Hugh's Brain

Paul Finch

3 min read

Paul Finch

Compiled Truth

Paul Finch is a leading BC-based land value tax (LVT) advocate and housing-affordability campaigner. He is the President of the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) (as of 2026) and previously served as Treasurer of BCGEU (2017–2025). In 2017, he launched the AffordableBC campaign under BCGEU, which included a detailed proposal for Land Value Capture. He has been “thinking and campaigning on these ideas for years” — Floyd describes him as a “leading advocate” in their guest-speaker invitation correspondence. He has connections across both Vancouver and Victoria policy circles (introduced to UBI Works orbit via Jeremy Loveday). He spoke at a UBI Works LVT meet-up in 2024 and was invited back as a guest speaker for follow-on Vancouver + Victoria events. Most recently (2026-06-03) tagged by Floyd as a coalition partner alongside @bcgeu and @mario_canseco during Floyd’s extended LVT advocacy day on X. [Source: compiled from Notion Scrumban tasks (2024 invitation/meetup chains) + Floyd 2026-06-03 X advocacy day + commonwealth.ca/blog/bc-meetup-with-paul-finch (2026-03-03) + CBC News (2017-11-23) + affordablebc.ca]

Role & Relevance

  • Long-standing BC LVT advocate; treated by Floyd/UBI Works as a peer / coalition lead, not just a contact
  • Affiliated with AffordableBC and BCGEU (track record cited explicitly in invitation)
  • Active in Vancouver and Victoria policy meet-ups; speaks regularly
  • Coalition tag in Floyd’s June 2026 LVT advocacy push alongside BCGEU and pollster Mario Canseco

Key Relationships

  • floyd-marinescu — invited Paul as guest speaker; tags him in BC LVT/housing X advocacy
  • jeremy-loveday — surfaced Paul as a Victoria visitor and recommended-speaker pick
  • ken-yang — drove the Notion Scrumban operational loops around Paul Finch meetups (invitations, signups, webpage, talk extractions, thread, schedule)
  • ubi-works — host org for the meetups
  • land-value-tax — primary policy overlap

Timeline

  • 2017-02-15 | As BCGEU Treasurer, welcomed provincial interest in land value capture tax. Proposed taxing speculative real estate value around new transit infrastructure to fund transit development. [Source: bcgeu.ca, 2017-02-15]
  • 2017-11-23 | Quoted in CBC News: “progressive land value taxation is the key to cooling the housing market and building a more affordable B.C.” BCGEU launched AffordableBC campaign with detailed Land Value Capture proposal. [Source: CBC News, 2017-11-23]
  • 2019-01-07 | Co-authored “Building an Affordable B.C.” with CUPE 1767 president Jared Melvin and VP Harpinder Sandhu. Published op-ed in Vancouver Sun advocating land value taxation and closing loopholes. [Source: affordablebc.ca/land-value-tax-op-ed + vancourier.com, 2019-01-07]
  • 2024 | Spoke at UBI Works LVT meet-up (Victoria); recorded for clip extraction. Original DSLR file at Google Drive 1H_qDfqYvUdrjiMXxpTj0Z_v1zRi1DKET; Q&A at 15O34vlIQ317ed7yodkfWk7VeiWk0lyGJ. [Source: Scrumban card scrumban-paul-finch-meetup-talk-extractions-6ca4d0ca, 2024-10-03]
  • 2024-04-10 | Floyd sent guest-speaker invitation: “leading advocate,” proposed Vancouver + Victoria meetups timed around Paul’s BC-wide travel, format = talk + fireside + Q&A + lean-coffee small groups, potential focus on “practical activism with local and provincial governments.” [Source: Scrumban card scrumban-paul-finch-vancouver-speaker-invitation-21fb75e9]
  • 2024-onwards | Multiple Scrumban tasks: Van/Vic meetup scheduling (6e04adc6), signup + invitation page (2a2564cf), webpage (c21c5f2f), Victoria thread (10afa21e). [Source: archived Notion Scrumban tasks]
  • 2026-06-03 | Tagged by Floyd as coalition partner during extended LVT advocacy day on X anchored to BCGEU/Mario Canseco BC housing poll + Vancouver #1 talk-radio appearance. Coalition tags: @mario_canseco, @bcgeu, @paulgfinch. [Source: floyd-marinescu 2026-06-03 timeline entry, X/@floydmarinescu]

Open Questions

  • Current title at AffordableBC and/or BCGEU Resolved: President of BCGEU (as of 2026, per Common Wealth Canada blog). Previously Treasurer of BCGEU (2017–2025). [Source: commonwealth.ca/blog/bc-meetup-with-paul-finch, 2026-03-03; CBC News, 2017-11-23]
  • Whether the 2024 invitation translated into a follow-on Vancouver/Victoria event Status: Complete (Archive) on invitation card; Victoria event likely happened (talk extractions dated 2024-10). [Source: Scrumban archive, 2024-10]
  • His X handle confirmation Resolved: @paulgfinch per Floyd’s 2026-06-03 coalition tag. [Source: X/@floydmarinescu, 2026-06-03]

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