My question is for the Associate Minister of Housing.

Recently, our government introduced a new housing action plan: Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act. Introducing this legislation means we’ve fulfilled a promise we made to Ontarians: bringing forward a housing action plan every year to help address the housing crisis Ontario is currently facing.

While this is positive news, constituents in my riding have raised questions and concerns regarding what actions our government can take to protect them as tenants. They’ve heard reports about questionable evictions due to renovations, demolitions and conversions that happen in housing units and apartments.

Can the associate minister please explain what additional protections will take effect to support tenants if our latest housing bill is passed?

Renters and landlords want a stop to antiquated and, yes, confusing regulations.

Our government must ensure that rules surrounding rental housing are fair, reasonable, and enforced in a timely manner.

As we enter the summer months, and with rising temperatures, individuals and families who live as tenants have raised questions about what rights they have to install air conditioning units.

Can the associate minister please explain how the proposed housing bill will address tenants’ rights to install air conditioning units?

My question to the member across the way is around protections for tenants. One of the issues that I hear about most frequently in my constituency office is from tenants who are pressured by their landlords. They feel that they have to move out. The landlords use unethical means to get them to move out, because the landlords know that once that tenant is gone, they can increase the rent to whatever they want.

I also hear from tenants who are living in buildings that were constructed after November 2018. There’s absolutely no rent control on those units. So why, if this government was genuinely interested in protecting tenants, did they not do something to scrap vacancy decontrol and to remove the exemption of the rent control for post-2018 builds?