The supplementary question.

The division bells rang from 1140 to 1145.

On April 18, 2023, Mr. Lecce moved second reading of Bill 98, An Act to amend various Acts relating to education and child care.

On April 20, 2023, Mr. Coe moved that the question be now put.

All those in favour of Mr. Coe’s motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Mr. Lecce has moved second reading of Bill 98, An Act to amend various Acts relating to education and child care.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard some noes.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This will be another five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1149 to 1150.

Second reading agreed to.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1154 to 1300.

First reading agreed to.

I want to introduce a petition. It’s titled “To Raise Social Assistance Rates.” I want to thank Professor Sally Palmer and also Tina Harrison from Dufferin-Peel secondary schools for providing me with these signatures.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent small increase of 5% for ODSP still leaves these citizens below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to survive at this time of alarming inflation;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this petition. I’ll affix my signature and present it to page Lazo to bring down to the Clerks’ table.

I want to thank the thousands of Londoners who attended Earthfest on the weekend and who lined up at my table to sign this petition to protect the greenbelt and repeal Bills 23 and 39.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Bills 23 and 39 are the Ford government’s latest attempt to remove protected land from the greenbelt, allowing wealthy developers to profit over bulldozing over 7,000 acres of farmland;

“Whereas green spaces and farmland are what we rely on to grow our food, support natural habitats, prevent flooding, and mitigate from future climate disasters with Ontario losing 319.6 acres of farmland daily to development;

“Whereas the government’s Housing Affordability Task Force found there are plenty of places to build homes without destroying the greenbelt, showcasing that Bill 23 was never about housing but about making the rich richer;

“Whereas the power of conservation authorities will be taken away, weakening environmental protections, and preventing future development;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately repeal Bills 23 and 39, stop all plans to further remove protected land from the greenbelt and protect existing farmland in the province by passing the NDP’s Protecting Agricultural Land Act.”

I fully support this petition. I’ll affix my name and send it to the table with page Senna.

I’m going to put a couple of facts on the table before I answer that question in particular. First of all, in Canada, Ontario has the lowest wait times for surgeries. We lead Canada in Ontario. That is in no small part because of the excellent work that our clinicians and our hospitals have been able to do dealing with the pandemic backlog. We’ve done that.

We also understand that there is more work to do in terms of ensuring that we do even better for the people of Ontario, which is why, through Bill 60, we have allowed an expansion in the community and surgical area. The member opposite would know very well that there are hundreds of community surgical and diagnostic organizations that are already operating in the province of Ontario, and we are expanding that in Bill 60 because we understand people want access to care as close to their community as possible.

We, of course, also have, through the work of the Minister of Colleges and University, our Learn and Stay program, which has ensured the largest number of students applying for those nursing spots because they want the opportunity to train, to live, to work in their community. That recruitment continues, and we will ensure that we train the appropriate health human resources. We’re doing the capital investments. We’re getting it done.

Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé.

As our provincial health care system continues to face severe staffing shortages and patients are seeing record wait times, whether in emergency rooms or for surgery, more than a dozen nurses are being laid off at Stevenson Memorial Hospital. Can the Minister of Health explain what led this hospital to have to lay off 13 nurses?

Will this government allocate the funds to Stevenson Memorial Hospital so it can keep their nurses that the patients so need and deserve?

This petition is entitled “Save Ontario Place.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario Place has been a cherished public space for over 50 years, providing joy, recreation, and cultural experiences for Ontarians and tourists alike...;

“Whereas redevelopment that includes a private, profit-driven venture by an Austrian spa company, prioritizes commercial interests over the needs and desires of the people of Ontario and it is estimated that cost to prepare the grounds for redevelopment to build a 2,000-car underground garage will cost approximately $650 million;

“Whereas there are concerns of cronyism by Mark Lawson, Therme Group Canada’s vice president of comms and external relations who was previously Ford’s deputy chief of staff;

“Whereas meaningful public consultations with diverse stakeholders have not been adequately conducted and the Ontario NDP has sent a letter of support for a public request to begin an investigation into a value-for-money and compliance audit with respect to proposed redevelopment of Ontario Place;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to halt any further development plans for Ontario Place, engage in meaningful and transparent public consultations to gather input and ideas for the future of Ontario Place, develop a comprehensive and sustainable plan for the revitalization of Ontario Place that prioritizes environmental sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity, and ensure that any future development of Ontario Place is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner, with proper oversight, public input, and adherence to democratic processes.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and pass it to page Nicholas to take to the table.

I have a petition:

“Vulnerable Persons Alert.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas there is a gap in our current emergency alert system that needs to be addressed;

“Whereas a vulnerable persons alert would help ensure the safety of our loved ones in a situation where time is critical;

“Whereas several municipal councils, including, Brighton, Midland, Bonfield township, Cobourg and Mississauga and several others, have passed resolutions calling for a new emergency alert to protect our loved ones;

“Whereas over 90,000 people have signed an online petition calling for a ‘Draven Alert’ and over 6,000 people have signed an online petition calling for ‘Love’s Law’, for vulnerable people who go missing;

“Whereas this new alert would be an additional tool in the tool box for police forces to use to locate missing, vulnerable people locally and regionally;

“Whereas this bill is a common-sense proposal and non-partisan in nature, to help missing vulnerable persons find their way safely home;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Support and pass Bill 74, Missing Persons Amendment Act, 2023.”

I wholeheartedly support this petition. I’ll affix my name to it and give it to page Mackenzie to bring to the Clerk.

I’d like to thank the minister for visiting my riding of Newmarket–Aurora this past Friday where we had a very fruitful round table. During this recent visit with our local small business leaders, the Minister of Red Tape Reduction and I heard about the problems they are facing because of outdated, redundant and ineffective regulations. Their message to our government was very clear: Businesses expect our government to leave no stone unturned when it comes to cutting red tape and attracting new investments that will help to create more good-paying jobs and strengthen our economy. While our government continues to get it done, it is obvious that continuing to eliminate red tape and keeping costs low is crucial to maintaining Ontario’s competitive advantage.

Can the minister please share how our government is making it easier for businesses to invest and grow in Ontario?

The Standing Committee on Social Policy, Speaker.

I think everyone in this House can agree that all of us are here because of our amazing volunteers. I’d like to welcome some volunteers from my riding today: Samantha Kesar, David Newbury, Saroj Gandhi, Keith Fleming—two of whom are now constituency staff in my office. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to take the opportunity today to welcome my constituency office manager, Mariana Ghobrial. She has been with us for three years. This is the first time she’s visiting Queen’s Park. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The petition I’d like to read is entitled “Protect the Greenbelt and Repeal Bills 23 and 39.” It states:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Bills 23 and 39 are the Ford government’s latest attempt to remove protected land from the greenbelt, allowing wealthy developers to profit over bulldozing over 7,000 acres of farmland;

“Whereas green spaces and farmland are what we rely on to grow our food, support natural habitats, prevent flooding, and mitigate from future climate disasters with Ontario losing 319.6 acres of farmland daily to development;

“Whereas the government’s Housing Affordability Task Force found there are plenty of places to build homes without destroying the greenbelt, showcasing that Bill 23 was never about housing but about making the rich richer;

“Whereas the power of conservation authorities will be taken away, weakening environmental protections, and preventing future development;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately repeal Bills 23 and 39, stop all plans to further remove protected land from the greenbelt and protect existing farmland in the province by passing the NDP’s Protecting Agricultural Land Act.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and deliver it with page Olivia to the Clerks.

Ms. Stiles has moved opposition day number 4.

I recognize Ms. Stiles to lead off the debate.

This afternoon, I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and it reads as follows:

“Whereas to address the current staffing shortages in the health care sector, the Ontario government has proposed an investment of $200 million in 2023-24 to address immediate staffing shortages; and

“Whereas to grow the workforce for years to come, this” funding “includes:

“—offering up to 6,000 health care students training opportunities to work in hospitals providing care and gaining practical experience as they continue their education through the Enhanced Extern Program. This program has offered these opportunities to over 5,000 health care students; and

“—supporting up to 3,150 internationally educated nurses to become accredited nurses in Ontario through the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership Program; and

“Whereas more than 2,000 internationally educated nurses have enrolled in this program and over 1,300 of them are already fully registered and practising in Ontario; and

“Whereas Ontario is continuing to hire more health care workers to ensure everyone” in this province “can see a trained professional when they need to; and

“Whereas key new investments in” the 2023-24 budget “to build the health care workforce include:

“—$22 million to hire up to 200 hospital preceptors to provide mentorship;

“—$15 million to keep 100 mid-to-late career nurses in the workforce; and

“—$4.3 million to help at least 50 internationally trained physicians get licensed in Ontario;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the passage of the Ontario budget bill, Bill 85, Building a Stronger Ontario” Act.

Speaker, I fully support this petition. I’ll be signing my signature to it as well, and I will be passing it to page Leonard to bring it to the table this afternoon.

This petition is entitled “Stop” the Premier’s “Health Care Privatization Plan.” As you know, we can’t say the Premier’s name, so I’ll edit on the fly.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas” the Premier and the health minister “say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

I wholeheartedly support this petition. I want to thank Kim Gavan-Rousseau from Sudbury for starting the petition signatures going. I will sign it and give it to page Nicholas to provide to the table.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Support Gender-Affirming Health Care.

“Whereas two-spirit, transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse, and intersex communities face significant challenges to accessing health care services that are friendly, competent, and affirming in Ontario;

“Whereas everyone deserves access to health care, and they shouldn’t have to fight for it, shouldn’t have to wait for it, and should never receive less care or support because of who they are;

“Whereas gender-affirming care is life-saving care;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the reintroduction of a private member’s bill to create an inclusive and representative committee to advise the Ministry of Health on how to realize accessible and equitable access to and coverage for gender-affirming health care in Ontario.”

I will proudly affix my signature to this petition and send it back to the centre table with page Lazo.

I move that, whereas there is a cost-of-living crisis in Ontario; and

Whereas the cost of rent has increased to more than 50% of the take-home income for many Ontario households; and

Whereas the removal of all rent control from homes first occupied after 2018 has exposed tenants to unaffordable double-digit rent increases; and

Whereas the ability to increase rent between tenancies accelerates the rising cost of rent and incentivizes illegal evictions; and

Whereas housing is a human right;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the government to implement rent control on all units, including between tenancies.

I have been travelling around the province, and here’s what I can tell you: In big cities, small towns, rural and urban communities all across this province, Ontarians are hurting from a historic cost-of-living increase.

En début de semaine, le Toronto Star a rapporté que les loyers dans la région du grand Toronto ont atteint 3 000 $ pour la première fois au cours du premier trimestre de cette année. Il s’agit du sixième trimestre consécutif au cours duquel les loyers de la région de Toronto ont connu des augmentations à deux chiffres d’une année sur l’autre. Trois mille par mois, c’est plus qu’inabordable; c’est alarmant et anormal.

This is not just about Toronto or the GTA; it’s happening all across this province. Pour de nombreux Ontariens, le loyer représente 50 % ou plus de leur revenu mensuel net—50% or more of their rent, and I can tell you in many cases it’s far more. Telle est la réalité de la crise du logement de l’Ontario.

Young working professionals, families and seniors are being pushed out of their communities—communities that have their support networks, their friends and families—and forced into smaller and smaller units, simply to be able to put a roof over their heads.

De plus en plus de personnes se retrouvent sans logement. La vérité est que la crise du logement en Ontario et la réalité à laquelle les Ontariens sont confrontés sont complètement ignorées par ce gouvernement. Ils sont déconnectés et n’ont aucune idée de ce à quoi la population de l’Ontario est confrontée.

The truth is that Ontario’s housing crisis and the reality that regular Ontarians are facing is completely being ignored by this government. They are out of touch, and they have no idea what the people of this province are facing. When the Ford government took over in 2018, they made it easier to increase rent between tenancies, further incentivizing illegal evictions and accelerating the already rising cost of housing. They actually took away rent control for newer units.

The Ontario NDP has put forward and continues to put forward practical, proven solutions that will help Ontarians as the province faces this housing crisis. We’ve called for ending exclusionary zoning—it’s an obvious one—investing in construction of affordable homes, and putting an end to speculation from rich or greedy developers taking advantage of the crisis that we are facing and that is making it impossible for Ontarians to find a safe place to live.

Nicole, a tenant in my community, pays almost two grand for a basement apartment, but it’s in a community that she loves, close to her family and friends. But because of Ontario’s lax rules when it comes to rent control, she and many of her fellow community members are seeing $200-to-$300 increases—an almost 10% increase. People are being forced out of their communities because of skyrocketing, out-of-control rent hikes.

Cette situation n’est pas viable. Ce gouvernement parle constamment de la croissance de la province et de la nécessité d’augmenter le nombre de logements. Pourtant, il ne s’attaque pas à certains des problèmes fondamentaux qui sont au coeur de cette crise de l’accessibilité au logement.

Instead, their failing housing policies only seek to line the pockets of wealthy developers and insiders. We see it again and again and again.

We are calling for a practical and achievable solution to start addressing the housing crisis in this province. Implement rent control on all units, including between tenancies. It’s one simple and practical but ultimately important solution to help make sure that no one else in Ontario is rendered homeless or in poverty as they struggle to afford a place to live. It’s really not too much to ask. People in this province are struggling. This is a solution that would help so many out there.

We don’t introduce these motions lightly. We know that what we are putting forward is doable. That’s why we bring it forward. We expected—we hoped—the government would come forward in their budget with something like this, that would actually help people at a time when they’re really struggling.

I can tell you, Speaker, everywhere I go in this province, as I said at the beginning, in every corner of this province, this is a crisis. I mentioned it before: I go to one small community and they say, “You think the housing crisis is bad over there? No, no, no, it’s worse right here.” I go to another community and they say, “They think they’ve got it bad? You should see what it’s like here.” From North Bay to Barrie, from Timmins to Welland to Brampton to Ottawa and everywhere in between, people in this province are struggling.

This is something tangible that this government could do right now to help so many people who are falling behind. Ontario does deserve a government that supports them when times get tough. They deserve for everyone in this chamber to be supporting this motion.

With that, I urge the government to support this motion and help so many Ontarians who are falling behind.

I’m pleased to support the motion that the Leader of the Opposition has brought forward today. It’s not just about economics. That’s a really important part of it, but there is an imbalance now that exists between landlords and tenants on a whole bunch of housing that has just been built. Take, for instance, Vista Local, which is in my riding of Ottawa South. There are hundreds and hundreds of residents there who saw between a 6% and 20% increase. How in any way is that fair?

Rent control was to establish a level playing field of balance of power between a landlord and a tenant so that—not that it was equal, but tenants knew they could remain in the place that they were and that the increases would be reasonable. It’s the only fair thing to do.

Right now, with the shortage, landlords have all the power.

But here’s the thing—this is another piece that’s really disturbing about rent control here in Ontario, and that’s the Landlord and Tenant Board. If you want to talk about power imbalances—this government has failed to put the resources necessary in that board to serve the people who need to be served. If you’re a gigantic landlord, it’s not a problem for you at all, because you’ve got lawyers on retainer. You don’t have to worry. Most people might just give up at a certain point. But if you’re a tenant and you have to wait months and months and months, that’s pretty tough.

If you’re a small landlord—they’re really hurting. Small landlords who buy a property to make an investment—good people who don’t take advantage of their tenants. But if they get a tenant who takes advantage of them, they’re stuck. Why is that in any way okay? Why in any way is that acceptable?

Why does this government not put the resources in to the board that adjudicates disputes between tenants and landlords? Was it not important? Did you not want to do it? Was there a reason for doing that? Was it because you wanted it all backed up and for people to give up?

The only benefit that I can see that’s derived from what’s happening with landlord-tenant relations and that board is—it’s okay for big landlords. It’s really good for them. It doesn’t hurt them at all.

Small landlords? Mom-and-pop shops? People who bought a property for their retirement? People who are depending on that income? They can’t get justice. Tenants can’t get justice.

I wholeheartedly support this motion.

But even more importantly, would the government just get its act together and make sure that board works for tenants and small landlords—because right now, to say it’s not working would be kind.

I’m very pleased to have the chance to rise today and talk about this very important issue, and also to clarify for the House and for Ontarians the important work that our government is doing to make life more affordable for the 1.7 million Ontario households that rent.

We know that finding a place to rent at a price that’s attainable can be challenging for Ontarians, particularly in these times of record inflation. But we also know that the issue that is at the very heart of this difficulty is a lack of supply. This, more than anything else, is the root of the problem facing Ontarians—that there simply is just not enough rental housing to go around.

This isn’t a new problem. I’m sorry to report to the previous two speakers that previous governments simply didn’t care enough about the issue of rental housing supply. For a decade and a half, the supply crisis has gotten worse and worse and ordinary, hard-working Ontarians were left to pick up the tab. Prices rose sky-high, and new purpose-built rental buildings just simply weren’t being built, and that was a huge problem. Instead, what we saw in Ontario was a stagnation of supply, and more and more renters were left struggling to make do.

From the very first day that our government was elected, we decided to take a different approach. Rather than sit on our hands and watch hard-working Ontarians get squeezed out of the rental market, we decided, as a government, to act. On day one, the very first question that I received in this House was about supply and the fact that the government needed to work collaboratively to increase the supply of housing. We went to the polls in June of last year. We made rental housing policy such a central part of that plan of building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

In our third housing supply action plan, More Homes, Built Faster, we decided to make the cost of building purpose-built rentals cheaper. We know from the report of the Housing Affordability Task Force that one of the biggest factors that’s driving up the cost of new homes is municipal fees. That’s why we decided to reduce fees—and, in rental’s case, up to 25% for purpose-built rentals, with the highest discounts in that bill were family-friendly units.

I’ve had the opportunity to hear about the impacts of the policy that the government made first-hand. I’m very pleased to let the members of the House know this afternoon what I’ve heard. Thanks to the measures that our government has put forward, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re getting shovels in the ground.

I’m just going to use one example. Today in the city of Toronto, there are more active cranes in the sky in this city than there are in New York, Chicago, LA, Washington, DC, Seattle, and San Francisco combined—fantastic news. Clearly, Ontario’s economy and Ontario’s future is a good bet for investment and for future growth.

I said this two or three times this morning in question period: In 2021, our province broke ground on a record number of housing starts. On the housing start side, there were 100,000 housing starts in only 12 months, which was the highest level that the government had seen since 1987. The next year, 2022, we maintained our success, where we saw the second-highest number of housing starts since 1988, which was 96,000 new home starts—again, this is 30% higher than the annual 65,000 home average that the province has received in the last 20 years.

I think it’s really important for us to note this afternoon that many of those cranes in the sky in Toronto, as well as elsewhere in our province, are building exactly the type of housing we need most: more purpose-built rental.

Last year, rental housing starts reached the highest level in Ontario’s history—despite the heckles from across the way—of nearly 15,000 starts.

According to data from March, rental housing starts are up 211% in Ontario compared to the same time last year. This is fantastic news for renters, because only dedicated action and perseverance is going to get us to a place where there are enough rental homes to go around.

The evidence is clear: Our plan is working. But we’re not going to stop there, because we know more supply is needed and because we know renters need that security and stability in their homes.

Our government’s latest housing supply action plan, Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023, is geared towards further laying the foundation for growth, while expanding on protections for renters and for homebuyers. In it, we are proposing greater legal protection for tenants facing renovictions. When evicting a tenant to renovate a unit, we are proposing that landlords would be required to provide a report from a qualified third party stating that the unit must be vacant for renovations to take place. In addition, we would require further updates on the status of renovations in writing. Landlords would be required to provide a 60-day grace period for the tenant to move back in once the renovations are complete—and we’re proposing greater legal protection for tenants who face renovictions. This is something that we’ve heard in the House and heard as part of our consultations.

When evicting a tenant to use the unit themselves or for their family, the landlord would have to move into the unit by a determined timeline. This is something that has been a bit ambiguous in the Residential Tenancies Act. By failing to move into the unit within the determined time frame, the landlord would be presumed to have acted in bad faith, and the application could be made, then, by the tenant to the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The proposed changes that we’re making would effectively double the maximum fines under the Residential Tenancies Act, increasing them to a maximum of $100,000 for individuals, $500,000 for corporations. This sends a very, very strong message to bad actors that violations of the Residential Tenancies Act will not be tolerated. It also builds on the bold action we took during the pandemic to protect tenants. Our government froze rents and evictions to provide security and stability to renters in an unprecedented situation. And since then, we’ve taken a balanced approach that puts the interest of renters front and centre. That’s why, for instance, in times of record inflation, we capped rent increases for most rental units in the province at 2.5%, while ensuring that there is still enough opportunity to build new rental accommodation in the province.

My hope is that the parties opposite will recognize the historic opportunity our government has created here—an opportunity for us to stand up for renters—instead of opposing for the fourth time in a row a housing supply action plan that has been endorsed by the people of Ontario, that prioritizes the needs of renters. I hope that the opposition parties will recognize that they need to act productively and collaboratively.

Ontario is becoming the number one jurisdiction for businesses, for jobs, and for newcomers. Cranes are in the sky, shovels are in the ground, and our government is laser-focused on tackling the supply crisis and is hitting the ground running to build 1.5 million homes by 2031.

I can tell you, Madam Speaker, with absolute certainty that we are not going to waver in our efforts to deliver the homes that Ontarians need. We know that the fundamental factor driving rents out of reach for Ontarians is a lack of supply, and we will keep fighting to build those homes that Ontarians need.

Thank you, Madam Speaker, for letting me kick off our government’s response to the opposition day motion.