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.

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.

Yes—as we take decisive measures to strengthen tenant protections and remedies. That’s why Ontario’s rental housing starts so far this year are more than double the amount the same time last year.

That’s why Ontario is becoming the number one jurisdiction for businesses, for jobs, and for newcomers, with more active cranes in the skies of Toronto right now than there are in New York, Chicago, LA, Washington, DC, Seattle, and San Francisco combined.

But the NDP and Liberals would rather drag us back to the past. They would rather table legislation adding more red tape to delay, obstruct and oppose our progress.

In closing, our government is committed to ensuring the well-being of the people of Ontario and making sure that tenants and landlords are treated fairly. We’ll continue to look for ways to make homes more attainable for hard-working Ontarians, while making it easier to build more houses and rental units to address the ongoing supply crisis. This work is critical because we know that when communities and residents thrive, Ontario thrives.

Yes. You will also have an opportunity to vote on Bill 97, which also protects it more, I would argue. I encourage you to vote with us, but I’m not going to hold my breath on that.

Given the importance of the pressing issue, I can appreciate what the NDP is trying to do, but it falls very short, as usual, which is unfortunate.

Our government will continue to work with landlords and tenants, while the opposition will focus on ideological fixes. We will continue to work with builders, the non-profit sector, and with our construction and our municipal colleagues to ensure we build more housing across all of Ontario, in every community.

They can talk all they want, but our government is taking action. I hope they’ll join us in saying yes to real protections for tenants under Bill 97, but I know many of my fellow Ontarians fear they will just say no.

We heard the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing actually say in his remarks that it was the last two governments that have caused this housing crisis; frankly, it was a Liberal government for 15 years, with a Conservative official opposition for that entire 15 years—before the Liberals, it was the Mike Harris Conservatives. It seems like those of us on this side finally have something to agree with you on: It was indeed caused by both the Liberals and the Conservative governments.

Speaker, those of us on this side believe that housing is a human right. Studies have shown that when people have proper access to stable and safe housing, the risk of chronic homelessness vastly decreases and health and education outcomes increase positively.

Speaker, there are currently over 6,000 households waiting for housing in the city of Windsor alone. The Landlord and Tenant Board, which that this government talks about fixing—the backlogs are causing significant issues for my residents, and not just mine; all around the province. Landlords have applied for additional rent increases through the Landlord and Tenant Board, and because of the backlogs, decisions are being rendered years later. We have landlords that are coming to the tenants for back pay. One building in Windsor is charging tenants $1,000 in back pay for a rent increase because they waited so long for a decision from the Landlord and Tenant Board.

I had a constituent, just last week, come into my office in tears because she went to the Landlord and Tenant Board, couldn’t get an answer, was told to go to the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit, which has an automated message—they don’t answer—telling them to go back to the Landlord and Tenant Board.

So this government can crow all they want about what they’re doing at the Landlord and Tenant Board, but people can’t actually access those supports.

Speaker, it’s this Conservative government that has allowed the housing crisis to go from bad to worse.

I want to highlight some things. A recent report went to the city of Windsor council, reporting a significant increase in people experiencing homelessness in Windsor. The report shows that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Windsor has more than doubled compared to the report numbers in 2021—a Conservative government. The Conservatives have had a majority government for five years and, as I said, they were the official opposition for 15, and this is their record.

There’s an increase of 61% of Windsor-Essex residents visiting food banks from 2019 to 2022.

According to Feed Ontario, food bank use remains at an all-time high. There has been an increase in food bank use of 42% over the last three years and a 47% increase in people with employment accessing food banks since the Conservatives formed government in 2018. One in four children live in poverty and have to rely on food banks under this Conservative government. Two out of three people who access food banks are social assistance recipients. People in my riding and all across Ontario are struggling to provide food for their families.

Speaker, a key step toward addressing the housing crisis, to addressing child poverty and the increase in food bank use is to actually have affordable housing, to bring in true rent control for all residential units across the province.

Listening to the debate this afternoon, I am astounded by the arrogance and the hubris of some of these speeches, because it demonstrates such a stark and painful disconnect that this government has with the people of this province.

In Q1 of 2023, rents are now at $3,002 for a one-bedroom apartment in the city of Toronto. The only rent that hasn’t really gone past $2,000 are micro-units, which is 350 square feet. Most of our offices are bigger than micro-units at $2,000 month.

Just a few headlines: “A ‘Landlord Market’ Is Keeping Rents High in Waterloo Region, Says Realtor.” One person came forward, and her rent has gone from $1,750 to $2,750. An increase of $1,000 per month is this government’s legacy.

Another headline: “Landlord Doubles Rent for Syrian Refugees Using Exemption that Allows for Unlimited Increases.” This is an example—and I hope the minister is listening. The lack of rent control in the province of Ontario is hitting our most vulnerable people. This family are refugees from Syria. Imagine going through hell and then coming to Canada, and then to the province of Ontario, to be renovicted from your townhome. This landlord is increasing the rent from $2,000 a month to $4,000 a month. The family, whose income is only $4,000—so their entire income now must go to rent.

Another headline: “Tenants at Kitchener Complex Told to Move by End of April, But They’re Fighting to Stay.” The renoviction loophole is real, and this government has known it for five years. These are 14 tenants who are paying market value for their units. But of course, greed rules in the province of Ontario. They make a point—and this is a direct quote from the article: “If it’s up to tenants to enforce these punishments, then the landlords will keep getting away with it because tenants are already exhausted, especially if they’re going through renoviction. And to file” cases “with the Landlord and Tenant Board is an exhausting and stressful process.” Also, it’s a two-year wait to get justice at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Finally, the Waterloo region is seeing a lack of rent control on vacant units, which creates a financial incentive for landlords to evict long-term tenants, many of whom pay below market rates. These are predominantly, in Waterloo region, senior women.

I do want to say: The government has talked about affordability, has ruled out real rent control in Ontario, and they keep raising the carbon tax. Well, the reason we have the carbon tax in the province of Ontario is because this Premier cancelled cap-and-trade. He repealed cap-and-trade in 2018. Because this province has no plan around pricing pollution, we ended up with a carbon tax, so on this side of the House we just think of it as the Ford carbon tax.

I’m very proud to rise in support of the NDP motion to implement rent control on all units.

Speaker, this government’s decision to remove rent control from units built after 2018 and to stand by as tenants are pressured to move out of their units so that landlords can jack up rents by any amount they want is making life difficult for many in London West, but especially for those on fixed incomes, like seniors and people on social assistance.

Patricia Jones is a senior who called my office because her anxiety about rent increases is keeping her up at night. She currently pays over $1,400 per month for her apartment, which is unaffordable on her fixed income. She has looked for cheaper alternatives, but with the average one-bedroom rent in London almost $1,800 per month, she cannot find any rentals in decent condition to move to. Without real rent control, Patricia says she will not be able to afford more rent increases, and she doesn’t know where she will live.

Another senior, Dave Clark, contacted my office to say that seniors do not get pay increases: “I have not received a raise on my company pension since I retired in 2011.... It’s very unfair to have some buildings under rent control and not the latest-built units.” Dave has done everything he can to reduce his housing costs, including selling his house and moving to a newer apartment, but the lack of rent control on that unit means that his budget is uncomfortably tight every month.

London West constituent Anita Zahn has a son on ODSP who pays 98% of his monthly budget on housing. She says, “There is no money for food, bills, medications, clothing, transportation. Nothing. He is always 25 cents away from being homeless.”

Speaker, rentals.ca just reported that rent for a one-bedroom apartment in London has increased 27% year over year. It’s the second-biggest jump in the province. How can Londoners living on fixed incomes be expected to absorb that increase? The reality is that they can’t, which is a big part of the reason that London has found itself in a very deep and serious affordable housing crisis. There is a real lack of housing options that meet the needs of seniors like Patricia and Dave, and others living on fixed incomes, like Anita’s son.

Speaker, housing is a human right. Londoners need housing they can afford. They need real rent control so they don’t have to live in fear of losing their home when the next rent increase comes.

I call on all members of this House to support our motion today.

It’s always an honour to rise to speak on behalf of the good people of Toronto Centre.

I want to invite all the members of this House to go for a 20-minute walk with me. If you go for a 20-minute walk, you’re actually going to land right in the middle of St. James Town. It’s one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in all of Canada. Its density is 18 times that of any neighbourhood in Toronto. There are over 14,000 people who call St. James Town home, and the average household income is just $20,000. What we don’t have over there is a lot of money, but we have a lot of heart. Over 64% of people who live in St. James Town are newcomers. Neighbours know each other, kids play across the hallway with other children, and seniors will often take care of each other to break social isolation. This is a true neighbourhood.

It’s also an amazing place to live because of—make no mistake about it—rent control. Most of those buildings in St. James Town—the majority of them, until recently—have been under rent control.

The Conservative ideological opposition to real rent control and their slavish devotion to serving big landlords has actually created a condition now in St. James Town that is leading to much further harm. We’re seeing older buildings that are rent-controlled being demolished and replaced with new buildings without rent control, and what we’re now seeing is a lot of residents who are calling my office because they’re scared.

Most recently, a constituent whose name is Angela called my office to tell me that her rent under this government is going up 20%—20%. She’s getting a rent hike of $400. She and her fiancée are now struggling with the decision of whether or not they stay or they go. This is an untenable situation that is about to hit all the residents in that same building, and they are literally scared. They have no place to go without help from this government, which includes the implementation and the support of this motion of real rent control.

Paving over the greenbelt is not going to increase affordability of housing in Ontario, and neither is the government’s housing plan. They have failed to be able to address the housing crisis in Ontario. Things are getting more expensive and much worse for all Ontarians. Speaker, $3,000 for a one-bedroom apartment is untenable. I’ve lived in Toronto for all of my life in Canada. It is the worst that it has ever been, and this government is in charge of all of that.

This is a party, on this side of the House, where we are putting forward some real solutions; we’ve asked the government to come forward with their own. Their policies have failed; we have others. You can say yes to ending exclusionary zoning. You can say yes to investing in affordable housing, such as public, co-op and supportive housing. You can say yes to clamping down on greedy speculators. And yes, you can say yes to rent control—rent control that is desperately needed right now, right here for your tenants, for your constituents, and for mine.

I want to start by thanking the leader of the official opposition for bringing this motion forward, because housing affordability has been an increasingly pressing issue in my own riding of Ottawa, like it is in the rest of the province, frankly. The government has been bringing forward various housing bills, but none with solutions to address unjustified and abusive rent increases. In my riding, more and more people are contacting my office, either because they are struggling to find affordable rental housing or because they are victims of abusive landlords.

Colin Nielson told me, “I am a single man and I work a decent job. I try my best to save and I live an extremely frugal lifestyle. I just received notice from my landlord, a multi-million dollar company, that my rent in June was increasing by a full 7%.

“I am seriously concerned about my ability to support myself going forward due to these increases. This time it was only 7%, next time what will it be?”

David-Michel Sarrazin told me, “Realstar corporation ... has started to charge an extra fee over and above the 2.5% allowable rent increase by the provincial government. Some are seeing an extra increase of up to 5% on their newly increased rents for 2023. Realstar is calling” it “an update and maintenance fee.

“Is this some new law giving landlords the legal rights to raise rent by 7.5%?”

Madeleine Brownrigg said, “I am a concerned citizen with a family member who cannot find affordable housing in this region. This crisis started with the abolishment of rent control for buildings that were built after 2018, among other things. It would be nice if this law was reversed so that people don’t need to go to the food bank to eat, or live where it does not suit their requirements, or are left having to work two jobs....”

These stories demonstrate just how unaffordable rental prices are becoming for people in Ottawa–Vanier, and I am sure many members on both sides of this House have heard similar stories from their own ridings. Ontarians are finding it increasingly difficult to find a rental unit that they can afford even when making a decent income.

Rent control is one measure that the government has as its disposal to help relieve some of the pressure on renters and give them some certainty for the coming years.

This government has focused a lot on the supply side of the equation, but because housing is a necessity, Ontarians are forced to make difficult choices when the rent market becomes too expensive. They may make other choices on budget items, like giving up on children’s recreational activities or food. We’ve seen this play out in recent years, with the demand for food banks skyrocketing and a greater proportion of families cutting down on their grocery bills in order to pay their rent.

The fact that housing is a necessity, coupled with the lack of rental housing supply, puts landlords in the driver’s seat. It allows them to raise rents without losing their renters, because tenants don’t have any other option. This, of course, is an unacceptable situation.

Renters need support, and rent control can be part of the solution, particularly in the short term.

I’m pleased to rise today to speak to this motion put forward by the leader of His Majesty’s loyal opposition calling for real rent control in the province of Ontario. This reflects a real need and concern that I hear about all the time in Ottawa West–Nepean.

The truth is, life just keeps getting more and more unaffordable in Ontario, and housing is a very big part of it. This government, instead of doing anything about that, keeps coming out with new sweetheart deals for developers.

What people in Ottawa West–Nepean and across Ontario need is real action and real solutions. They need action that brings down the cost of rent and protects them against unscrupulous landlords.

When you’re only hanging out in the backrooms, like this government is, it’s very easy to forget that we are talking about deeply stressful, challenging and heartbreaking situations.

Michele is an Ottawa resident who reached out to me after getting no response from her Conservative MPP. Michele lived with her son and granddaughter, but they were evicted because her son’s addiction issues led to him falling behind on rent. Now Michele and her granddaughter are homeless, and this is despite the fact that Michele gets OAS, CPP, and works a part-time job. Her granddaughter, who is in high school, has two part-time jobs. But they still can’t find a place that they can afford. They are on the wait-list for affordable housing in Ottawa, but that wait-list is over five years long. Michele wrote to me: “I have just rented a storage unit to store my life in and we are able to sleep in my friend’s basement for the next month but I am very concerned about what we will do after that.” It is devastating that after a lifetime of contributing to our community, a senior is in the position of putting her life in a storage unit and sleeping in a friend’s basement. But the truly maddening thing is that Michele is far from alone.

There are so many people in Ottawa and across Ontario who are being put in this position. Rents in Ottawa are 15% higher this April than they were last April, according to rentals.ca, and the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is now $1,925. That’s more than double what someone on Ontario Works gets, it’s way above what someone on ODSP receives, and it is 80% of the monthly earnings of someone working full-time, earning minimum wage.

It doesn’t need to be this way. We can actually make life more affordable here in Ontario, implement real rent control and make sure new tenants pay what the last tenant paid so that your landlord isn’t trying to squeeze you out.

I urge the government to vote in favour of this motion and provide real relief and support to people like Michele.

Everyone in Ontario deserves a safe and affordable place to call home, but the cost of rent in Ontario is not affordable. In fact, in Toronto, the average cost of rent is approaching $3,000 a month. The cost of rent has increased to more than 50% of take-home income for many Ontario households.

When businesses upcharge people for essential items, we call that gouging. What’s happening to tenants in Ontario right now is no different. Housing is a human right.

To pay their rent, many individuals and families are being forced to take on a second or third job. To pay their rent, people are having to cut back on groceries and all other spending. Still others are being forced to move farther and farther away from their families, their jobs, their children’s schools.

This is making the affordability crisis even worse. People are barely treading water. Many are drowning. But when we, the NDP, raise these concerns here, the government responds with insults and jokes.

The government knows this problem isn’t just about supply and demand; it’s much more than that. They know it. They know that there’s more that can be done to help tenants right now, more that can be done today.

I want to remind the minister that Toronto has led North America in construction cranes for years before they took office. After five years of Conservative government, rent has never been so high.

Families don’t have years to wait for a market adjustment. Many don’t even have months. They need relief now. The status quo is destroying families and leading some landlords into bad-faith evictions to charge even more. There are families out there right now who don’t have time to wait. They need us. They need you to act right now, and that means implementing real rent control.

Again, under this government, rents are by far the highest they’ve ever been, with no immediate relief on the horizon. You can’t just sit on your hands. Do the right thing. Support this NDP motion to bring in rent control and give tenants across this province the relief they need, the relief they deserve. They are counting on all of us to help them, so do it. Support this motion.