I was very excited to attend the grand opening of House of Friendship’s new shelter care facility just over a month ago. Our government provided over $10 million in funding to help purchase and operate a former hotel site and convert it into a new 100-bed emergency shelter. But it goes beyond shelter space, Speaker. It includes around-the-clock on-site staff as well as health and housing supports, which is very important. I want to quote Jessica Bondy, the director of housing services at House of Friendship: “Having those services and supports right on site for people who are struggling with homelessness goes an incredibly long way to helping them improve.”

I’ve been a big advocate for this project for the last few years since it came across my desk, and I want to thank all the volunteers; the staff—everybody that’s helped make this happen—John Neufeld, the executive director of House of Friendship; and of course, the fantastic team led by Minister Clark with municipal affairs and housing and all of the staff there that have helped see this come to fruition. It’s a very big project. I was glad to see the member for Waterloo there as well for the grand opening.

This is something the whole community can get behind, a great non-partisan project, and it was really great to be part of it.

My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Two weeks ago, Waterloo councillors voted to defer a $68-million reconstruction project that would have created 800 new homes. Why? Because they’re not getting answers from the government about how to fund the needed infrastructure to support the new housing. Council’s decision came after city staff found that Bill 23 is estimated to cost the city between $23 million and $31 million over the next few years. They paused work on a development charges study to allow for more time to fully understand the financial implications of this bill. Meanwhile, the housing crisis continues to get worse in Waterloo and Ontario. Bill 23 is already having a cooling effect on new housing starts.

Will the minister go back to the drawing board and truly consult with municipalities to actually incentivize new housing in the province of Ontario?

It’s not just home construction that is now being delayed; it’s actually vital infrastructure like pumping stations, roads, storm sewers, water mains. This is infrastructure that would help drive new housing projects across Waterloo and Ontario.

The government promised to make municipalities “whole” financially, but Waterloo Councillor Freeman said council “doesn’t see the tools to actually secure the development charges to pay for that growth.” Construction on this project won’t move ahead now until 2024 because of the financial uncertainty this government has caused with Bill 23.

When will the government repeal Bill 23, which is jeopardizing the progress of Waterloo and other cities across Ontario by eliminating those development fees that municipalities rely on to help pay for the necessary infrastructure? Go back to the drawing board; let’s get it right.

We want municipal partners to work with us. For example, I want to applaud the city of London that just recently passed a motion approving the housing pledge that we’ve asked of all the big city mayors. I want to speak to the difference between what we’re hearing from New Democrats and the government. I want to speak specifically to the young people who are in our audience today. Unsustainable fees like we see in the GTA are adding $116,900 to the average cost of—what it means to you is it means another $800 a month on a mortgage over 20 years. What are we seeing? We’re seeing millennials having to save 20 years to be able to put a down payment on a home. That’s unacceptable to our government. We want all three levels of government to be working together. We’ve heard from many municipalities who want to work with us.

Again, I’m very concerned with what I’m hearing from Waterloo. Folks, I want you to know something: We hear you. We want you to realize the dream of home ownership.

Interjections.

My question is to the Associate Minister of Housing.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board recently published its 2023 Market Outlook and 2022 Year in Review reports. These reports indicate that high borrowing costs have resulted in a market shift from home ownership to rental demand.

Other industry voices such as the Building Industry and Land Development Association and the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario are urging all levels of government to take action regarding policies that will promote purpose-built rental development.

We as a government need to take these matters seriously and take action to ensure families and individuals can still access our housing market.

Speaker, can the associate minister please share what our government is doing to address this market shift?

I want to thank my honourable colleague from Eglinton–Lawrence not only for the question but for the great work that she does on behalf of her constituents.

Speaker, I actually had the opportunity and the pleasure to speak at the event that the member is referring to. In my remarks, I emphasized just how important it is for us to continue building on our collective effort to increase housing supply.

Increasing supply is a big part of the solution to the housing crisis, and our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, alongside the municipal affairs and housing minister and the parliamentary assistant, will continue to introduce policies that will get more shovels in the ground, for us to build homes faster.

I’m proud to say that last year we saw the most purpose-built rentals on record, with just under 15,000 homes. Let that sink in for a second. We set the record for the most purpose-built rentals ever recorded here in the province of Ontario.

So it’s clear our policies are working—

Thank you to the Associate Minister of Housing for the answer. In the same report, published by Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the market outlook for 2023 emphasizes the need for more rental supply to keep up with rising demands. Rental vacancy rates are projected to fall and competition between rental households will increase in 2023.

Owning or renting a home provides a sense of place and pride in community. It offers individuals and families economic security for decades, even during turbulent times. With the team we have at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, as was just mentioned by the associate minister, I have a lot of confidence that we can build more housing that people will be able to access. But I want to ask the associate minister once again, what other approaches is our government implementing to address the rental shortage, now and for the future?

Again, I want to thank my honourable colleague for the question. In addition to the record purpose-built rental starts that we had last year, our latest piece of legislation, More Homes Built Faster Act, offers incentives for the construction of more rental units by reducing development fees: 25% on three-or-more-bedroom units, a 20% discount on two-bedroom units and a 15% discount on one-bedroom units.

To further increase rental supply, we also introduced as-of-right policies in our most recent bill to allow for more units to be constructed on existing residential lots. Other legislation allows for basement apartments, garden houses or main residences to have up to three rental units without obtaining additional building permits or paying any additional development fees.

Ontarians deserve to have affordable options when it comes to housing, and as we’ve said before, we’re going to continue fighting for every Ontarian to make sure they do in this province.