Speaker, the Premier has been on record—in fact, it was in his book—about his interest in the strong-mayor system.

When we tabled this bill, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, almost immediately upon election, we made it very clear that we were going to put a plan in place not just to give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa strong-mayor powers, but the Premier was extremely transparent in communicating that we were going to continue that opportunity to other regions. Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, is on the floor for debate in the Legislative Assembly. It provides exactly what the Premier promised, and that is to extend these powers to other regions in the province. As well, in the spirit of collaboration, we’re acting on the suggestion that Mayor Tory put forward and putting it in this bill so that he has tools to get shovels in the ground faster.

We’re in the middle of a housing crisis. I hate to keep reminding—

Speaker, I want to remind the House that we’re in the middle of a housing crisis. Our best year in 30 years was last year, when we had over 100,000 starts. New Democrats, this morning, in debate on Bill 23, acknowledged the 1.5 million homes that are needed in Ontario over the next decade. The status quo does not work.

The fact that our government is advancing the strong-mayor powers over and above Toronto and Ottawa is not something that the Premier has hidden in any way, in any shape, or in any form.

We need to ensure that mayors across the province have all the tools that they need to get shovels in the ground faster. We need to ensure that we have a plan in place to build those 1.5 million homes.

We’re going to continue with our agenda as we work with our municipal partners.

Interjections.