liberally in Metro Vancouver, often to silence debate about the city’s housing affordability crisis.

While it’s unwise to dismiss the possibility of racism entirely in Metro or anywhere, it’s also dangerous to exaggerate it, particularly when the epithet is being used by certain real estate developers who find the accusation serves their self interest.

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One of the first recorded groups in Metro Vancouver to trot out the “racist” label to intimidate slow-growth advocates and other (largely left-wing, community-protecting) opponents was The West Side Builders Association.

The developers’ group initially did so in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

That’s when Metro Vancouverites were trying to respond to an influx of wealthy newcomers, many from Hong Kong, who were paying builders to tear down old homes and replace them with giant ones, particularly in Kerrisdale and Shaughnessy. Many residents responded by pushing for new bylaws to protect design quality, trees and greenery.