My question is to the Premier. Ontario can now fine landlords that illegally evict up to $250,000, but it never does. A Toronto Star analysis found that the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit and the Landlord and Tenant Board issue very small fines to guilty landlords, fines the landlord can quickly recoup by hiking the rent on the next tenant.

My question is to the Premier: Will this government start enforcing its own illegal-eviction laws?

Rental protection laws are useless if they’re not enforced. We have presented practical solutions to this government to help renters stay housed. We have introduced amendments in committee. We have introduced bills in this Legislature. When will this government start taking effective action and do its job and start enforcing its illegal eviction laws?

This bill aims to provide rental protections at a time when more and more renters are facing high rents and displacement. It asks to reinstate rent control on units built after 2018. It asks to reinstate vacancy control, to prevent high increases between tenancies. It asks for a rental task force to investigate above-guideline increases that have been rampant these days. It amends a requirement for landlords who are looking to renovict tenants, so that they provide protections to tenants to ensure that they don’t lose their housing.

This is what we are doing today—trying to ensure that there are mechanisms in place to make sure people keep their shelter—and we are calling it the Keeping People Housed Act.