My question is to the Premier. Premier, last year you promised to crack down on developers who cancel or jack up the price of pre-construction homes. There are five people at Queen’s Park today who listened very carefully to that promise. In 2022, Briarwood Development Group told these families they could either take their deposit back or pay up to $175,000 more for their home than they originally agreed to in the original contract. It’s been nearly a year since then, and these families are still waiting for justice. Their homes are not built. The developer has not been fined. Their licence has not been suspended.

Premier, are you going to keep your word and protect homebuyers from bad-actor developers like these?

My question is for the Associate Minister of Housing. For too many Ontarians it remains a major challenge to find the right home. Recent reports reveal that Mississauga is one of the most expensive cities to live in Canada with the average housing price remaining close to $1 million. Affordability and the housing shortage are serious concerns for the people in my riding of Mississauga–Erin Mills, and this is a problem impacting other regions across our province.

Ontarians are counting on our government to support them in achieving their dream of home ownership. We must continue our robust efforts to build more homes faster and tackle the housing crisis. Can the associate minister please explain what our government is doing to create the conditions necessary for building more affordable housing across our province?

As global inflation continues to impact the cost of living for Ontarians, we are also seeing the rise in rent prices in our province. Housing experts continue to anticipate that the cost of rent could continue to raise in the coming months. For example, in Mississauga it costs over $2,000 per month to rent a one-bedroom unit.

Our government must take urgent action now to increase the availability of rental units in order for the hard-working individuals and families in Ontario to have a place to live. Speaker, can the associate minister please explain how our government is increasing the options for affordable rental housing?

Minister, if it is not tolerated by this government, then why are these people still waiting for their homes to be built at the price they originally agreed to? These families are proof that this government does not adequately protect homeowners from bad developers who cancel or jack up the price of pre-construction homes.

To the minister: What concrete next steps are you going to take to ensure these homebuyers get the homes they were promised at the price they originally agreed to?

World Water Day is tomorrow, and it’s critical that we do everything we can in the Legislature to protect the water quality of our precious Great Lakes water system.