KELOWNA, B.C.: “Kelowna has done everything right. We have led the province in building new housing, exceeded our provincial housing targets, and increased the vacancy rate to its highest level in two decades. Despite Kelowna doing exactly what Victoria has demanded, the NDP’s one-size-fits-all approach threatens to cost us another summer tourism season.
Instead of empowering cities that have proven they can balance housing and tourism, the NDP government has established a top-down system that consolidates control and burdens municipalities with excessive bureaucracy. Kelowna has been forced to navigate a rigid and time-consuming provincial process that makes it almost impossible to adapt to local realities or plan for the tourism season.
That is why I am bringing forward two key amendments to the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act through Bill 25. One will align the provincial exemption timelines with the tourism calendar by bringing forward the effective date of a municipality opting out from November 1 to May 1, so we do not lose another summer tourism season. The other will allow greater flexibility for cities during major events that create surges of tourist demand for accommodations. We will have the opportunity to debate these issues when we return to the legislature and debate Bill 25 in committee in two weeks. The NDP promised to support a made-in-Kelowna approach to short-term rentals during the election, and I hope they are ready to make good on that by supporting these common-sense changes.
Our local businesses, property owners, and workers depend on tourism. Hotels, restaurants, wineries, tourism experience operators, cleaning services, trades, and the events that bring visitors here are all being hurt by this government’s failure to listen.
Kelowna does not need Victoria’s permission to succeed. It requires the freedom to govern itself responsibly. Conservatives will always stand with communities that take initiative, reward results, and deliver practical solutions. It is time for the provincial government to stop punishing success and start trusting local leaders.”