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B.C.’s government must fight raging land speculation by banning non-resident purchases of B.C. farmland and extending a residential foreign-buyer tax across the province, Green party Leader Andrew Weaver said Tuesday.

In an interview, Weaver said the introduction of Metro Vancouver’s 15-per-cent, foreign-buyer tax in July 2016 initially cooled markets, but quickly led to speculation in other areas, such as Lower Mainland farmland.

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“It is critical we act,” Weaver said, noting shocking examples such as the listing reported in this story — a Surrey Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) property that is currently assessed at $3 million, but is advertised for sale at $37 million.

“The NDP need to start sending the market a message that the speculation will end sooner, rather than later,” Weaver said.

Weaver is proposing that foreign buyers be banned from buying parcels of farmland over a certain acreage. The limit would be lower in the Lower Mainland, he said.