I was very happy to hear the minister say multiple times this afternoon that the law is only as strong as its enforcement, because I have constituents in Ottawa West–Nepean who, five years ago, paid tens of thousands of dollars for deposits for new homes that have yet to be delivered. Twenty-nine months ago, they filed a complaint with the Home Construction Regulatory Authority and have not received any kind of action from the HCRA since then.

They appealed to the former Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery in May and to the Premier in June. They were here in October to appeal to the minister. It’s been six weeks since I sent a letter to the minister with additional information showing how this developer has been skirting legislative requirements, and yet my constituents have not even received a response, let alone any action from this government.

I’m wondering, when can my constituents count on the minister to enforce the law and protect homebuyers in Ontario?

Thank you to my colleague from London North Centre for those thoughtful comments on the bill. I have a situation in my riding where 32 constituents have been waiting five years for a developer to build the homes that they have put down tens of thousands of dollars for. The developer has failed to communicate with them about timelines and has provided inaccurate information. These people who are making one of the largest purchases of their lives have been begging this government to act to protect them. They filed an appeal to the Home Construction Regulatory Authority 28 months ago, and there has been no action by HCRA, no penalties levied, no fines, and no action taken.

What does this bill do to help consumers like my constituents who are unable to get homes built or are getting homes that are built of shoddy construction in the province of Ontario?