Thank you to the amazing member from Simcoe–Grey for his question.

I agree with the member that buying a new home can be a complicated and stressful experience for families and individuals across our province.

That is why this government made a commitment to the people of Ontario that we would never stop working to make their lives easier and improve consumer protections across the province.

Speaker, just last week, I joined Minister Clark and Minister Tangri to announce another big step in our work towards fulfilling our consumer protection commitment. We are consulting with consumer groups, home-buying sectors and the public on the cooling-off period for new freehold homes to ensure we are creating the very best protection for Ontarians. We are also exploring input on requiring that purchasers of all new homes receive legal advice on their purchase agreements to ensure that no one in our province gets ripped off by bad—

Under this Premier, we have been very clear that in this province there is a zero-tolerance approach for those who try to make extra money off the backs of new home buyers. That’s why my ministry—alongside my great colleague the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing—has added harsher penalties for bad actors in the industry. We have empowered the Home Construction Regulatory Authority, HCRA, and given them the ability to stand up to unethical vendors in the sector. Those attempting to rip off Ontarians now face the prospect of double maximum financial penalties for repeat offenders of the New Home Construction Licensing Act. The risk of permanently losing their builder’s licence—and, for the very first time ever, ensuring that instead of profiting, builders who conduct illegal and unethical behaviour will face hundreds of thousand of dollars in fines.

Speaker, rest assured, this government continues and will continue to have the backs of Ontarians, especially when they make one of the biggest purchases of their lives—

My question is for the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery.

Speaker, buying a new home is a major transaction—and often once in a lifetime—but it should not be a worrisome and stressful experience for individuals and families because they are concerned about the quality of the new home they are purchasing.

Under the previous Liberal government, regulations were lacking to ensure that the interests and needs of new home buyers were protected. Unfortunately, their failure to implement and enforce professional standards in the building industry put many people at unnecessary risk.

Hard-working Ontarians deserve to be treated fairly when making one of the biggest purchases of their lives.

Can the minister please explain how our government is strengthening protections for new home buyers?

The constituents in my riding of Simcoe–Grey have expressed concern about the potential cooling-off period and that it could lead to more new home project cancellations by builders and vendors. There is a lot that can happen between the time a buyer signs an agreement of purchase and sale and when they get their keys to their new home, as we have seen over the last 24 months.

Our government must take action to ensure that the consumer protections are increased and that companies that build and sell homes in Ontario are held accountable to ensure that they are acting responsibly and ethically.

Can the minister please elaborate on how this initiative will give new home buyers confidence in the building industry in Ontario?