First, I want to acknowledge the loss of all the women who have been murdered or killed across this province. There will be an opportunity this afternoon at 3 o’clock for each group to be able to say—several minutes on this topic, and I think this is an extremely important topic.

All women deserve safety and security, and our government is continuously, constantly working to make the lives of women safer and to provide that security, and for all Ontarians to live free of violence and fear.

We’re working to prevent and address violence against women in all forms, and we’ve made the investments to back this up. Words alone, as the member across the way has stated, aren’t enough. That’s exactly why we’re making the investments that are necessary to change this.

We’ve launched programs. We’ve passed legislation aimed at ending violence, and we will continue to do this important work because it matters to all of us. It should matter to society. It should matter to every Ontarian, and we’ll continue to do this.

On November 25, 15 top architectural firms and urban planners wrote an open letter to the Premier—I hope he read it—showing how Bill 23 will not help people achieve the dream of affordable home ownership that this government says it will.

The letter says, “It will inhibit the construction of affordable housing...; dismantle regional planning and urban design considerations; undermine ... environmental protection...; and limit public participation in how we build our communities ... ”—for example—“by reducing the affordable housing requirement in inclusionary zoning from 20% to” just “5%.” It will reduce fees that cities use to pay for housing inspections. None of that sounds good for Ontarians.

The Premier’s own housing task force did not say we need to swap land in the greenbelt to get housing built.

So, my question to the Premier: Who is telling him that paving over the greenbelt is the solution to the housing crisis? And are they the same people who will stand to profit from this decision?

Thank you to the Premier for that passionate response. We can all agree that we need more homes for Ontarians. However, it appears—

Interjections.

My question again to the Premier: Why is this government ignoring the advice from experts and trying to convince Ontarians that this bill is for the people when in fact people can see that it’s all about helping the Premier’s friends?

My question is to the Minister of Finance. With rising costs due to global inflation, many people in my riding of Oxford, particularly low-income seniors, are concerned. High food prices affect household budgets and can restrict people from being able to purchase the items they need. The impact of rising prices is felt first and hardest by the most vulnerable, including low-income families, workers and seniors. In those challenging times, the government must provide additional relief for the cost of living and prioritize help for those who need it the most.

Can the Minister of Finance explain how our government will ensure financial support for seniors and those most in need?

That said, the issue of affordability is not exclusive to low-income seniors alone. Across the province, all Ontarians expect to see initiatives that help make life more affordable.

Speaker, can the Minister of Finance please tell the House what other ways our government plans to support the people of Ontario during this period of economic uncertainty?

I would like to thank Karen Barnes from Chelmsford in my riding for these petitions.

“Health Care: Not for Sale....

“Whereas Ontarians get health care based on their needs, not their ability to pay;

“Whereas the Ford government wants to privatize our health care system;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals and will download costs to patients;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 to help recruit, retain, return and respect health care workers with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario;

“—incentivizing health care professionals to choose to live and work in northern Ontario.”

I fully support this petition, Speaker. I will affix my name to it and ask my good page Max to bring it to the Clerk.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas there are over 900,000 Ontarians who are forced to rely on social assistance;

“Whereas Doug Ford’s Conservatives promised to raise Ontario Disability Support Program ... rates by only 5%, and have provided no additional support for those who receive Ontario Works...;

“Whereas inflation is at a 40-year high and people on fixed incomes are forced to make sacrifices every day just to survive;

“Whereas both ODSP and OW recipients live in legislated deep poverty, a meager $58 increase to ODSP and no additional support for OW recipients will do virtually nothing to improve the lives of people living on social assistance;

“Therefore, we the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately double social assistance rates, so that people can live dignified, healthy lives.”

I support this petition, will sign it and give it to Alex to submit.

I’d like to thank Roxanne Tremblay from Garson in my riding for these petitions.

“911 Everywhere in Ontario....

“Whereas when we face an emergency we all know to dial 911 for help; and

“Whereas access to emergency services through 911 is not available in all regions of Ontario but most Ontarians believe that it is; and

“Whereas many Ontarians have discovered that 911 was not available while they faced an emergency; and

“Whereas all Ontarians expect and deserve access to 911 service, throughout our province;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“To provide 911 emergency response everywhere in Ontario by land line or cellphone.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my name to it and give it to Alex to bring to the Clerk.

Exactly—building the supporting infrastructure, which has been a conversation that we’ve had with our municipal partners over the last several weeks. We need to be able to build the supporting infrastructure for these new homes as well once the mayors propose municipal bylaws that, in their opinion, could help us further those provincial priorities. Again, the provincial priority that’s most important for our government, for the associate minister, for the parliamentary assistant and I, is to make sure that we have a plan in place to get those 1.5 million homes built over the next 10 years.

Now, in this case, council could then pass a bylaw if more than one third of the members would vote in favour. Now, Speaker, as a former mayor, I would be the first to acknowledge that these proposals are bold, but I believe that boldness is exactly what Ontario needs to be able to end this housing supply crisis. The proposals in this bill reflect the severity of the housing crisis that Ontarians are facing today and the need to cut through this incredible “not in my backyard” mentality that’s in our province. We’ve got to deal with that “not in my backyard” attitude. I’ve said many times that I think we’ve now gone past this NIMBYism, this “not in my backyardism,” and now we’re at the situation of BANANAism, where you’re actually building absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone.

We’ve got to stop the BANANAs and stop the NIMBYs, and part of Bill 39 is to ensure that we have those tools available, especially in our two largest cities. We believe that a third of Ontario’s growth in that next decade is going to take place in Toronto and Ottawa. We have to stop the fact that construction of much-needed housing in too many municipalities is being held back. We know that the growth is going to come. We know that people are going to move to the GTA. That’s why we’ve empowered the mayors.

Some people in the opposition have expressed opposition. I would hope that they would acknowledge that Mayor Tory, who the Premier and I both agree is a great mayor, received a very strong, democratic and city-wide mandate in the last election. And we believe that we should be able to give him the tool that he needs and he’s asked for to get shovels in the ground faster, to work more effectively with the province to increase the supply of housing, and we have every confidence as a government that they will use this power judiciously. And we will, of course, be monitoring how the mayors use this new power, if this bill passes.

Speaker, I’ve said many, many times, we’re taking decisive action to address the housing crisis and we’ve begun our strong-mayor framework with the two single-tier municipalities in Toronto and Ottawa, and we want to consider how to expand these tools to help more of Ontario’s growing municipalities. So as part of Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, we plan to appoint provincial facilitators who are going to assess the two-tier regional government structures in Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York. These six regions—they’re large, Madam Speaker. They are some of the fastest-growing communities in our province, and all of them desperately need housing supply. The regional assessments by the facilitators are going to help the government determine the best mix of roles and responsibilities between the upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities in these regions, particularly in the context of a strong-mayor system. The goal is to enable these municipalities to get shovels in the ground faster, to help them get the housing they need built quickly to support their growing municipalities.

Another aspect of Bill 39: To help facilitate this regional assessment, the legislation that our government is proposing would also provide me, as minister, the authority to appoint the regional chairs of Niagara, Peel and York. In these three regions out of six, the chair isn’t elected by the community. I have already announced the intention—I was very open and transparent—that we felt that the existing regional chairs for the current term of council would be reappointed, if the bill was passed, and we were very honest, open and transparent in the reasons. We felt it was important, as a government, to be able to draw on their knowledge and their experience as they work with the provincially appointed facilitator. So again, we’re very open, honest and transparent with our intentions regarding those three chairs. We need to make sure that we have the continuity in those three municipalities that typically appoint their chair. And I want to ensure that, when we have the facilitators in place, that we also have a process that works in all six regions so that we have the best possible framework to expand strong-mayor powers.

As everyone in this chamber knows, Premier Ford has already indicated that the government is looking to expand strong-mayor powers to other municipalities. And my message was very simple the day that we announced our first bill, the strong-mayors act, earlier this year: We’re looking for municipalities that are shovel-ready, that are committed to growth and committed to cutting red tape. The reason is, we want to ensure that these enhanced mayoral tools are rolled out in a manner that reflects local priorities and local concerns. We want those municipalities to hit the ground running and get the housing that Ontarians need built without any more delays.

Madam Speaker, our proposed legislation received strong support. You know, I’ll just give you one example, and I wish—sorry, I can’t say “I wish someone was here” when they’re not, but I think people will know who I’m talking about. Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley is who I’m going to quote. He said, “I applaud the province for considering all options at their disposal to address this crisis, including exploration of expansion of so-called ‘strong mayor’ powers. As regional chair, I look forward to working with the ... provincial facilitators to find ways to better support our growing population while addressing the housing crisis.”

Madam Speaker, it’s partners like Chair Bradley—who have long experience in both municipal and provincial politics—who will help shape our next steps. Because we know that strong mayors are a critical part of cutting through red tape and delays at the municipal level that so often block new housing. And also because we know that in order to get these changes right, we need to work with engaged and knowledgeable local government officials who can provide stability, continuity and experience during this transition process.

As I said at the beginning of my remarks, Ontario is expected to grow by two million people over the next 10 years. Most of this growth is expected to take place in the greater Golden Horseshoe—more than 1.5 million people in 10 years. We don’t have enough housing right now for the people who are living here today. We’re in a crisis and it’s going to get much worse unless the government takes bold actions.

We need both near-term and long-term solutions, and our proposed changes in the Better Municipal Governance Act complement the More Homes Built Faster housing supply action plan. It’s going to help us to address the housing crisis by getting 1.5 million homes built by 2031.

We’re committed as a government to supporting our municipal partners as they work with us to help increase the housing supply. If we’re to be successful, we need to make sure that municipalities have the tools that they need to have those shared provincial-municipal priorities accomplished, and that’s exactly what Bill 39 and the province’s other supply housing action plan measures are doing.

I’m going to turn the floor over to the associate minister, who is going to continue the conversation around Bill 39, followed by the parliamentary assistant.

Thank you so much, Madam Speaker. It’s always great to see you in the chair.