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Why have the great bulk of Metro Vancouver’s suburban politicians stayed quiet about the impact of foreign capital on the over-heated housing market?

After the announced retirement of City of Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, many commentators said the calamity of his otherwise useful decade in office has been his slow response to the causes of the housing affordability crisis.

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But what does that say about the almost complete inaction of the more than 140 suburban mayors and councillors in Metro Vancouver’s other 20 municipalities, who are responsible for three-quarters of the region’s 2.5 million residents?

Almost all these elected suburban officials quietly make decisions that open the gates for tens of billions of dollars, much of it from offshore, to each year pour into commercial and residential real-estate projects.

With rare exceptions, we’ve heard only silence from the region’s mayors and councillors, whether of the political right or left. Indeed, some mayors have openly denied foreign capital is even an issue.