I have a petition that reads, “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and soon $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent small budget increase of 5% for ODSP still leaves these citizens well below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to live in this time of alarming inflation;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a basic income of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I agree with this petition, Mr. Speaker, will affix my signature and give it to page Camilla to bring to the table.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to read the petition I received. It says, “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas everyone in Ontario deserves to find housing that is right for them and our government is taking action to increase housing supply and make sure that everyone in Ontario can find a home that meets their needs and their budget; and

“Whereas throughout our consultations with the public, municipalities and the Housing Affordability Task Force, the message is clear: Red tape and bureaucratic inefficiencies are holding back Ontarians from buying homes and driving up the cost of homes;”

Mr. Speaker, it looks like I’ve heard this before also.

“Whereas our government has committed to implementing the task force’s report with a housing supply action plan every year over four years, starting in 2022-23; and

“Whereas delivering bold change that can last requires a strong partnership between all levels of government, to ensure the policies the province introduces will actually be implemented on the ground; and

“Whereas since our government introduced the More Homes, More Choice Act in 2019, we have seen significant progress: 2020 saw the highest level of housing starts in a decade with the highest level of rental starts since 1992”—amazing—“2021 broke even more records, with the highest level of housing starts since 1987 and the highest level of rental starts in 30 years; and

“Whereas our plan is working, but we are just getting started. Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we will continue to get it done for the people of Ontario by building 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the ... government’s housing supply action plan and efforts to build 1.5 million homes across Ontario.”

Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly accept and agree to this petition and sign it and give it to page Nicholas. Thank you, Nicholas.

This petition is entitled Building More Homes:

“Whereas the Ontario government introduced the More Homes Built Faster Act, which takes bold action to advance the province’s plan to address the housing crisis by building 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years and the proposals in the More Homes Built Faster Act would, if passed, ensure that cities, towns and rural communities grow with a mix of ownership and rental housing types that meet the needs of Ontarians from single family homes to townhomes and mid-rise apartments; and

“Whereas the plan puts in place actions to support the development of gentle density housing like triplexes or garden suites that bridge the gap between single-family homes and high-rise apartments; for example, it would remove exclusionary zoning, which allows for only one single detached home per lot, and instead it would allow property owners to build three units without lengthy approvals and development charges; and

“Whereas the plan, which contains around 50 actions, addresses the housing crisis by reducing government fees and fixing developmental approval delays that slow down housing construction and increase costs;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass the More Homes Built Faster Act in order to increase housing supply in Ontario.”

I will proudly affix my signature and give it to page Yusuf.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Support Gender-Affirming Health Care

“Whereas two-spirit, transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse, and intersex communities face significant challenges to accessing health care services that are friendly, competent, and affirming in Ontario;

“Whereas everyone deserves access to health care, and they shouldn’t have to fight for it, shouldn’t have to wait for it, and should never receive less care or support because of who they are;

“Whereas gender-affirming care is life-saving care;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the reintroduction of a private member’s bill to create an inclusive and representative committee to advise the Ministry of Health on how to realize accessible and equitable access to and coverage for gender-affirming health care in Ontario.”

I support this petition, will affix my signature and pass it to page Isabelle to take to the table.

I have a petition. I gathered these signatures at a rally in Pickering the other day and this has been signed by councillor Joanne Dies of Ajax. It’s entitled “Protect the Greenbelt.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Bills 23 and 39 are the Ford government’s latest attempt to remove protected lands from the greenbelt, allowing developers to bulldoze and pave over 7,000 acres of farmland in the greenbelt;

“Whereas Ontario is already losing 319.6 acres of farmland and green space daily to development;

“Whereas the government’s Housing Affordability Task Force found there are plenty of places to build homes without destroying the greenbelt;

“Whereas Ford’s repeated moves to tear up farmland and bulldoze wetlands have never been about housing, but are about rewarding PC donors and making the rich richer;

“Whereas green spaces and farmland are what we rely on to grow our food, support natural habitats and prevent flooding;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to remove what has long been protected land from the greenbelt, pass the NDP’s Protecting Agricultural Land Act, and protect irreplaceable farmland in the province of Ontario.”

Of course, I support this petition. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with page Kennedy.

Resuming the debate adjourned on November 23, 2022, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 23, An Act to amend various statutes, to revoke various regulations and to enact the Supporting Growth and Housing in York and Durham Regions Act, 2022 / Projet de loi 23, Loi modifiant diverses lois, abrogeant divers règlements et édictant la Loi de 2022 visant à soutenir la croissance et la construction de logements dans les régions de York et de Durham.