Build more houses.

Lack of supply.

I heard the speech from the opposition.

One of the things about my community of Peterborough is that it has been a test community for all of Canada for a long time, more than 50 years. We’re a microcosm of what goes on. In our city, we had a number of developments that were put forward that were blocked by council because of NIMBYism. They went to LPAT and, lo and behold, the developers were given approval. They added three and a half years to it. I’m being told by developers that it takes 12 years to get something done. We know we’ve got 1.5 million people coming in in 10 years, so we cannot have status quo.

How is this bill going to speed up that process so that it doesn’t take us 12 years to start the construction on the 1.5 million houses we must have over the next 10 years?

I want to talk about something that’s close to my heart and the hearts of many in my community. September is Guide Dog Awareness Month. A guide dog is not just an animal. They’re also the eyes for someone who has a visual impairment. They enable safe movement throughout our communities, from crossing the street to buying groceries or even walking the kids to school.

I want to recognize a constituent of mine who I also consider a friend. Jason King works tirelessly as a member of the Council for Persons with Disabilities to educate others. He runs the program called Time in My Shoes. Jason and his guide dog, Zauny—yes, that’s from the Blue Jays—visited my office last year and put my staff through the TIMS program. We briefly experienced what it was like to navigate our world without eyesight, hearing or speech. To paraphrase Jason, it’s an eye-opener to see the world from the perspective of a blind man and his guide dog.

Guide Dog Awareness Month is more than just a reminder; it’s a call to action for all of us to learn more, to listen with compassion, and to build a more accessible and inclusive Ontario for generations to come.

I encourage everyone to reach out to the Council for Persons with Disabilities and experience Time in My Shoes so we can build on the good work of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and our great Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, Raymond Cho.

They’re not here, but I know they’re watching on TV, so I want to wish a happy 56th anniversary to my parents, Ron and Wilma Smith.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas our government made a promise to hard-working Ontarians in each and every region of the province that we would have their backs and never stop working for workers; and

“Whereas under the leadership of Premier Ford and Minister McNaughton, we have brought in unprecedented reforms and support to deliver for the working people of this province; and

“Whereas our government has raised the minimum wage to $15.50 an hour to help workers and their families with the cost of living, earn bigger paycheques and save for their future; and

“Whereas we have committed to completely eliminating the provincial income tax for anyone making $50,000 or less, keeping money where it belongs, in the pockets of hard-working Ontarian workers; and

“Whereas new changes to the Employment Standards Act require employers with 25 or more employees to have a written policy about employees disconnecting from their jobs at the end of the workday to help employees spend more time with their families; and

“Whereas the government is now investing $1 billion annually in employment and training programs so that unemployed or underemployed workers can train for high-paying, in-demand, family-supporting careers; and

“Whereas we are spending an additional $114 million over three years for the skilled trades strategy, addressing the shortage of workers in the skilled trades by modernizing the system and giving Ontarians the tools they need to join this lucrative workforce; and

“Whereas we are introducing protection for digital platform workers, the first in Canada, to support workers in this economy bring home better, bigger paycheques while improving job security;

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

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to deliver on the commitment made to the people of Ontario by working for workers.”

I thoroughly endorse this petition, will sign it and give it to page Lucas to bring to the table.

I listened intently to the speech from the honourable member. She pointed out a few facts and I want to emphasize some of them because she gave some very good statistics. Over a 14-year period, they had approximately 500,000 units in development—over a 14-year period. We need slightly more than 500,000 in a 10-year period. Does status quo of that many in 40% more time make sense?