After six years of this Conservative government, the housing crisis has gone from a fire to a raging inferno. People are struggling, and yet Conservatives made new roadblocks for municipalities to access provincial housing funding. Conservatives even admitted that, to the government, building affordable housing is like “taking power away” and would “destroy the integrity of the free market.”

This Legislature is full of words about housing and little action. Speaking of words, at a time when no one can afford housing, would the Premier please provide a definition for his term “attainable housing”?

Back to the Premier: Across the province, the finance committee heard from municipalities who are breaking under the burden of providing affordable and supportive housing, yet this government has spent 18 months trying to figure out what their own words meant. It’s pretty embarrassing that this government uses slogans that literally mean nothing—literally nothing, even to themselves. It kind of reminds me of the kid who tries to give themselves a cool nickname, and nobody—and I mean nobody—actually uses that name.

When will this government stop using empty words and make good on their promise to make municipalities whole?

Thank you very much to the hard-working member. And you’re right: We are building this province.

Mr. Speaker, our ministry met with over 50 different rural municipal partners at the ROMA conference. That is in addition to past ROMA meetings and AMO meetings and the consultations that occur in between. But what was very clear was the need for water infrastructure: the need for drinking water, waste water and stormwater infrastructure. You cannot build housing without connecting them to the pipes that flow clean water, discharge dirty water and treat that waste water.

In the fall economic statement, we announced the $200-million Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund. The intake for applications opened at the end of January, and we encourage all municipalities in the province of Ontario to apply.

Two years ago, we knew that the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, a program that was very successful and benefited many communities represented by members here in the House—we knew that all of the dollars would be allocated. For the last two years, we have been advocating and working and starting that conversation with the federal government to encourage them to give money to support Ontario infrastructure projects. Even the big city mayors as well as AMO wrote letters of support, stood behind us and lobbied the federal government. Unfortunately, we saw nothing in their fall economic statement. We have seen nothing in their budget.

But to the communities across the province: Do not feel discouraged. We just released $200 million. There is an intake process. Please apply. The province is here to support you in growing your communities and enabling housing across the province of Ontario.