Mr. Speaker, I rise today because we need to address the housing crisis, and we must do it urgently, with partnerships across all sectors.

My riding, Scarborough–Guildwood, is at the forefront of the housing crisis, where 45% of residents spend more than 30% of their income on housing. The only way out of this mess is by building more housing, but while we need quantity, we also need quality. We can’t just keep sprawling outwards, and we shouldn’t develop the greenbelt. We need dense, complete communities, communities that have frequent, fast transit access, neighbourhoods that have enough schools to support the student population.

We need our cities to have an abundance of housing that is affordable, with rent control, so that residents aren’t driven away, so that they can spend their hard-earned money investing in their family’s future, communities that have jobs within them, not an hour commute away, and that sustain local business and the entrepreneurial sprit that radiates in Scarborough.

As a female entrepreneur, Mr. Speaker, I saw first-hand how important local business is to the spirit of the community. There are good projects that take it upon themselves to provide for this. And we need a government that is willing to prioritize this modern way of housing, not by building new sprawl or paving the greenbelt.