Again, it feels like this government is living on a different planet than most people in this province, because I can tell you, you get a full-time job in this province right now and you’re at a food bank. You’re at a food bank.

How does this government expect people to get by when they create crater-sized loopholes in the only measures that keep apartments affordable? Go out there and talk with tenants, I beg you. When a tenant leaves a rental unit, there’s no limit to how much that rent can increase for the next tenant. You know what that means? It means double-digit increases. People in Hamilton saw rent increases of 26% between tenants; in Ottawa, 17%; in Toronto, a 29% increase, Speaker. Those are for the same units.

Does the government understand that they have created a system that takes away affordable housing options?

Community Living Essex told us that the wait-list for affordable housing in their region has ballooned to 5,400 people. Last year, the city of London had a wait-list of 6,000. Niagara was reporting numbers of over 9,000 households.

Municipalities are pulling every lever, but they cannot solve this housing crisis alone. Will the Premier commit today to fixing rent control loopholes and making meaningful investments in public housing?

The opposition keeps talking about our More Homes Built Faster initiative, but again, they’re very selective in sections of the report. So to answer the question, I’m going to read exactly what’s in this report, on page 18:

“Reduce the costs to build, buy and rent.

“The price you pay to buy or rent a home is driven directly by how much it costs to build a home. In Ontario, costs to build homes have dramatically increased at an unprecedented pace over the past decade.”

Speaker, again, our government is committed to ensuring that non-profit housing, purpose-built rental—we want to make sure that everyone that wants a home that meets their needs and their budget. Again, this is what motivates me—these young people in the gallery. I want to ensure that they have a home that meets their needs and their budget.

We’re committed to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years—