One set of rules for thee, another for me (and mine)..Taleeb Noormohamed, a Liberal candidate in Vancouver who broke the party’s proposed rules on real estate speculation, seems to be protected by the Liberal Party, that has yet to comment on the incident..Noormohamed is a longtime Liberal organizer, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. He’s a former political aide and co-chair of the Liberal Party’s 2012 national convention. In 2004 he ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal for the Vancouver Centre riding. He also ran a short-lived campaign for mayor of Vancouver..Noormohamed admitted to “buying and selling numerous properties for profit in a practice the prime minister now calls predatory.”.According to Radio CKWX-AM in Vancouver, Noormohamed’s dealings in real estate netted him a gross profit of approximately $600,000 in four years. This profit included two condos which were “flipped since the outbreak of the pandemic.”.Noormohamed was quoted by the radio saying “I think it’s really important to look at the property that was purchased and the property that was ultimately sold and the work that was done, and the cost and the effort and the consideration that was put into it.”.When CKWX asked Noormohamed exactly how many properties he had successfully flipped in the past decade, he said he did not want to speculate. The Liberal Party also did not respond to questions about the matter..This comes on the heels of Tuesday’s announcement made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who put forward an unspecified “flipping tax” on properties sold within 12 months of purchase. This tax partially hopes to target the recent inflation in the Canadian real estate market..Trudeau said the government will “crack down on the predatory speculators that stack the deck against you.” Trudeau went on, saying average Canadians have often gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to real estate, and committed to using “the tools we need to prevent predatory speculative practices.”.Trudeau’s criticism of real estate flipping was repeated yesterday saying “we’ll crack down on predatory speculators competing with families trying to buy their first home.”.NDP leader Jagmeet Singh used Noormohamed’s case as a point of contention against Trudeau, saying in a campaign statement, “…for six years Justin Trudeau has let speculators and home flippers off the hook while prices skyrocketed for regular people..“He says the right things about the housing crisis, but just like last time his promises are empty.”.Noormohamed is still running for a seat in the Vancouver Granville riding — the same riding to which Independent MP Jody Wilson-Raybould was elected. Wilson-Raybould said in an announcement July 8 she would not be seeking a third term in Parliament..Jackie Conroy is a reporter for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com
