Last night, I attended the East Scarborough boys and girls club AGM, and I met a single mother and her daughter. I asked her what she is hoping for, and she said that, one day, she wants to be able to raise her daughter in a house where she can play freely outside. As an immigrant to Canada from Jamaica, this reminded me of the dream my parents had for our family. I now serve as the MPP for Scarborough–Guildwood and have fulfilled that dream.

Toronto is a magnet for newcomers, and this city must be a place where people can continue to dream and have a chance to fulfill their dreams. The beauty of Toronto is that it has the potential. However, affordability remains a challenge. People need to be able to afford to put food on the table and a roof over their head. Toronto needs strong leadership that will make that happen—strong leadership for a stronger Toronto. All levels of government must work together to achieve this. Toronto is going through some uncertain times, not the least of which is a budget gap of $1.5 billion. For Toronto to continue on an upward trajectory, the solutions will involve the provincial and federal governments playing a role to help close this gap. As Toronto emerges from the pandemic, we must all work hard to keep our capital city strong so that it will continue to be the economic engine for the province and the country.

I love Toronto. It’s where I live, and I have countless opportunities in this city. Toronto needs to be a city where all its people are included and have an opportunity to fulfill their greatest dream.

Another day, another NIMBY question from the Leader of the Opposition.

We made it very clear during the election that the Housing Affordability Task Force report would be our long-term road map. We promised Ontarians that we’d put a plan in place to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. We’re going to continue to build upon our success with all of our housing supply action plans. But we’re not done yet. We’ve got a lot more work to do with our municipal partners to get the plan in place to build those homes, and that’s exactly what this government is going to do.

Clearly, in the Housing Affordability Task Force report, it talked about the need for responsible housing growth on undeveloped land, including outside of existing municipal boundaries.

We speak to municipalities every day who are signing our housing pledge and signing on to the partnership with our government. This is very exciting.

Speaker, at the end of the day, it’s all about providing that opportunity for that young couple to realize the dream of home ownership; it’s all about making sure that when we welcome those new Ontarians to our province, we’ve got a safe, secure home that meets their needs and their budget. That’s why we’re doing the housing supply action plan.

We’re growing the greenbelt by over 2,000 acres. We’re adding parts of the Paris-Galt moraine and the urban river valleys that municipalities and conservation authorities universally have suggested be added to the greenbelt.

At the end of the day, despite the Leader of the Opposition’s NIMBYism—as we all know, building absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone; the BANANA business that we’re hearing from the leader and her members—we’re going to continue to work with municipalities, we’re going to continue to work with non-profits and ensure that more attainable and affordable housing is being built. That’s the impetus of Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster—to ensure that development charges incent the type of housing we want: more purpose-built rental, more Habitat for Humanity homes. That’s exactly what Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, does, and we’re going to continue to build on that in the days ahead.