My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Erwin Long lived at 73 Cartwright Street in London for five years until a company bought his home. After the sale, he was given two weeks to move out. When he couldn’t find a new home, the landlord changed the locks, boarded up the windows and forced Erwin into homelessness. He slept in a parking lot. Despite the Landlord and Tenant Board ordering the landlord to pay $6,700 for the illegal eviction, Erwin has never been compensated and he’s never been able to return to his home.

Ontario’s eviction laws are weak enough; without enforcement, they are useless. Renters want to know: When will this government begin to enforce its own eviction laws?

Today, Erwin’s home at 73 Cartwright Street has been renovated and listed on Airbnb for $110 per night, plus taxes and fees. I don’t believe—we don’t believe—investors like Erwin’s landlord should be kicking out tenants and converting properties into pricey, short-term rentals. It is contributing to Ontario’s housing shortage and driving up the rate of illegal evictions.

My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Will this minister crack down on short-term rentals and investment properties, so that these homes can be returned to the long-term rental market?

I appreciate the question. We have a robust set of rules that are independent and available to both landlords and to tenants. The member opposite has highlighted an example where the Landlord and Tenant Board had a hearing, had a result, and there are remedies. So I would advise the member opposite to work with their constituent to work within those rules that are independent and not to be meddled with by the government, and I’m sure they will have a proper result.

The Landlord and Tenant Board is issuing orders within 30 days 90% of the time at this point, so they are in fact doing their job on that end.

Maybe the member misunderstands that the Landlord and Tenant Board is not an enforcement agency; it’s a tribunal that has independent hearings and then issues orders.

I’d be happy to engage with the member opposite to help educate her office on how the Landlord and Tenant Board works, but other than that, I don’t know what else I can do for her.