Yes. You will also have an opportunity to vote on Bill 97, which also protects it more, I would argue. I encourage you to vote with us, but I’m not going to hold my breath on that.

Given the importance of the pressing issue, I can appreciate what the NDP is trying to do, but it falls very short, as usual, which is unfortunate.

Our government will continue to work with landlords and tenants, while the opposition will focus on ideological fixes. We will continue to work with builders, the non-profit sector, and with our construction and our municipal colleagues to ensure we build more housing across all of Ontario, in every community.

They can talk all they want, but our government is taking action. I hope they’ll join us in saying yes to real protections for tenants under Bill 97, but I know many of my fellow Ontarians fear they will just say no.

I have been enjoying listening to all members of this House speak on the opposition day motion—

Interjection.

I’d like to highlight to the members opposite—they talk about the grocery prices and the bills. But, colleagues, one thing that can really help bring down the cost of groceries in Ontario and across Canada—

Interjection.

However, we’re here to talk about the opposition day motion, so I’ll direct my comments to that now.

It’s an honour to rise in this House to speak on a very important subject that is top of mind for many Ontarians: the affordability crisis that exists in today’s housing market—I should emphasize, today’s housing market, because while affordability is a concern for many Ontarians, I want to make it crystal clear that our government is making every effort to make sure we build affordable rental apartments across this province.

We’ve set an ambitious goal. I like to highlight to the opposition, who continue to heckle me, that they agreed to the 1.5 million new homes by 2031 in their own platform. I’m glad they agree with us on that. I wasn’t in this place prior to the last election, but it’s disappointing that every time we brought forward a piece of legislation to increase the number of houses built, to increase the number of rental properties built, they voted against it. They said they expected us to do more.

Well, on this side of the House and over there in the middle, we expect the opposition to support our housing supply action plans and to fight for Ontarians.

As the minister and the associate minister alluded to already, we’ve set records in our housing project starts: in 2021, just less than 100,000 new housing starts; in 2022 we maintained the success, building momentum with 96,000 housing starts.

As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing alluded to this morning in question period and in his remarks, the latest data show that Ontario has seen an 11% increase in 2023, already, on new housing starts, up nearly 1,200 from last year. Rental starts are, so far, double already under this new year of construction, which is great to see.

I know the Minister of Economic Development has secured another great auto manufacturing investment in a region that I come from, with the Volkswagen plant. We will need places to live for people who work in that plant. I know across rural Ontario, as the opposition likes to talk about, the number one thing they need is more rental supply. They need more supply for those workers in auto manufacturing who will supply the new Volkswagens and the other investments that we’re bringing to this province.

I think of my friends who want to get into the housing market and are currently renting. This government continues to fight for them to ensure that they can purchase an affordable and attainable house within their lifetime, to ensure that we have the dream of home ownership.

I know many of us in this place meet with many different home builders and also non-profits in their ridings when we’re back in our ridings.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Habitat for Humanity from my local area on Friday when I was in my riding. It was a great meeting with Habitat for Humanity, and it was great to hear that some of the changes we have made as a government are helping them build more multi-use rental apartments. It was great to hear that our changes under this Minister of Municipal Affairs, our associate minister and, of course, our Premier are getting more rental construction started in my part of the province.

Our government has been clear on our commitment to ensure affordability for homeowners and renters alike. That’s why we’re preserving rent control for existing units before 2018 and exempting rent control rules for new buildings, new additions to new buildings, and most basement units occupied after 2018. These actions protect tenants while stimulating construction of new rental housing—as I mentioned previously, it is vital in rural communities, where the stock currently does not exist to any extent.

At a time when families across the province are already struggling with the rising cost of living, the carbon tax and the shortage of housing options, it is crucial that we work in partnership with the private sector and the non-profits to grow our housing supply.

It has been alluded to already by the associate minister in her remarks, how, when the NDP held power and when they were in power, when I was a young, young man, rents went up by 4.6% and 6%. I don’t think it’s really a secret to anyone in this House why they haven’t formed government since 1995. In contrast, our government capped increases for the vast majority of tenants in 2023 to 2.5%, well below current inflation rates.

Our government is committed to continuing to release a new housing supply action plan every four years of our mandate. I know when I was on the campaign trail, many appreciated the fact that the government would continue to come back to this Legislature, under this municipal affairs and housing minister and this Premier, to always bring forward new additions, because we know we need to do more work. And right now, right in front of this House, is Bill 97, which protects tenants’ rights.

I was speaking to a renter on Friday when I was in the riding, and this renter was very appreciative of the tenant protections we had in the bill. Their landlord is renovating, so they were very encouraged to hear that, under proposed Bill 97, if passed—and I hope my colleagues across the way choose to support these protections for tenants—the landlord would have to provide a 60-day grace period for them to move back in, and the landlord was to allow the tenant to move back in at a similar rent. This was very encouraging for my tenant, and they said that this was long overdue.

As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing alluded to, we’re increasing the fines—almost doubling them—under the Residential Tenancies Act for any violation.

As the Associate Minister of Housing alluded to, we are, under the Attorney General, investing more in the Landlord and Tenant Board—additional investments on the investments we made in budget 2022. We are investing $6.5 million extra to help alleviate the backlog at the Landlord and Tenant Board for both landlords and tenants—to clear that backlog to ensure that we can have the protections for those renters in Ontario.

Our government is sending a strong message to the actors that violate the Residential Tenancies Act with these changes to the fine structure.

I’m happy to see the NDP bring forward an opposition day motion to call on the stronger protections act. I know we’ll have an opportunity to vote on it later—

Interjection.