The member for Waterloo is heckling me right now—addressing recognizing gaps in middle-income housing, supportive housing and modular housing. We’re taking every opportunity and implementing every tool to ensure that Ontarians have a place to call home that meets their price point. This is so important. Last year alone, we had over half a million new immigrants come to Ontario—and that doesn’t include the hundreds of thousands more who will move here from other provinces, or international students who come here to study at our world-class colleges and universities.

The Premier said it before—and I’ll remind everyone in the chamber today: We need a wartime effort to build as many homes as possible. As our province grows and as people come here seeking a better life, we as a community need to fight to ensure that the dream of home ownership is protected for the next generation and for all those who come to Ontario.

While this side of the House and the middle over there will fight for people’s path to home ownership, the opposition continues to drag their feet on helping to house Ontarians. The members opposite said we held our housing supply action plans back five years—I find it very rich, from the members opposite who voted no on the four housing supply action plans we’ve brought to this House so far; I hope they vote for the next one we bring in. I really do hope they vote for the greenbelt bill we’re going to bring in to codify the boundaries of the greenbelt and add to the greenbelt. Time will tell.

Speaker, we’ve made it easier for homeowners to create additional residential units above garages, basements or in laneways; again, the opposition voted against it. We streamlined modular unit residential building approvals; they voted against it. It seems to be a pattern, everyone.

We took steps to bolster consumer protection around purchasing new homes—it’s a big life decision; they voted against it.

Every time we take steps to build homes, to protect tenants and streamline services, the NDP and Liberals stand against it. In doing so, they stand against a younger person just wanting to move out of their parents’ basement; they stand against the aging couple looking to downsize but who can’t afford to stay in their community where they raised their children and where their children and grandchildren live now; they stand against the next generation of Ontarians just wanting a chance at a normal life. This government will stand with those Ontarians—will stand with those young people, will stand with those seniors who want to downsize. We proudly stand with everyone looking for a path to home ownership, and we’ll continue to do so.

As I alluded to, we have tabled multiple housing supply action bills, and we’ll continue to do so and consult with our municipal partners, homebuilders and other stakeholders across the riding. Our government has already delivered on four of these bills since 2018, and we committed in an election to introduce one in each year of our four-year mandate. We will do that, demonstrating our commitment and resolve to get 1.5 million homes, at least, built by 2031.

As was referred to, I believe, earlier today in debate on Bill 134, there’s no silver bullet to the housing supply crisis. We’re doing the hard work that is necessary and working with our partners to fill our housing mandate. As circumstances and pressures change, we’re also committed to working with our municipal partners, with community builders, with—

In fact, this new Minister of Housing—when he came in, the first thing he did with our municipal partners was, he went back out to them and said, “We have 75 recommendations from our housing task force—we’re on 23 partly or almost completed. Please tell us how we reach those goals moving forward.” I know my municipal partners appreciated that opportunity to submit that feedback. They are submitting that feedback because we are listening to our municipal partners and we’re working with our municipal partners.

Interjection.

And as we do so, our government is always looking for better ways to ease the pressures on some of our most vulnerable communities.

Through our reinforcement of our supportive housing initiatives, an extra $200 million a year in the Homelessness Prevention Program, $700 million total—historic investments, which, again, our municipal partners asked for, and we listened to them.

We are confident we can build homes that meet the broad range of needs at every price point that works for residents.

We recognize that 1.5 million homes is not just a number, but it’s an offer of stability and opportunity for those families who will come to occupy them. A home is a place to start a family, to make memories, to see your children take their first steps, to clean up after your pet, to learn and grow within a community. Every Ontarian deserves that opportunity, and our government is here to make that happen.

This past summer, I had an opportunity, on behalf of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to make a few announcements across Ontario, where we’re putting real investments into supportive housing through the government of Ontario Social Services Relief Fund. I was in Paris, Ontario—not Paris, France, unfortunately, but Paris, Ontario is great, as well—with MPP Bouma and mayors Kevin Davis and David Bailey to announce $340,000 to help create 15 affordable housing units, to support individuals and families with a variety of accessible needs, those who have experienced domestic violence, and people of Indigenous ancestries. This is very important to ensuring, again, that all Ontarians have a place to call their own.

Just a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to announce a similar investment in my own riding, in Stratford, in one of the communities that I have the great honour of representing in this place. The governments of Ontario and Canada are providing more than $3 million to build 33 affordable housing units in Stratford, and our government is providing an additional $1 million through the social services relief fund to create six additional affordable units. I know the chattering classes on Twitter like to say, “Oh, it’s the federal government,” but in this case, the province is actually contributing more to these projects than our federal partners. Speaker, I don’t have to tell you what it means for these communities. While they are going to be able to welcome more individuals and families to their communities, they are also being given the tools to ensure their most vulnerable residents are looked after in a way that is comfortable and affordable.

We know we have to build homes, and that’s why we’re also here to stand up for the little guy and girl, the members of our communities who have been priced out of the housing and real estate markets because of the decades of Liberal and NDP mismanagement and carelessness. The Liberals added mountains of red tape to the community building process during their time in government, and the only problem the NDP had with this is that they didn’t add more.

We’ve talked a lot about red tape here in this chamber, and all too often it may lose its meaning to the members of the opposition, but that red tape is exactly what stands in the way of young families purchasing a starter home or a family of a new Canadian getting into their first apartment or home. The red tape has real consequences, and under the current circumstances of a generational housing crisis, we just can’t afford these consequences. It’s not going to be easy. Since 2018, this government has worked day in and day out to jump-start our economy from the grinding halt the Liberals and the NDP brought it to. We’ve brought in record investments and job creation to the province of Ontario. We’ve got job offers, but we need the people for those jobs.

We’re thrilled to welcome hundreds of thousands of new Ontarians each and every year—including more than 500,000 last year, as I alluded to earlier. We need them to come to Ontario to join our workforce because that means our small businesses are growing, our tech and innovation sectors are growing—the great innovation happening in the region of Waterloo is growing—and we’re going to be able to better compete on a global stage, and that will be able to generate more wealth for our communities. But that doesn’t happen without new homes.

This past summer, many Torontonians saw the unfortunate reality many immigrants and asylum seekers face upon arriving to Canada. Many of them had nowhere to go but the streets of downtown Toronto.

Last month, our government announced an additional $42 million through the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit program to support the city of Toronto and other impacted municipalities in ensuring newcomers to Ontario have the supports they need to build a new life here in communities that are safe, welcoming and full of opportunities. Mayor Chow came to the table in good faith, and two levels of government were able to work together to address a pressing issue in Toronto. I wish the NDP would show the same commitment in helping newcomers find a home.

About a month and a half ago, I had the opportunity to meet many municipal partners at the Association of Municipalities Ontario annual conference. I know members of the opposition were also there, but obviously many government colleagues were there as well. I met communities—from St. Catharines to Sioux Lookout, the region of Waterloo and Kirkland Lake. Municipalities across the province are ready to build, and our government is constantly ready to hear feedback and advice from our municipal partners to ensure that we are all on the same page and on the right track towards meeting our commitments.

Municipalities large and small, right across Ontario, are fully on board with our government’s plan to build at least 1.5 million new homes by 2031. There is no way around it—for our communities to grow and prosper, we need to make room for more people, and that’s a good thing.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Infrastructure, we’re unlocking new opportunities to build our communities. Through the Transit-Oriented Communities Program, our government is ensuring residents are served conveniently and comfortably within their communities, reinforcing communities alongside major transit corridors, including subway and LRT lines. By building communities along these corridors, we are working to increase transit ridership, stimulate local economic development, and most importantly, we are increasing housing supply. When we build communities around convenient transit corridors, we’re providing a sense of stability and belonging for residents; we’re building a place where people can work, play and raise a family. These priorities are so important for the people of Ontario. Far too often, when parents are stuck in gridlock trying to get home to their families after work, they are missing out on time spent with their families—and that’s what a community is supposed to be all about. But we also know that not everyone can or wants to live in an urban core.

I was born and raised in Harriston, Ontario. You probably don’t know where that is. It’s a very small town in Wellington county.

I can say—I live in Mitchell now—that growing up and building a life in any of our vibrant rural communities in Ontario is truly an exceptional experience. We are truly blessed to live in Ontario.

The rural way of life is something that we must protect and cherish for our next generation, but it is also something that we must preserve for new Canadians to join and be a part of. The housing crisis is not just something experienced in the greater Toronto area; it extends to every community and every small town in this province.

I speak to young people regularly in my community, and I hear them saying they want to stay and raise a family in the communities where they grew up, but it’s becoming harder and harder to find a home that they can provide at a price point that they can afford.

We provide incentives to large municipalities across the province through a variety of programs—but most recently through the Building Faster Fund, which is $1.2 billion devoted to rewarding municipalities for reaching and exceeding their annual housing targets. Along with these incentives, we’ve also allocated 10% of that program, or roughly $120 million, to smaller municipalities that have not been allocated housing targets. I know our rural and smaller municipalities appreciate this because, unfortunately, under the federal Rapid Housing Initiative, they do not qualify and would not be able to compete with the larger urban centres in Canada. So we’re really trying to address the missing middle with the funding gaps through that by providing these funds in a percentage of the Building Faster Fund, and I know we’ll continue to consult with our rural and northern municipalities on how to best utilize this for themselves. This will allow small towns in Perth and Wellington counties as well as other small municipalities right across the province to increase their capacity to service new homes and build new communities.

Every time I get to rise in this House, as a young person from rural Ontario, to speak about our growing needs of the next generation, it’s an incredible honour. The great thing about Ontario, whether your family has been here for generations or if you immigrated here last week, is that the opportunities are endless; if you work hard, you can achieve anything. Under the leadership of Premier Ford and his Minister of Economic Development, we have worked hard to ensure that that dream is still alive and well in Ontario. By attracting the good manufacturing jobs back to Ontario, the 300,000 that left under the former Liberal and NDP-propped-up government—attracting 700,000 new jobs since 2018, good-paying jobs. And people having a job to provide for their families is so important. We will continue to do that, moving forward, in everything we can do—but we had to bring it back, as I alluded to earlier in my remarks, from what was left when former Premier Wynne left office in 2018. We had to bring it back from the brink.

They have talked about the scandals under the former Liberal government as well today, but we can go back in time a little more, when there was a Rae government—not me, but a Bob Rae government. I was only zero at the time when he came into office, so I don’t remember much—but I read it in the history books. I find it ironic that they refer to this—that we’re not building up housing, but they vote against every housing supply action bill we bring to this place. When they held government—not the balance of power—three things happened: We lost jobs in Ontario, we lost businesses in Ontario, and we lost homes in Ontario.

We are not going to return to the Rae days of Bob Rae. We’re going to continue to build 1.5 million homes to ensure that my colleagues can find a place to live, new Canadians can find a place to live—young people like Brampton North over there can find a place to live and own a property. We’re going to continue to get it done for the people of Ontario.

They talk about taking time away from when they could bring forward legislation to make housing more affordable, to get more homes built—and they don’t do that.

They already highlighted—at a committee before this House, we’ll hear and study the Auditor General’s report, at the public accounts committee. This committee will hear that report. That is in their mandate, and they will discuss this report at that committee.

I also find it very rich, from the opposition—when they want to regulate Airbnb, essentially. I will let the opposition know that municipalities can actually bring in a bylaw already that can regulate Airbnb, and some have. So it’s not the province’s mandate to regulate Airbnb. But maybe under an NDP government, they’ll want to regulate Airbnb.

Speaker, I am proud to rise in this chamber, as a member of the government caucus, under the leadership of Premier Ford. Our government has taken historic measures to strengthen the path to home ownership for each and every Ontarian, no matter whether they were born in Ontario or they came to our great province. And frankly, I think we need to recognize that this government has done all of this without any support from the Liberals or NDP. After all, this is the same NDP that propped up, as mentioned earlier, the previous Liberal government—and they outlined their scandals ad nauseam today; I appreciated the history lesson on Ornge. I was in university at the time.

We are taking action on the housing supply crisis, to begin with. For me, this is personal. As a younger MPP, I know all too well the struggles that the younger generations of Ontarians face in trying to get into the home market. I hear about it right across this province, no matter where I go—in my own community, as well as other communities that I travel to. The housing crisis is not just a Toronto issue; it’s impacting thousands of people across Ontario, from the coast of Lake Erie to the coast of the Hudson Bay. That’s why our government ran on a promise to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031, and we were given an overwhelming mandate last June to get that job done. We also received a massive mandate in the region of Peel, where we’re going to build Highway 413. We haven’t stopped, and we won’t stop, getting things done for the people of Ontario.

The last two years, as the Associate Minister of Housing referenced in his remarks, we have seen record housing starts in Ontario, including in the region of Waterloo.

Interjection.

Thank you to my colleague for the very important question. I know our Minister of Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs continues to consult with Indigenous peoples across Ontario on a variety of different issues and projects and I know we’ll continue to do so. We attract, as I alluded to in my remarks, more and more economic growth and we want to ensure that all Ontarians, no matter where they live, or for how long they have called this place home, benefit from that.

As I mentioned in my remarks, when new jobs and new employers come to my community one of the first questions they ask is, do you have the workers? Whether it’s in our oil and gas industry or whether it’s in our agricultural industry, I know we’re going to continue to table housing supply action plan bills because we know we need to get more homes built quickly across Ontario because it’s for our future, it’s for our future children, it’s for our future grandchildren to ensure that everyone has the same opportunity that all of us in this place have had that dream of home ownership.

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.

It’s my honour, obviously, to share my time, as we’ve already heard from the great Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the associate minister in this place. It’s an honour to speak on our government’s proposed legislation that would support a much-needed fourth housing supply action plan. Our proposals are crucial to our government’s work to get housing built that Ontarians desperately need.

Speaker, my riding of Perth–Wellington is home to over 4,000 farm operations and many predominantly rural municipalities. These communities, like others across Ontario, are feeling pressure and demand for housing that is greater than the supply currently is. Whether it’s for farm workers, rental housing for young people and new immigrants, or the missing middle, there is a need for housing in every single community in my riding. That’s why I’m pleased to be part of a government that is acting so strongly to support more homes across all areas of Ontario and delivering on our commitment to see 1.5 million new homes built by 2031.

I’m also pleased to speak on behalf of a generation of Ontarians—my generation—which has faced historic difficulties when it comes to finding a home they can actually afford. I’m proud to be part of a government that understands the difficulties that my generation and future generations will face if we do not address this housing crisis.

We’re taking historic action to tackle the housing supply crisis and build the homes Ontarians need. Our housing supply action plans have made great progress, as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing alluded to earlier, but more work needs to be done. This proposed legislation and corresponding changes to the provincial policy statement would see that more is done, not only in our urban centres, but also in our rural areas.

Ce projet de loi ferait avancer les choses tant dans nos centres urbains que dans nos régions rurales.

Speaker, our province is layered with planning rules and land use plans. All of Ontario is subject to a set of planning rules called the provincial policy statement, also often referred to as PPS. Where the PPS is the sole set of land use planning rules, it’s fairly clear what rules a developer or a builder must follow to get a proposed residential project approved. However, in the greater Golden Horseshoe, there is an additional set of planning rules called A Place to Grow. If we want to get the homes built that we desperately need now, let alone in the future for the sizable population growth we’re going to see, it is critical that builders and developers have a clear and streamlined set of rules to follow in this and all areas of our province.

Ontario is projected to grow by 5.6 million people by 2046, and the greater Toronto area alone is expected to be home to 2.9 million of those people. Not only that, but the greater Golden Horseshoe generates more than 25% of Canada’s gross domestic product. So I think all members of this House will agree that, as I said, it’s critical we get land use planning right in this region and across all regions of Ontario.

There are several challenges brought on by the magnitude of growth that is forecasted.

There will be increased demand for major infrastructure investments—this includes renewing aging infrastructure and addressing infrastructure deficits associated with growth.

There will be increased traffic congestion, with resulting delays in the movement of people and goods. Already we are seeing those delays in the greater Golden Horseshoe, and they are costing billions of dollars in lost GDP every year.

The impacts of globalization are transforming the regional economy at a rapid pace. This makes long-term planning or employment more uncertain.

Speaker, people over the age of 60 are expected to represent more than a quarter of the population by 2041, especially in communities such as mine in Perth–Wellington. That means we will need more age-friendly development that can address unique needs and circumstances. This includes a more appropriate range and mix of housing options, easier access to health care and other amenities, walkable built environments, and an age-friendly approach to community design to meet the needs of all people.

But all these planning rules on top of planning rules result in massive delays in getting land use approvals and enormous costs to the builders or developers and municipalities to get these approvals through. We need to streamline Ontario’s planning rules and encourage more housing.

That’s why, on April 6, our government launched its 60-day consultation on the Environmental Registry of Ontario, seeking input on the proposed combining of the PPS and A Place to Grow into a new province-wide land use planning policy instrument. We propose to integrate these two planning instruments into one streamlined housing-focused policy, which will be called the provincial planning statement. This would increase housing supply and speed up planning approvals by simplifying existing policy and refocusing on achieving housing outcomes. Our proposed provincial planning statement would do this by giving direction for all of Ontario, as well as direction tailored to the unique needs of large, fast-growing municipalities. As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing already noted, all of Ontario—not just the GTA—should be a place to grow. In our new proposed planning statement, this direction is organized across five key pillars. Those pillars are: generating an appropriate housing supply; making land available for development; providing infrastructure to support development; balancing housing with resources; and, obviously, implementation.

For the first of those pillars, generating an appropriate housing supply, our proposed new land use document would give specific direction to Ontario’s largest and fastest-growing municipalities in planning for major transit station areas and other strategic growth areas and in greenfield lands to ensure an appropriate supply of housing. However, simpler and more flexible policies would be given to all other municipalities to reflect local conditions while encouraging growth. For those large and fast-growing municipalities—we’ve identified 29 in Ontario.

Our proposed new planning policies would also enable more rural housing by allowing greater flexibility in smaller communities such as mine in Perth–Wellington. This could, for example, create more housing for on-farm workers or for farm operators’ children, if they choose to do so. It could also be done through engagement with the private sector in small and rural municipalities to provide infrastructure needed for new housing.

Our proposed policies would also require more housing near transit. This means Ontario’s 29 large and fastest-growing municipalities would need to plan for growth around transit in urban centres and other strategic growth areas such as downtowns, and for undeveloped land, as well. For transit-related growth in what are called the major transit station areas, we provide minimum density targets that municipalities have to meet in their land use planning. Those same municipalities would have the right to see maximums for density and height. As well, municipalities would be encouraged to meet provincial density targets for undeveloped land.

Our next pillar in our proposed provincial policy planning statement is more land for development. This is part of our plan to build all sorts of homes for Ontarians, in urban and suburban areas as well as rural parts our province, while still maintaining our strong environmental protections across Ontario.

Speaker, it’s essential that municipalities plan for future growth with regard to population and employment. Our proposal would therefore require municipalities to ensure that enough land with water and waste water pipe access is ready to meet their communities’ anticipated housing needs over the next three years. We would also require municipalities to adhere to a 25-year planning horizon.

Our government has said this time and time again, but it bears repeating: We will continue to encourage municipalities to build where it makes sense. That means major office and institutional developments should be near transit, and areas of retail and commercial activity that provide jobs should also permit and encourage housing, schools and other community uses to create a complete community. Municipalities would need to consider increasing density on employment lands as well as locations near transit corridors.

Of course, municipalities would need to balance housing needs against other necessities. That means large parcels of land must be preserved for agriculture and heavy industry that will require separation from residential areas and other sensitive uses. This would help mitigate the potential effects of their operation, such as noise and odours.

We also recognize that residential development cannot happen in a vacuum.

Being one of the former parliamentary assistants to the Minister of Education, I was very pleased to see that we’re encouraging school boards and municipalities to work together to encourage them to innovate and integrate schools into housing developments.

Infrastructure corridors must also be considered and protected. Communities need electricity; they need transit; they need transportation. And our government recognizes the growth demands being placed on large and fast-growing municipalities such as those in the greater Golden Horseshoe. So our proposed land use policies in our provincial planning statement would have special direction for them while giving them flexibility. However, all planning authorities would still be required to integrate storm, sewage and water into development planning so that they can minimize risks and accommodate growth.

Our province is blessed with many resources, and we need to protect them. That’s why our proposal would require municipalities to map and designate prime agricultural areas to support our province’s productive and valuable agri-food network.

I want to state that Ontario would maintain all greenbelt protections, including policies on environmental and agricultural lands.

Just as valuable, Ontario’s water resources need protection. Municipalities would be encouraged to adopt a watershed planning approach rather than requiring watershed plans.

Aggregates, too, are a resource that must be protected. To make it easier to build housing, we must allow access to aggregates—and that is sand and gravel used in making cement. If we’re to work to lower housing costs, we must allow access to these deposits in more cost-efficient locations, as well as streamline the approvals process needed to extract these necessary resources.

Speaker, our proposed policies would also encourage municipalities to focus on improving air quality and addressing the impacts of a changing climate.

Of course, we’re also proposing some further legislative measures to support our actions to streamline land use planning rules to build more housing.

Our proposed changes would allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to require landowners to enter into agreements for projects assigned to the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator. This would help ensure commitments made by property owners are fulfilled; for example, in a case where a ministerial zoning order may be contemplated.

Speaker, as you can see, our proposed policies for land use planning in Ontario are extensive. They are just what our province needs to address our housing supply crisis and meet future demand.

As I mentioned earlier, our 60-day public consultation on these proposed policies and our proposed provincial planning statement began on April 6. I encourage those who wish to comment to go to the Environmental Registry of Ontario.

As you’ve heard from my colleagues who spoke before me, our government is committed to our goal of helping build 1.5 million new homes by 2031.

Our Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants plan and its supporting proposed legislation is the package that Ontarians need now and for the projected demand in the future.

Now I’d like to turn it over to the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery.

Thank you, Speaker. I will also be sharing my time with the great member from Niagara West, who gave me a resounding round of applause there, as well.

It’s my honour to rise today to speak to some of the critical investments our government is making under our fall economic statement. Whether it’s our plan to build, expanding our investments in the skilled trades, or being there for our most vulnerable, our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is taking historic steps to ensure Ontario is kept on the right path.

Speaker, let’s not forget it was just over four years ago that Ontario was holding on by a thread. Thousands of manufacturing jobs were being lost, hydro rates were skyrocketing, and Ontarians were losing hope. Since then, our government has pushed forward with the real priorities of Ontarians, standing strong throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and now taking the necessary steps to recover and grow.

Our progress report on our budget measures highlights our resolve and determination to get things done for Ontarians on all fronts.

Ontario is not the only jurisdiction facing labour shortages, a housing crisis and cost-of-living strains, but our government is making every effort to ensure that we’re among the first to overcome these challenges through a variety of tax relief initiatives, infrastructure investments and digital innovations.

First and foremost, our government understands and values and respects the needs of our taxpayers. We are managing the provincial debt in a responsible and respectful manner. Just this past September, our government announced the deficit for the 2021-22 fiscal year had been eliminated, and while it may not always be the case going forward with each passing year, our government will always remain steadfast as we look to ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are spent wisely.

Our plan to build hinges on the connectivity of people, communities and businesses across Ontario. Our government’s plan highlights $25 billion over the next decade to support planning and construction of highways and rehabilitation projects like Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass, the QEW Garden City Skyway and many others—including in my own riding of Perth–Wellington, $1.4 million for Highway 89 in Mount Forest and $1.3 million on Ontario Street in Stratford. And I want to apologize to my constituents—there’s a joke that there are two seasons in Ontario, construction season and winter, and it really felt this way in my riding this summer. But it’s great to see the provincial government making these investments, as outlined in the fall economic statement.

Beyond this, our government is allocating $61 billion over the next 10 years towards public transit, connecting people across a variety of different communities and allowing them to engage in broader local, regional and provincial economies. More specifically, this will support even larger-scale transit projects such as the Ontario Line to the Ontario Science Centre, connecting over 40 transit hubs including GO train lines, TTC lines and the Eglinton Crosstown light-rail transit line, and including, through the Community Transportation Grant Program system under Minister Mulroney, transportation in my riding of Perth–Wellington. We are including transportation in rural Ontario, which is something that unfortunately has been lost in previous governments in this place. These transit funds will also support GO train expansion outside of the GTA—nothing against my great GTA colleagues, but we do need to expand the GO train beyond the greater Golden Horseshoe, to communities such as Stratford and St. Marys. These investments will reduce emissions, cut commuting times, and allow families to spend more time together.

Speaker, the opposition never wastes an opportunity to call for more transit investments, which is why I’m calling on all opposition MPPs here today to join our government in advancing this important shared priority, and to show that they’re really fighting for their constituents and not just counting political points.

However, with or without our opposition colleagues, our government is fully aware of what Ontarians are looking for from us. We heard it loud and clear this past June, when people right across the province gave this government a mandate to build more infrastructure, invest in our health care and schools, and keep costs down for families and businesses.

Our government has committed more than $40 billion over the next 10 years in hospital infrastructure, supporting more than 50 additional major hospital projects—a historic investment—and community health care centres, adding 3,000 new beds over that time period.

And in light of the financial pressures on families and businesses across the province that they have been facing over the last few years, our government is making sure that we take every step to ensure families can live comfortably and businesses can thrive.

In spring 2022, recognizing the effects of inflation and geopolitical circumstances, our government cut the provincial gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre. Statistics Canada has shown that this cut has contributed significantly to the decline in gas prices across Ontario and has helped lower the consumer price index. We’re proposing, under the fall economic statement, to extend that to the end of 2023.

Furthermore, our government has continued to take leadership in streamlining business operations and reducing costs for complying with regulations, saving businesses, not-for-profits, municipalities, universities, colleges, hospitals and school boards $576 million per year. The integrated impacts of these cost-saving measures are reflected by an increase in total real business investment in Ontario by $9.7 billion between the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2022. More than just that, our government has overseen a 5.2% increase over the same time period in investments by Ontario businesses in real intellectual property rights, ranking the highest in the nation for the portion of small and medium enterprises reporting ownership of IP.

Speaker, when we look back at where we were as a province just four and a half years ago, it’s amazing to see how well this government has been able to turn around our economy, while steering us through such unprecedented times. All of these indicators reflect the important strategic advantages our government is putting in place for businesses across the province, across a variety of sectors, to succeed not only on a regional and national level, but on an international level. Our government has full faith that we as a government are willing and able to create the right business environment, with a balance of market freedoms and regulations, and Ontario businesses will thrive. That is precisely what this progress report indicates.

Expanding on this, our government’s plan to build will naturally support the expansion of skilled trades throughout this province, further promoting lucrative and fulfilling job opportunities for young Ontarians. We have lifted the minimum wage, invested in dual-credit programs and expanded the Skills Development Fund. Our government has made significant strides in addressing our labour shortage, ensuring that Ontarians can play an important role in the growth and development of our great province.

As outlined in the fall economic statement, we are investing an additional $40 million in 2022-23 for a total of $145 million for the latest round of the Skills Development Fund. I know many organizations in my riding take advantage of this. The Technical Training Group, for example, does amazing work to encourage young people and people who have also gone on to post-secondary but want to get into the trades, which is very key. There are thousands and thousands of jobs in the skilled trades, and we need people to join us in building Ontario, and this investment will do just that.

We’re also investing—which I am personally very excited about—an additional $4.8 million in the Dual Credit Program. We have heard over and over that we need more ECEs in our province, and this investment will help us expand that over the next two years and will help us realize a $10-a-day child care agreement which we signed with the federal government earlier this year.

Speaker, we’re constantly looking to improve and expand opportunities for all Ontarians, and we’re also ensuring no one gets left behind. Whether it’s low-income workers and families, individuals with disabilities, or seniors who have given so much to our communities, our government has made it clear that we will continue to support these groups as we grow Ontario for everyone. And in doing so, our government is making significant investments and changes to allow persons with disabilities on the ODSP program to keep more of their money, further increasing the monthly exemptions from $200 per month to $1,000 per month. These proposed changes will allow approximately 25,000 individuals currently in the workforce to keep more of their earnings and encourage as many as 25,000 more individuals to participate in the workforce, which is vitally needed. Since proposing these changes, we’ve heard from numerous partners in the non-profit sector applauding these changes and the positive outcomes this will create for Ontarians. I think it shows our government’s compassionate leadership in being willing to grow our economy but to also support those who are most vulnerable in society.

With that, Speaker, I want to pass it over to my great colleague from Niagara West.