McGill University denies authorship of influential study.
Widely quoted by government legislators, “McGill Study” Used to Ban Short Term Rentals Disavowed
Feb 2, 2024:
The pivotal document used by the BC NDP as the basis for its legislative ban on single unit short term rentals, referred to the as “The McGill Study” has been disowned by the University who has clarified that the study was authored by a professor in a purely freelance capacity, funded directly by the BC Hotel Association.
“I am writing to confirm… that David Wachsmuth conducted the study in a freelance capacity.” writes Lucy Brown, regulatory officer at McGill University, Jan 31, 2024.
Widely attributed to McGill University and referred to in government legislation and policy meetings dozens of times as “The McGill Study” the report was assumed authoritative and accurate. In the end, even though the work was commissioned directly by the BC Hotel Association in 2023, it became a damning indictment against short term rentals in Canada.
The study’s data interpretation has been disputed, including a Conference Board of Canada report that came to very different conclusions, but policy makers and politicians appeared to have relied on the strength of the McGill name and logo that feature very prominently on the report by Wachsmuth.
“Our concern is that the government made decisions based on a report that was wrongly attributed to an authoritative body,” said Suzanne Little, a director with Property Rights BC. “The fact that it was a freelance study paid for by an industry which could be seen to have an interest in shutting down competition, and was used to form the basis of law is highly questionable. We need to find out how this happened.”
The BC Hotel Association with its long history of donations to the BC NDP party and extensive lobbying efforts celebrated the resultant legislation against short term rentals, proclaiming it as a win. “We are thrilled that this legislation incorporates every recommendation that the BCHA has long championed,” states an email sent to hotel association members after the legislation was announced.
“Can the government justify legislation that was based entirely on a study thought to have been produced by a world class University, that has now turned out to be a freelance piece funded directly by an industry special interest? In our view the government has no choice but to revisit the legislation and seek legitimate consultation with all stakeholder groups,” said Little.
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REFERENCES:
The Study in Question ( referred to as The McGill Study in government documents) / See back cover. UPDATE: The study has been taken down and a 404 error now appears. Tellingly you can still see the URL path and that the document has now been removed.
Conference Board of Canada Study: “We find no compelling evidence that the level of Airbnb activity had a meaningful impact on rents. Out of the 30-per-cent increase in rents observed in our sample of neighbourhoods between 2016 and 2022, at most less than one percentage point, or just under $10, can be attributed to increased Airbnb activity,” the study read. “As a result, there has been an impact, but according to the Conference Board of Canada, not enough to thoroughly impact rental costs.” The Conference Board of Canada Study
Quote from Ingrid Jarrett, President & CEO of the BC Hotel Association.