And counting.

The government is not getting it done on housing. Let’s be perfectly clear: They’re not getting it done on housing—any kind of housing. In fact, this government ignored the vast majority of the recommendations of its own Housing Affordability Task Force. Instead, they wasted two years attacking farmland, attacking green land, enriching their developers and their speculators all along the proposed route of the 413.

So my question to you is, why do you think this government would rather talk about getting it done when it comes to housing and throw out numbers about housing starts that I wish were true instead of actually getting it done? Why don’t they move on housing?

We heard the member talking about price gouging when it comes to gasoline prices, and we heard about price gouging when it comes to groceries—these big corporations. This government is weak in the face of the large corporations when it comes to gouging on the very cost of our groceries. Instead of helping people afford groceries, this government is tripping over themselves to hand corporations like Loblaws inside deals, like the fact that they’re allowing them to charge for MedsCheck.

You’re not getting anything done when it comes to affordability, so don’t say that you are.

My question to you is, how can the government say with a straight face that they’re getting it done on affordability, when people can hardly afford rent—they have no rent control—and when they spent the better part of two years fighting a wage-suppression bill, Bill 124?

And counting, because they’re still doing it. They haven’t learned their lesson, and I doubt they will. We try to put good initiatives forward, initiatives that we’ve learned from people in our community, like real stakeholders that tell us actual things that are happening on the ground. We bring it here. We hope that they listen. We hope that they will get that done. But they refuse to listen because they think if it’s not their idea, if it’s not coming out of their little think tank, then nothing else matters. That’s really unfortunate because it’s the people of Ontario that suffer once again under this government’s regime. Time and time again, we try to help them along, but instead they come out with gimmicky bills called Get It Done Act, and they’re actually not getting anything done that the people of this province are asking for.

And what was the other piece that you were talking about? I had something. Oh, when they’re doing their counts for homes, they’re actually counting beds for long-term care. Those are not the family homes that we need. Those are not the one-bedroom units, the four-bedroom units that we need. It’s really unfortunate that they choose to change the numbers around to suit their own needs, instead of actually really finding ways to get those shovels in the ground and those units built as quickly as possible. They wanted to build a highway—they’ll get that done—but making homes for people seems to be a not-getting-it-done act.

Did the Liberals before get it done? No, they did not get it done. They caused their own chaos and their own problems. But that doesn’t mean that you get to have a free rein just because the Liberals were bad. You’ve been there for six years. Six years you’ve been there, and we’re in a worse position now than we have ever been. And if you don’t believe that, then you should actually spend some time in your community, or come to mine. I’m happy to walk you around.

We’re going to go to questions.

I just want to say quickly that I’ll give her my parents’ number, and we can tell my parents, who are in their nineties, that they don’t live in a home—because I find that really not very nice.

But I just want to say to my colleague opposite that when we look at getting it done, we look at where we were in the 15 years before Premier Ford came to office. The manufacturing sector was done. We had the highest debts of a sub-sovereign province. We had taxes galore. What we have done is said that we will not increase any taxes. In fact, we’ve cut taxes, like the gas tax. I’ll tell you why, Madam Speaker: because affordability at the grocery stores and wherever we go and spend our money to live is first and foremost on a person’s mind.

My question is simple: Is getting it done not keeping taxes low, as we have done?

Thank you.

Interjections.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

Pursuant to standing order 36, the question that this House do now adjourn is deemed to have been made.

The member has up to five minutes to debate the matter, and the minister or parliamentary assistant may reply for up to five minutes.

This House stands adjourned until 9 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, March 6.

The House adjourned at 1808.

You’re absolutely correct.

When you’re talking about affordability, how are you suppressing people’s wages? It’s talking out of both sides of your mouth, and the only one who—oops, sorry. I withdraw.

Ballot item number 87, private member’s notice of motion number 77. Ms. Kusendova-Bashta.

Irony—it’s ironic. You can say that.

The reason I’ve been asking, over and over again, questions about the housing crisis, putting forward proposals to legalize housing so we can build homes that ordinary people can afford in the communities they love is because we’re facing an unprecedented housing crisis. And let’s be clear: That crisis is the primary driver of the affordability crisis people are facing.

There is no city in Ontario where a minimum wage worker can afford a one-bedroom apartment. As a matter of fact, a minimum wage worker would have to earn $25.96 to afford average rent for a one-bedroom apartment. In Toronto, even two full-time minimum wage workers cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment without spending more than 30% of their income.

On top of that, the dream of home ownership, especially for a whole generation of young people, is falling further and further away. Housing prices have tripled over the last 10 years. Incomes haven’t even begun to keep pace. You now have to work 22 years of full-time work for a typical young person to save a 20% down payment on an average-priced home. Those living in the GTA have an even tougher time, having to save for 27 years to be able to have a down payment. It will take the average Torontonian making a median income of over $90,000 to save over 25 years to be able to afford a home.

That’s why, three years ago, the Ontario Greens put forward a housing plan that some called a master class plan in delivering the solutions. One of Canada’s top housing experts said the Ontario Greens have the best housing plan of any political party in the country. Why? Because we’re legalizing fourplexes and four-storeys, six-to-11-storey buildings on major transit corridors. We’re getting speculation out of the market, because homes are for people, not speculators. We’re making proposals to build deeply affordable, non-profit, co-op, social and permanent supportive housing to address chronic homelessness. And we’re putting forward proposals to protect renters.

A little over two years ago, the government’s own hand-picked Housing Affordability Task Force put forward 55 recommendations. Two of those key recommendations that came from the task force are directly related to the bill I put forward, Bill 156, Homes You Can Afford in the Communities You Love Act, legalizing gentle density and missing-middle homes so we can build homes that people can afford in the communities they love without paving over our forests, our farms and our wetlands.

What has been the government’s response to their own Housing Affordability Task Force? It hasn’t been to build more homes. It hasn’t been to implement recommendations to legalize housing. It has been to impose sprawl and open the greenbelt for development so a handful of wealthy, well-connected speculators can cash in billions while the people of Ontario still struggle to have an affordable place to call home.

That’s why I asked once again, yesterday, in this House if the Premier will get it done for people—not speculators—by supporting my bill to end exclusionary zoning and legalize housing so we can build homes that people can afford in the communities they love. One analysis shows that if only 18%—imagine this—of single-family homes within core urban boundaries became fourplexes, that would build two million homes. The government’s goal—the goal we all agreed on—is 1.5 million homes. We could do it just with fourplexes—I’m not suggesting we will deal with just fourplexes, but we could do it. That would not only be more affordable for people, but also for property taxpayers and municipal governments, because that’s where the infrastructure already is. We don’t have to build more sewer lines, waterlines, transit and roads, because they’re already there.

That’s why, when the government continually refuses to answer the question—yes or no; will they legalize housing so we can build homes people can afford, close to where they work, in the communities they love? I’m hoping they’ll answer it tonight.