Comme c’est la première fois que je me lève en Chambre, je tiens à vous féliciter et à remercier les gens de Don Valley-Ouest de m’avoir élue députée. Je m’engage fermement à les représenter fidèlement et à servir les Ontariens au mieux de mes capacités.

I am speaking today to express the concerns of Don Valley West parents, local businesses and not-for-profits with regard to the implementation of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care program, also known as CWELCC or $10-a-day child care.

The Conservative government set a deadline of September 1—only 21 days from now—by when child care operators must sign on to this program to reduce child care fees for parents. As of mid-July, over half of Toronto operators have not yet signed on because they do not yet have the information they need to make an informed decision, like if and when they will be reimbursed for rebates they pay to parents.

The Conservative government’s signing of the federal child care agreement was a good first step, but the lateness of doing so has left municipalities, parents and child care operators scrambling. I respectfully ask the Minister of Education to help them get answers.

It would be a shame if families were not able to tap into this great support, especially as the throne speech talked about easing the financial burden for families in Ontario.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, the Toronto board of trade has said, “Toronto faces numerous urgent city-wide challenges, from housing, land use, transit, ... budget” and “economic development.... Effective, timely solutions require a city chief executive with clear authority.... Now is the time to act.”

Minister, we have a vibrant province. If our communities are to continue to thrive, people need to be able to stop dreaming of a home and know that they will have housing options—rental, non-profit, single detached, condo—choice and options, timely delivery as well, a clear path for residents and, more importantly, our municipal partners.

Does the minister agree with the board of trade, and does the legislation provide a realistic path to more homes, more choice and housing predictability in Toronto and Ottawa?

The member and the Toronto regional board of trade are 100% correct. Urgent action is needed to address Ontario’s housing crisis. Too many families are already struggling with housing and the rising cost of living.

We just had an election where we committed to Ontarians that we would build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. Increasing housing supply is a priority for our government, and we know that it is a shared priority with our municipal partners.

Speaker, the changes, if passed, would help empower the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to ensure that they drive priority provincial projects forward. As our province grows, we need to ensure that communities keep pace. This will require bold solutions from all levels of government working together.

I’m proud to support Toronto and Ottawa as they cut through red tape and as they speed up development timelines so that more families can realize attainable home ownership.

We’re providing enhanced tools to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to get more homes built faster. These mayors oversee the two largest cities in our province, which are projected to have over one third of our province’s growth over the next decade. They need the tools to prepare for growth and ensure that the creation of new homes keeps pace with demand.

Speaker, we’re going to work with our two largest cities and other fast-growing communities that are shovel-ready, committed to growth and ready to cut red tape.

To help communities across Ontario build more attainable homes, Ontario is launching the housing supply action plan implementation team. The team will provide advice on market housing initiatives, including building on the vision of the Housing Affordability Task Force, More Homes for Everyone Act and other government consultations.

The government intends to appoint Drew Dilkens, the mayor of the city of Windsor, as chair and Mayor Cheryl Fort from the township of Moosonee. Both Mayor Dilkens and Mayor Fort have excellent track records for their service and success for their residents. Other team members will be appointed in the coming weeks, with the first meeting to take place in the fall.

Thank you to the member from Niagara Centre. We’ll now start with questions. We’ll start on the government side, the member from Mississauga–Lakeshore.

The member from Toronto Centre.

There’s growth happening all across [inaudible], and most of that growth is anticipated to be happening in Ottawa and in Toronto. For years, we’ve failed to plan for that, even though arguably it could be seen coming. Now, of course, we have a shortage of housing. There’s no disagreement on any side of this House that we need more homes, and that’s homes of all different types.

Why does the opposition oppose giving municipalities the tools they need in order to cut red tape and plan for the efficient building of new housing?