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VICTORIA — Though the New Democrats promised to make renting “more affordable, fairer and more stable” in the last election, they stopped short of calling for tighter controls or even an outright freeze on rent increases.

Instead, tenants squeezed by year after year increases were promised a rebate of $400 a year.

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“Homeowners get a break on their property taxes each year, “ said party Leader John Horgan. “Renters deserve a break too, especially with the skyrocketing rents we see today.”

The rebate, costed at roughly $200 million for the province’s half-million or so rental households, made the top 10 list of promises in the NDP platform.

But despite its prominence in the campaign, the rent rebate did not make it across the finish line in the supplementary budget the New Democrats tabled in the legislature a year ago.

Taking credit for the omission was Green Leader Andrew Weaver, who denounced the $400 rebate as a “gimmick,” “bad public policy,” and one of “these slogans that have not gone through the rigorous process that is needed to ensure you’re dealing with the problem you’re trying to solve.”