This policy doesn't intend to address real estate affordability but the supply of rental housing in Vancouver. From the document I linked:

> Vancouver continues to experience the lowest rental vacancy rates and highest rents among Canada’s major cities, making rental housing affordability and availability a significant challenge for those who live and work in Vancouver, and those who would like to in the future. In an effort to address this and increase the supply of rental housing in Vancouver, in 2017, the City of Vancouver introduced the Empty Homes Tax (EHT), also known as the Vacancy Tax.