It’s my privilege to rise here today to highlight the amazing work of a constituent in my riding of Perth–Wellington: Jacqueline Ussher, a paramedic with Perth county emergency medical services. She recently won the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs—OAPC—Humanitarian Award. The award was introduced in 2012, and it recognizes acts of unselfish donation of time or money by paramedic or emergency medical services professionals to relieve the suffering of humanity.

Jacqueline has shown an unwavering commitment to the well-being of the community of Perth county, particularly during the tough times of COVID-19. Not only did Jacqueline serve our community as a paramedic, but during the chaos of the pandemic, she identified a local issue that was exacerbated by the pandemic: food security. Jacqueline proceeded to dedicate her time and effort, working with the House of Blessing to ensure a continuous supply of food for people in need in Perth county.

Her volunteerism and dedication to the well-being of our community is commendable, and she is a great role model for many who want to see our neighbours and friends prosper.

I know I speak for our community when I say that we are grateful for the hard-working and caring people in Perth–Wellington, like Jacqueline.

Jacqueline, thank you for making our community a better place to live and raise a family.

Thank you to my colleague for the question.

Other than to keep the PA busy, I think this bill, obviously, as was mentioned in all of our remarks this morning, really was feedback from municipalities on getting affordable homes built and providing that definition. But it really is getting more homes built, and that includes a variety—the life lease community was at the housing forum yesterday as well—and ensuring that we have a variety of options for young people, for seniors, for families to get into the housing market in communities across Ontario.

Obviously, I represent a rural riding, and I tell my communities, “It’s not just housing for Toronto. We’re looking at housing in Harriston, in Listowel, in Stratford.”

Speaker, I know this government will use everything in our power to help support our homebuilders and our municipalities to get homes built quickly.

But then also, which I always go back to, after the recent announcement in March of this year, I believe, around Volkswagen, I was at a community event in my riding, which is close to St. Thomas obviously, and one of the car dealers told me this is great news for our region because they’re going to sell those cars that we make in St. Thomas at their dealership. Across the entire supply chain, from the beginning to the end, it will be of benefit across Ontario.

It’s my pleasure to share the government’s remaining time on the lead today, as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and to speak to Bill 134, the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act. I want to thank the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for providing a concise overview of the bill this morning—and his relationship with his daughter.

I also want to thank the Associate Minister of Housing for the detailed explanation of how this proposed legislation would support our government’s efforts to lower the cost of building, purchasing and renting affordable homes across the province.

Updating the definition of affordable residential units that would qualify for municipal development charge discounts and exemptions will truly help in that regard. And I know, as the minister and the associate minister mentioned in their remarks, there has been a lot of support from our municipal colleagues, whether that’s AMO, ROMA or the big city mayors around this proposed definition. I know, in speaking with some of my own local mayors in my riding of Perth–Wellington, they have told me that with this definition of affordable housing and a further bulletin—which would be coming after this bill, if it’s passed—it would help get affordable homes built in some of my own communities in rural Ontario, and ensuring that those discounts are available for them. Some home builders have already approached my local mayors and local councils around how they could work together to achieve this. It’s wonderful to see this progress already being encouraged in rural Ontario, and in my riding of Perth–Wellington in particular.

The Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act, if passed, would also support our municipalities as they work to attract and create jobs. The proposed changes are meant to make it easier for communities to build the housing that Ontarians desperately need. This includes more affordable homes.

What I would also like to underline—and I think it’s a key moment in time to do so—is that it would complement other measures our government has put in place to help increase housing supply across the province. As my colleagues the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Associate Minister of Housing have already spoken about this morning, the proposed measures demonstrate our government’s strong commitment to working alongside our municipal partners. We’re committed to making life more affordable and better for everyone in Ontario, no matter where you live, whether that is in downtown Toronto or up in Kenora and Thunder Bay, Speaker, and supporting our municipalities with the tools needed to help get at least 1.5-million new homes built by 2031.

Speaker, we need to get shovels in the ground faster and to start building homes today for the workers of tomorrow. In March of this year, the city of St. Thomas welcomed the new Volkswagen plant. Europe’s largest automaker will establish its subsidiary PowerCo SE’s electric-vehicle-battery-manufacturing facility in their community of St. Thomas. Selecting St. Thomas as the location to build the company’s first overseas battery cell plant is a major vote of confidence in Canada and Ontario. It’s a vote of confidence in our shared work to position the country and the province as a global leader on the electric vehicle supply chain. It’s a testament to Ontario’s competitive environment, and we are an attractive investment destination with everything a company needs to grow and prosper.

The investment has been welcome news by local business leaders in St. Thomas but also surrounding communities—which my riding would include—in Stratford and St. Marys, Listowel and others as well, I know, from my colleagues in this place. It’s a positive impact for our business community, a positive impact for our communities at large. It’s going to attract thousands of good-paying jobs and ensure that we continue to build Ontario for the future. The Volkswagen Group and PowerCo SE’s historic investment to build this facility here will bring thousands of good-paying jobs and even more families to beautiful St. Thomas and beautiful Stratford and, really, all the communities of southern Ontario.

The manufacturing facility will be the largest of its kind in Canada, and it has the potential to be one of the largest electric vehicle battery plants in the world—in the entire world. Potentially, St. Thomas, Ontario, is going to have the largest electric-vehicle-battery plant here. This plant will have six production lines and make enough batteries for one million cars every year. What’s more, Volkswagen Group has plans to make 25 new electric vehicle models in the coming decades, and most of those batteries will come from St. Thomas. The plant is expected to employ up to 3,000 people and create thousands of spin-off jobs, as I’ve mentioned, across southwestern Ontario, helping support economic growth and prosperity for future generations. It’s estimated that it could be worth as much as $200 billion to the Canadian economy over the coming decades.

This investment represents the largest auto investment in our province’s history, and it’s a big win for Ontario, the people of St. Thomas and surrounding areas. This is an example of how our government continues to work to create the right conditions for businesses and workers to succeed now and in the future. We’re revitalizing Ontario’s auto sector and making Ontario the auto powerhouse of North America once again. The cars of the future will be made here in Ontario, from start to finish, from the minerals in northern Ontario to the battery cells in St. Thomas to the batteries in Windsor and much more I’m sure to come. They’ll be made—also very importantly—by Ontario workers. We recognize that this investment in St. Thomas will significantly strengthen the local community and, obviously, our provincial economy.

Through the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act, Ontario is proposing changes to help support Volkswagen Group and PowerCo SE’s historic investment in St. Thomas. The agreement that was negotiated in partnership with the city of St. Thomas provides for the city to give municipal-based incentives as part of PowerCo SE’s project. However, the current rules against municipalities providing municipal-based incentives to any industrial or commercial enterprise limit the city of St. Thomas from providing some of the assistance outlined in the agreement.

The changes we are proposing would give the city of St. Thomas the authority to provide PowerCo SE municipal-based incentives that were negotiated in partnership with the municipality. The new authority would be restricted to St. Thomas only. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing would be provided with regulation-making authority to impose restrictions, limits and other conditions on St. Thomas’s new authority. In addition, the province consulted on this proposed change through a public posting on the regulatory registry of Ontario for a 30-day period.

Creating and supporting more shovel-ready mega sites, like St. Thomas, will help Ontario remain competitive as the province competes for major global investments.

These proposed changes represent our government’s efforts to attract new investments that will create more good-paying jobs and strengthen our economy.

Speaker, Ontario is a top-tier destination for investment and strategic business growth. Our government is committed to supporting and growing the province’s workforce. Ontario is ready to help with the creation of good-paying jobs in our municipalities that will help rebuild our economy, after 15 years of Liberal and NDP coalition. And we’re taking concrete action to attract jobs and investment.

The proposed changes in the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act are meant to further support municipalities as they work to attract and create jobs. A critical factor for securing new investment opportunities is having suitable industrial sites ready for companies to build on.

Similar to, as we are finding in municipal affairs and housing, and as the minister mentioned this morning, around infrastructure and waste water, it is having these sites ready, whether it is for homes or also, very importantly, for industrial companies that are looking to come to Ontario, to our attractive business environment, and to benefit from where we are physically located in the world—but also the great employees we train and retain in Ontario.

In November 2019, Ontario launched the Job Site Challenge to create an inventory of investment-ready mega sites. It was designed to attract large-scale advanced manufacturing investments that have the potential to create hundreds of new jobs across the province, in communities, whether they’re large or small. As part of this initiative, municipalities, economic development agencies and industrial property owners put forward large tracts of land of between 500 and 1,500 acres that could support large-scale manufacturing operations. One of the mega sites identified as part of the initiative involved 1,500 acres of land within the city of St. Thomas and the municipality of Central Elgin. However, with the land divided between two municipalities with different permitting requirements, we recognized that potential investors could face red tape and delays from unnecessary duplication. That’s why our government took decisive action and introduced legislation to adjust the municipal boundaries so the site resides fully in the city of St. Thomas. The site was then selected by Volkswagen Group and PowerCo SE as the location to build the electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing facility we are speaking about today. This is an example of a successful collaboration across governments—provincial, municipal and federal. It represents a collaboration to cut red tape and ensure the benefits of economic growth are enjoyed across the province, helping to speed up construction timelines and ensure there is truly a shovel-ready site for potential investment.

Speaker, as we continue to work to attract investment, build Ontario up and strengthen our economy, we’ll continue to attract more workers to Ontario. And we must ensure that all of our communities have the housing needed to support a strong workforce.

Our government also recognizes the growth demands being placed on large and fast-growing municipalities in Ontario. For example, the greater Toronto area is expected to grow by 2.9 million people by 2046. This means that within the next 23 years, we will need homes to accommodate an additional 2.9 million people. For my colleagues here this morning, for reference, when I graduated high school, which wasn’t that long ago, the province was roughly 12 million people. We are now 15 million people. Within that short amount of time, we have grown by three million people, which means obviously we need more homes.

But it’s not just housing; it’s an economic problem that can affect the entire province and even the entire country. The GTA is just one part of the greater Golden Horseshoe, which is the economic engine of Ontario. It generates more than 25% of Canada’s gross domestic product, but in order to tackle this crisis, Ontario requires workers, and workers require a place to live.

Speaker, the greater Golden Horseshoe is just one example. There are plenty of examples. Whether they’re from Windsor, London, Stratford, Kingston, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, our government works to support municipalities and helps make it easier to attract and create more jobs all across the province. The need for more housing will continue to grow, and it’s critical that we get shovels in the ground today to start building homes for the workers of tomorrow.

Our government’s housing supply action plans have made great progress in addressing our province’s housing crisis so far, but there’s still more to be done. As the minister mentioned earlier, and the associate minister, we had our housing forum yesterday, and it was wonderful to see, as the associate minister mentioned yesterday, the cross-pollination between the variety of stakeholders there, whether it was municipal partners; whether it was the non-profit, Habitat for Humanity; whether it was homebuilders. It was good to see those ideas and work with our colleagues, as I know the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing will continue to do as we move forward with future housing supply action plans.

The changes and measures proposed through the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act are forward-thinking, and I’m proud in part of this government that is taking historic action to increase housing supply and help communities meet their housing needs today and well into the future.

To complement the legislative proposals in the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act, our government will also be consulting on other changes that can be made to help get more affordable homes built in Ontario and increase municipal efficiencies. We’re committed to working closely with our municipal partners to ensure the right tools and processes are in place so that we’re able to build at least 1.5 million new homes by 2031.

Our government will be consulting on proposed regulatory changes as part of the ongoing strategy to streamline hearings and speed up decisions at the Ontario Land Tribunal. Helping to resolve land use planning disputes faster will help municipalities to be able to build priority projects faster, including housing. Supply Ontario will also be engaging and working with municipalities to look at ways to increase procurement collaboration with municipalities to allow cost savings and efficiencies by both levels of government.

Speaker, I know it was announced earlier this year that our province will be freezing fees for building homes and other related infrastructure at 2023 levels and ensuring that we are also doing our part to ensure that we keep costs down for our homebuilders and our municipalities as they help us reach that goal of 1.5 million homes.

To support building more homes, our government will also be asking for feedback on proposed regulatory changes aimed at streamlining hearings and expediting decisions at the Ontario Land Tribunal. The Ontario Land Tribunal, or, as it’s commonly known, the OLT, is an independent adjudicative tribunal and an important piece of the municipal planning and housing framework here in Ontario. When people are unable to resolve their differences on land use planning issues or having disputes with their municipal council that can’t be settled, the OLT provides a forum to resolve those disputes. Improving the processes at the OLT and helping to resolve land use disputes faster will help minimize delays and help us get priority projects built faster for communities across the province, and this obviously includes homes.

Too many people in Ontario are struggling to find an affordable home, and this proposal supports our government’s efforts to provide more certainty for municipalities and make it cheaper and easier to build affordable homes across the province.

To further streamline hearings and speed up decisions at the OLT, Ontario is consulting on and developing proposed regulations to set service standards and to prioritize resolutions of certain cases, including cases that would create the most housing. Consultations will begin in early December. This contributes to the broader goal of supporting strong, healthy communities and the public interest.

It also expands on the important work that is already under way to improve processes. Ontario has made investments to help the OLT to streamline processes, improve customer service and resolve land use planning disputes more quickly. Some of these investments were made to address a key recommendation in the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force report to increase resources at the OLT so that homes can be built faster. We know that principled and timely resolutions play an important role in the province’s housing supply. We will not let red tape and long wait times delay critical projects in our communities, including much-needed housing.

We will also be engaging and working with municipalities to ensure that they can benefit from provincial supply chain programs and strategies led by Supply Ontario. This includes having access to category management and vendor-of-record arrangements, which combine Ontario’s purchasing power to obtain better value for procurements. Supply Ontario is a crown agency supporting procurement across the Ontario public service and the broader public sector. It works to bring cohesion to the public sector supply chain by embracing innovation and leveraging diverse partnerships and relationships with suppliers. This can help harness Ontario’s buying power to enable economic development, province-wide resilience and, most importantly, value for Ontarians.

Speaker, the proposed changes in the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act are what our province needs as we take the next steps to address our housing supply crisis and ensure our communities are set up to meet future housing demand. Our proposed measures will help support building more affordable homes in Ontario while also supporting municipalities as they work to attract and create good jobs.

Yesterday, at our housing forum, one common theme emerged, which is great to see from our government. All the stakeholders in the room agreed that we need to get more homes built in Ontario, including across the continuum, whether that’s support for homelessness prevention; whether that’s affordable homes, as we’re talking about this morning; whether that’s attainable and also, obviously, townhomes and apartments. It’s wonderful to see this collaboration amongst a variety of stakeholders across Ontario to ensure that Ontario remains a great place to live, work and raise a family.

With that, Speaker, thank you.

It’s a privilege to rise here today to speak about one of the most important days of the year: Remembrance Day. It’s the day when we all take pause to remember the immense sacrifices that Canadian men and women made in World War I, World War II, Korea, Afghanistan and countless peacekeeping operations around the globe.

It is truly hard to imagine what our veterans have done and continue to do to fight for the freedoms that we all so enjoy in Ontario and Canada.

In my riding of Perth–Wellington, we are fortunate to have a great sense of patriotism and pride in our veterans. In my own family, Speaker, my great-uncles helped liberate Rome in World War II.

The town of Arthur is known as Canada’s most patriotic village because of its extraordinary effort in the Second World War. It holds a series of beautiful murals and monuments in the downtown core to honour those who have fought.

Earlier this year, the city of Stratford lost an amazing World War II veteran: Art Boon. He was a veteran of the Normandy invasion on D-Day, a tank crew member, someone who shared his stories with the next generation countless times and was the long-time MC of the Stratford Remembrance Day ceremony. This will be the first year without Art’s presence.

Speaker, I know all of us in this place are truly grateful for Canada’s men and women who don the uniform day in and day out. Lest we forget.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy and move its adoption.

In the gallery up there is Brooklyn Mattinson, associate director of regulatory and government affairs at RBC, and her colleague Alanna Sokic, senior manager of provincial and municipal affairs. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Thank you to my colleague from Beaches–East York for her remarks. If she knows anywhere we can get Swiftie tickets, I’d really appreciate that information as well.

It’s wonderful to see cross-party co-operation here, with everyone this afternoon agreeing that we need to do more to protect consumers, and talking about the merits of this bill.

Obviously, as the member mentioned near the end of her remarks around AI and technology—when Amazon didn’t exist, 20-plus years ago. Now we have Amazon and those refunds—and ensuring that consumers who are entitled to those refunds can get those refunds. Every person in this House is a consumer. And the changes, as the member knows, outlined in the proposed bill, if passed, will help strengthen those protections.

Is the member able to elaborate on how those protections around refunds would help her constituents?

Thank you to my colleague for her remarks.

I know long-term leases on home-comfort appliances like HVAC have been a focus for bad actors in Ontario.

And I know our government wants to ensure, with this legislation, that all Ontarians feel protected when they make a significant purchase for their home.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to reducing costs for terminating long-term leases.

I’m pleased to see that the members opposite, in their remarks this afternoon, have been supportive of these efforts.

I was wondering if the member could elaborate on how this bill will help her constituents, who are in some of those long-term leases, with HVAC and other home-comfort appliances.

Thank you to my colleague from Cambridge for his remarks.

Speaker, I know the weather is getting a little cooler. The snow is starting to fly and has flown in some parts of this province already, and many seniors in my riding have time-shares in warmer climates. They’re obviously complicated contracts, ensuring that our seniors are protected, that they know what they’re getting in to.

Many time-share operators currently don’t offer buyback or take-back programs, so this can leave consumers locked indefinitely into an agreement, and often timeshares have little to no value on the resale market. So if the owner of the time-share falls on hard times, the costs often increase for the consumer, and nothing can be done.

My question to the member from Cambridge is, can the member please tell us what this new legislation will do in order to keep time-share owners accountable and to provide options to consumers when they are investing?

Perth–Wellington is a place of vibrant energy and growth, and today, I want to celebrate an incredible success story of one of our small businesses.

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the grand opening of GRIT Engineering’s brand new, expanded location in Stratford. GRIT Engineering, founded and led by Montana Wilson, is a shining example of what small businesses can achieve when they combine determination, dedication and vision. They offer a wide array of high-quality services, including geotechnical engineering, civil engineering, surveying and environmental services.

It’s no exaggeration to say that GRIT Engineering plays a vital role in building our great province. It was wonderful to walk through their state-of-the-art facility, witness the cutting-edge technology they employ and meet some of their dedicated team. What’s even more remarkable is that GRIT Engineering is one of the few female-led consulting engineering firms in Ontario. The company also provides 24 individuals in our local community with well-paying jobs, with the majority of employees being under the age of 40. They’re not just building infrastructure, Speaker; they’re building careers and opportunities in Perth–Wellington.

Montana’s recent recognition as the recipient of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association inaugural Service Professional of the Year award is a testament to the outstanding professionalism and integrity that she brings to everything she does. She is truly a role model for young women everywhere.

Speaker, it’s great to see the continued success of small businesses in our rural community. I want to wish Montana, Nick and their whole team much success.

Thank you to the member from Whitby for his very important and good question. The review is in the act right now, as the member may know, but we’re going to, obviously, codify the greenbelt in legislation. That review will consult with environmental experts. It will consult with, as the minister mentioned as well in his remarks, the Indigenous community. And it will consult with the municipalities in the greenbelt, obviously, as well, ensuring that all voices are heard through the process and ensuring that we have a robust greenbelt for years to come.

They are very important points raised by the member from Windsor–Tecumseh. As another young member, if I can be so bold as to say that, of our caucus, I am really focused on ensuring, as I mentioned in my remarks, that home ownership remains a reality for Ontarians, ensuring that new Canadians are able to purchase their own homes.

As well, Speaker—I mentioned a bit of it in my remarks, and to answer my colleague’s question—some of the changes were made around life leases. Life leases and an ownership in one of those communities provide an avenue to build some equity, to start that process for young people in that community. I know our government remains focused on ensuring that those are viable options, to ensure that we have housing for all individuals in Ontario.

It’s an honour to share the government’s time today as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and speak to the Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023. As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing outlined in his remarks just a few moments ago, our government is introducing legislation that would, if passed, restore all properties that were redesignated or removed from the greenbelt and the Oak Ridges moraine areas in late 2022. We’re also proposing to keep 9,400 acres that were added to the greenbelt in 2022. The proposed legislation would enhance protections by ensuring any future changes to the greenbelt boundaries can only be made through the legislative process.

At the same time, Speaker, we remain focused on and committed to tackling Ontario’s housing supply crisis. We can’t lose sight of the fact that Ontario’s population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. While the Associate Minister of Housing has spoken about our housing supply action plans and the changes they have driven, today I’d like to update the Legislature on what we have done and our progress stemming from the Housing Affordability Task Force.

The task force is comprised of industry leaders and experts. They consulted with municipalities, both urban and rural, the public and industry to identify measures to address the housing supply crisis and get homes built faster. The urgency behind the work of the task force is clear. Housing prices in Ontario have almost tripled in the past 10 years, growing much faster than incomes. This has placed home ownership beyond the reach of most first-time homebuyers across the province, even those with well-paying jobs. Finding affordable rental accommodations has also become an immense challenge. We know the system isn’t working as it should.

The report from the Housing Affordability Task Force was published in February 2022. It serves as a long-term road map for our government as we work to boost the supply of new homes and address the affordability crisis we’re currently in. The report sets out, as many will know in this place, 55 high-level recommendations. To implement these effectively, some recommendations require multiple actions. When these actions are included, we arrive at a total of 74 recommendations from the report.

I’m pleased to report that of the 74 recommendations, 23 are fully implemented, 14 are in progress and the remaining 37 are under review. Speaker, as you will know, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, when he assumed his role a few weeks ago, reached out to the municipalities to get their feedback on the remaining 37 and 14 currently in progress from the Housing Affordability Task Force recommendations, and I know that deadline just recently passed. I know, talking to my own local municipal colleagues, they really appreciated that the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing reached out to consult on those implementations and to get their ideas and feedback on how best we can continue to implement those moving forward, working with our partners, as the Associate Minister of Housing mentioned—our municipal partners and our federal colleagues—to ensure that we continue to build homes in communities across Ontario, whether it’s in downtown Toronto or downtown Listowel.

The 23 recommendations I’m going to discuss today have been all implemented by our government, either in their entirety or with some amendments. Recommendation number one was to set the bold goal of building at least 1.5 million new homes in 10 years. This recommendation is now at the heart of our government’s housing strategy. Everything we do to boost housing supply is driven by the goal of building at least 1.5 million new homes in the province by 2031. This has included introducing legislation, re-examining the process and, in some cases, enshrining new ways of working, similar to what brings us here today.

A number of recommendations and actions that have been taken have helped streamline the planning process. Recommendation number 3 was to limit exclusionary zoning in municipalities through binding provincial actions. Related action 3(a) was to allow as-of-right residential housing for up to four units and up to four stories on a single residential lot. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act to override zoning by-laws to allow as-of-right; in other words, without the need to apply for re-zoning, the use of up to three units per lot in most existing residential areas.

Municipalities are also encouraged to adopt official plan policies, the zoning by-law amendments that exceed the three unit per lot minimum, as some municipalities have chosen to do so, as my colleagues in this place will know. This will help them meet their provincially assigned housing targets. I know it was great to see many of the municipalities who were assigned housing targets sign on to those pledges and their commitment to work with our provincial government to meet our shared housing objectives. Ontario is supporting this outcome through measures such as the Building Faster Fund, as the Associate Minister of Housing referred to in his remarks. The fund will provide financial incentives for municipalities that meet or exceed their housing targets.

Recommendation number 5 was to permit as-of-right, secondary units, garden suites and laneway houses province-wide. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act by overriding bylaws to allow as-of right. As I have mentioned, this would permit the use of up to three units per lot in most residential areas that currently exist. One of these three units can be an auxiliary structure, such as a laneway house.

Another recommendation, number 12, was to create a more permissive land use, planning and approval system. Related action 12(a) was to repeal or override municipal policies, zoning or plans that prioritized the preservation of the physical character of a neighbourhood. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act to limit the scope of site plan control. It did this by removing the municipal ability to regulate architectural designs and aesthetic aspects of the landscape design. The next action under this recommendation, 12(b), was to exempt from site plan approval and public consultation all projects of 10 units or less that conform to the official plan and require only minor variances.

The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act to remove all aspects of the site plan control for most residential developments up to 10 units.

Speaker, I’ll now tell you about the recommendations and actions that strike a balanced approach to reviews and consultation. Recommendation number 15 required the mandatory delegation of site plan approvals and minor variances to staff with pre-approved, qualified, third party technical consultants. This would be accomplished through a simplified review and approval process without the ability to withdraw council’s delegation. The More Homes for Everyone Act amended the Planning Act to require that site plan control decisions be made by staff instead of municipal councils or committees of council.

The next two action items under the umbrella recommendation number 16 are preventing abuse of the heritage preservation and designation process. The first action, number 16(a), was to prohibit the use of bulk listing on municipal heritage registers. Changes to O. Reg 9/06, criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest, established that non-designated properties included on a municipal register must meet one or more of the criteria outlined in the regulation.

The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Ontario Heritage Act to introduce requirements that properties can only remain listed for a minimum of two years. If not designated during that time, they must be removed from the register and cannot be relisted for a period of five years.

The second action under this recommendation—16(b)—was to prohibit reactive heritage designations after a Planning Act development application has been filed. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Ontario Heritage Act to introduce a requirement that only properties that were already listed on a municipal heritage register can be considered for designation. This pertains to where a property is subject to certain Planning Act applications. This new requirement provides property owners with increased certainty. It also prohibits reactive designation on properties not previously noted as being of potential cultural heritage value or interest to a municipality.

Recommendation 18 was to restore the right of developers to appeal official plans and municipal comprehensive reviews. The More Homes, More Choice Act removed restrictions on “de novo” hearings by repealing sections 38 to 42 of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act. “De novo,” in this context, means where the hearing starts anew, focusing on facts without any reference to decisions already taken. This broadened the grounds of appeal and supports the Ontario Land Tribunal in making the best planning decision.

The task force’s recommendation number 19 suggested enshrining in legislation timelines at each stage of the provincial and municipal review process. The Planning Act now includes statutory decision-making timelines with an ability for applicants to appeal matters to the Ontario Land Tribunal if timelines are not met. This is also addressed through gradual fee refunds for rezoning and site plan if decisions are not made within timelines.

Recommendation number 20 of the task force was to fund the creation of “approvals facilitators” with the authority to quickly resolve conflicts among municipal and/or provincial authorities and ensure timelines are met. The Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act amended the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act to allow for the appointment of up to four deputy facilitators in the Office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator.

Recommendation number 24 was to allow wood construction up to 12 storeys. Amendments to Ontario’s building code allow encapsulated mass timber buildings to be constructed up to 12 storeys high.

Under recommendation 27, the expert panel put forward measures to prevent abuse of process. The Ontario Land Tribunal has the authority and processes in place to deter appeals that are without merit.

A related recommendation—27(b)—was to require a $10,000 filing fee for third-party appeals. Third-party appeals for consents and minor variances were eliminated as a result of amendments to the Planning Act made by the More Homes Built Faster Act. This means only certain persons, such as the applicant or relevant municipality, are allowed to appeal minor variance or consent decisions. However, increasing the filing fees for third-party appeals may result in concerns about access to justice.

Recommendation number 28 was to encourage greater use of oral decisions issued the day of the hearing, with written reasons to follow. This allows those decisions to become binding the day that they are issued. The Ontario Land Tribunal is providing updated training to members to encourage use of oral decisions when appropriate. In some cases, the complexity of the matter before the tribunal may require the member to reserve the decision.

Recommendation number 34 was to prohibit interest rates on development charges higher than a municipality’s borrowing rate. The More Homes Built Faster Act made changes to the Development Charges Act to set a maximum interest rate that can be levied for the development charge freeze and deferral provisions. The rate is the Canadian banks’ prime rate plus 1% per year.

Recommendation number 38 was to amend the Planning Act and Perpetuities Act to extend the maximum period for land leases and restrictive covenants on land to 40 or more years. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act to allow these land lease communities with leases for periods of up to 49 years to be exempted from subdivision control and the need for any approval. The exemption applies if a land lease community’s proposal has gone through the site plan control process. Changes to the Perpetuities Act were not required.

Speaker, the expert panel recommended calling on the federal government to implement an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy. Ontario has called on the federal government to implement these Indigenous housing strategies. The province has also raised the issue at both bilateral and multilateral federal-provincial-territorial meetings.

Other recommendations and actions pertain to developing workforce skills for housing. Recommendation number 45 was to improve funding for colleges, trade schools and apprenticeships, as well as to encourage and incentivize municipalities, unions and employers to provide more on-the-job training. Ontario is, as my colleagues will know in this place, investing $224 million to build and upgrade training centres across Ontario. This funding will help unions, Indigenous centres and industry associations to build new training centres or upgrade and convert existing facilities into new training centres with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.

The next recommendation, number 46, was to undertake a multi-stakeholder education program to promote skilled trades. Ontario has invested more than $1 billion in the skilled trades over three years, along with the launch of Skilled Trades Ontario, as part of its strategy to attract more people into the trades.

Recommendation number 47 was that the federal and provincial government prioritize skilled trades. It also called for an adjustment to the immigration point system to strongly favour needed trades and expedite immigration status for these workers. The recommendation also encouraged the federal government to increase from 9,000 to 20,000 the number of immigrants admitted through Ontario’s program. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, also known as OINP, plans to use 40% of its 16,000 allocation for 2023 to nominate individuals in the skilled trades. Changes have been made to the expression of interest scoring system to award more points to candidates in priority occupations and sectors. The federal government is also prioritizing selection of some skilled trades occupations through category-based selection. Ontario will encourage the targeting of additional occupations through federal immigration selection programs.

Other recommendations and actions deal with keeping track of our progress. Recommendation 52 was to resume reporting on housing data and require consistent municipal reporting. Through the municipal planning data reporting regulation, large and fast-growing municipalities are now required to provide the province with planning application data on a regular basis. Ontario is working with municipal partners on reporting data and tracking progress.

As mentioned earlier, the Building Faster Fund is tied to performance in meeting provincial housing targets. We’ll launch an online tracker tool once reporting processes are finalized.

Recommendation 55 was to commit to evaluate the task force’s recommendations in the next three years, with public reporting on progress. An online tracking website went live in September—those who are interested can go online and see it for themselves—so that any interested parties can monitor the government’s progress in implementing the task force’s recommendations.

Speaker, I appreciate your indulgence on that in highlighting key initiatives we’ve taken on our 74 recommendations from the housing task force. The reason I did so was to provide an update to this House, but also to highlight that when we work with our municipal colleagues, we can continue to get more homes built. We can continue to work with our non-profit sector in implementing the things that they are saying to us. I know many individuals in this place meet with them often and hear their recommendations on how we can get more homes built faster. I know some of it may seem mundane and extremely detailed, but these are the important things that we need to get more homes built faster, working with our planning departments and working with our municipal colleagues to streamline the process, to get more homes built.

I know I’ve mentioned in this place on a couple of occasions, particularly around amending the appeals process—in my community, there was a proposed development. Not to the same extent as downtown Toronto, only a few storeys high—this was before our government came into power in 2018—and they were proposing to build it for seniors in my community, to allow those seniors who helped build that community to remain in their community. Unfortunately, this development was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal and it held up the development for over a year. It added an extra $1 million in costs to the home builder, and the project still has not begun.

Now we’re challenged with higher interest rates, and those seniors do not have a place to remain in their community, the community they built. They don’t have a place to, as many will hear as well—some of our seniors are over-housed. They live in bigger homes and they want to downsize now that their families have homes of their own or have moved out, and they can’t do that. They can’t stay in their own community, and it’s because of this appeal where this one project, for example, wasn’t able to move forward. So it’s just one example of the changes we have made.

Speaker, I know our government, in the last election, ran on a policy of tabling a housing supply action plan—a minimum of one every year of a four-year mandate. Some colleagues may wonder, “Why wouldn’t we just do it all at once?” The challenge with that is, we’re not sure what will work in what community, so by tabling a housing supply action plan every year for four years, it gives us an opportunity to move forward, to see what’s working, to see what’s not working, to work with our municipal colleagues, to build on the successes we’ve had, whether that’s as-of-right of three units, or whether that’s also working to streamline the development process.

So tabling a housing supply action plan every year of a four-year mandate will allow us to correct that. It’s not just one sweeping solution to this housing supply crisis. I always tell people that if there was one magic bullet, no matter the government, they would have fired that bullet already. I know our government appreciates that feedback from all our municipal colleagues and community-builders across Ontario, and I think we’re seeing great progress in that.

The associate minister, in his remarks, mentioned that our housing starts in 2022 were at record highs. Purpose-built rentals were also at record highs in 2022, which is very important to see—to ensure that we do have those truly affordable units coming online for all Ontarians. It doesn’t matter your budget. You should all be able to have a place to call your own, Speaker. I know our government continues to work to achieve that goal through all of our housing supply action plans.

Really, again, as I mentioned in my remarks, achieving our 1.5 million housing target is at the centre of our government. Every single ministry is focused on helping us achieve that target, whether it’s the Minister of Infrastructure, whether it’s the Minister of Transportation or working with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on transit-oriented communities. It’s ensuring that we continue to build those communities that will thrive for generations to come, Speaker. It’s working across government to ensure that we achieve that. It’s working with the Minister of Finance and recommending to the federal government that we rebate the HST on purpose-built rentals, ensuring that we get more of those online, continuing to build on past successes.

Speaker, the challenges ahead are immense—I’m not going to mince words—but I know that by working together with our municipal colleagues, we’ll be able to achieve those targets and ensure that every family, whether you’ve been here for a few generations or whether you’ve just arrived to our shores, is able to call a place their own. I know on this side of the House and in the majority middle over there, we continue to strive to ensure that home ownership remains a dream for Ontarians and ensure Ontario remains a great province to live, work and play.

It’s time for a real question. A couple of weeks ago, I had the honour of representing our great Minister of Long-Term Care at the grand opening of the West Perth Village, an upgraded long-term-care home of 128 new beds in my riding of Perth–Wellington. It was a great day, Speaker. I want to give a shout-out to the West Perth community and all the volunteers that came together to make this project a reality.

The board began this project many, many years ago. It’s unfortunate, under the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, there was no movement—none, Speaker—on getting these 128 beds built.

Can the Minister of Long-Term Care please inform this House on what our government is doing to get long-term care homes built across my riding of Perth–Wellington and Ontario?

The minister alluded to some of the other great projects in my riding. I’m pleased to say, under this Premier and this Minister of Long-Term Care, we are going to build, and are in the process of building, 943 new long-term-care beds in my riding alone. Speaker, as we know, under the previous Liberal government they built 611 beds in the entire province.

As many people in this place will know, interest rates are higher, there’s a rising cost to construction, but that’s not stopping us, Speaker. We’re going to continue to get long-term-care beds built across Ontario.

Can the minister please share with this House what our government is doing to continue to support our long-term-care sector to get it done?

Thank you—with all housing providers, whether that is co-op, non-profit, and, yes, the private sector. I know, when we all work together with our communities, we can achieve great things, because this is the province of Ontario—and I still believe in the Canadian and Ontario dream.

They’re happy about losing homes, everyone.

When we finally changed governments, this party still did everything they could do to partner with the Liberals to make sure Ontarians lost even more jobs, businesses and homes. And by 2018, Ontarians saw through it all. Look at how many of them are sitting here today, Speaker. Ontarians have said enough is enough. They don’t need the government to give them handouts; they just need a government that believes in them, that believes in their ability to start a family, work in a rewarding job and to start a business.

Speaker, we’re not in the business of taking power away from the people; we’re for the people on this side of the House. And I’m proud that our leader and our Premier has made a point of emphasizing that principle over and over, at every step of his years of service.

And I appreciate that the NDP is finally showing their true colours. They don’t like free enterprise. They don’t like new businesses in Ontario. They don’t like new hospitals or new long-term-care beds. They don’t like new homes. Speaker, they didn’t even like those things under Bob Rae. They didn’t like them when they propped up the Liberal government, and they’re making it crystal clear now, by voting against each and every one of our own government’s initiatives, that they don’t like them now. Speaker—

Interjections.

The NDP wants to take over the business of housing in Ontario. They want to ensure 30% of all new housing—

Interjections.

Or in other words, they want to encroach on free enterprise in this province, one of the most cherished freedoms that we have in this country, to destroy the integrity of the free market and fundamentally to instead replace it with a province where property is publicly owned. Speaker, they’re advocating for the elimination of private property in this province, and do you know what Webster dictionary defines that as? Communism. And the NDP values—he got up and mentioned NDP values. It’s socialism, right here in this House. He just said it in his speech.

The NDP thinks that not only do we need to shut down the free market, but they also say they will just take $15 billion—just $15 billion—of Ontario taxpayers’ money. Housing experts say it is going to cost $100 billion to build 250,000 homes. Who are they going to tax to get that, Speaker? Are they going to tax the hard-working family that puts gas in their car? I know they support the carbon tax federally. Are they going to tax small businesses to meet that?

Speaker, I’d ask the member from London North Centre how many constituents he has who themselves or their families chose to immigrate to Canada because of restrictive socialist policies in countries like the former Soviet Union, Venezuela or China or a number of other countries who have experimented with this disastrous policy throughout recent history. I would also ask those constituents—and, frankly, I’d ask any Ontarian whose family has fled their nation of origin for this very reason—what they think of this bill.

Under the Liberals and NDP, who starved Ontario’s economy for 15 years, thousands of jobs left this province and thousands of people left with them. They came after the auto sector, they came after the energy sector, and now they’re coming after the housing sector. What industry do they want to kill next? Who else do they want to lay off? Thankfully, Ontarians see right through the NDP’s socialist agenda. They’ve seen it before, and many of them even escaped it to come here, Speaker. We won’t let them go through the pain and hurt of that again.

Our government knows that the main reason behind the housing crisis is critically low housing supply, with more than 95% of the homes being built in Ontario by Ontarians employed in the private sector. Many of these private companies build non-profit housing. They work with great housing providers like Habitat for Humanity and build non-profit housing. They take time out of their day to build that, Speaker. They don’t need bureaucrats in downtown Toronto telling them what they need in their community.

Our government increased the Homelessness Prevention Program by an additional $20 million. We now provide $700 million to our service providers for homelessness prevention programs across the province. I know that, locally, my housing service providers appreciated that because they know what is best for their communities. They don’t need bureaucrats. Speaker, we have great bureaucrats that work for us in the civil service, but I don’t know one that builds housing. None of them build housing. Bureaucrats do not build housing. The non-profit sector and the private sector build housing in this province.

Unlike the NDP, our government knows there’s only one taxpayer in Ontario, and at a time when Ontarians are already struggling with the rising cost of living, we will never support increased fees or costly policies that would put more financial strain on hard-working families. We’re fully committed to working with the private sector and the non-profit sector to incentivize getting shovels in the ground faster and allowing families and individuals right across this province to live in the home of their dreams.

Speaker, I am pleased to say that from January to August 2023, this year, we have seen a 3% increase in housing starts from 2022—which was a record in 30 years. This year again, the same months, January to August 2023, we’ve seen a 49% increase in the number of purpose-built rental starts—a 49% increase from the historic increase last year.

We need people to build these homes, Speaker. Apprentice registrations this year have increased by 24%. Our Minister of Education’s making reforms to ensure that young people who want to enter the skilled trades can enter more quickly, because we know that in the construction sector alone, 72,000 new workers are needed by 2027. These are the individuals who will build the homes for our growing population.

The member across the way talked about seniors, whether it’s downsizing or having a home to call their own or staying in the community that they helped build. I have a very good example from my own riding.

There was a development proposed down the street from where I live in the riding for seniors’ retirement living—designed for seniors so they could stay in the community they helped build, move out of their bigger houses, so those houses can go on the market and new families can move into them. Speaker, do you know what happened? NIMBYs prevented that development. They sent it to the Ontario Land Tribunal—one appeal, which held it up for years. It cost the home builder an extra $1 million in costs. The development still hasn’t started because of the extra cost. So these units aren’t on the market for people to stay in their own community, stay where they were, stay where their family is and stay where their grandchildren are.

I was proud to be part of a government that changed that. Our government reformed the Ontario Land Tribunal and the appeals process around that.

Interjections.

Speaker—

Interjections.

In the same spirit, we’ll stop at nothing, on this side of the House, to protect the hard-working people of Ontario who get up in the morning to help build this great province. We’ll continue to work for the hard-working people of Ontario that the NDP socialists don’t want to see rewarded—their job-killing agenda, their killing of the free enterprise that has contributed so much to this great province.

I know members on this side of the House and the majority over there will continue to stand for free enterprise and will continue to work—

Interjections.

I want to thank the member from London North Centre for his motion.

Speaker, the member means well, but it’s disappointing to see the NDP lose faith in the people of Ontario. They don’t trust Ontarians anymore—if they ever did.

On many occasions, many of us in this House have risen to speak about our unique stories and those of our families immigrating to Ontario and starting their lives in Ontario from scratch. Those are inspiring stories. They speak to the courage and ambition of the Ontarians that have built this province and continue to build our communities.

Despite hearing all these stories on several occasions here in this chamber, the NDP still has no faith, no trust and no belief in the people of Ontario. They think that they can do everything better than their constituents can do. They’re dead wrong, and they don’t even see it. When they held government, they couldn’t build anything. Under that party, Ontario lost jobs, lost businesses, and it lost homes too. And they were so happy about that, that they lost homes—

Interjections.

My question is to the member from Don Valley East. I know that member was not here under the previous Liberal government, and I wasn’t here in this place either. I find it rich, coming from the member opposite, talking about everything our government is doing for health care, when they did for 15 years—absolutely nothing. When they tried to reform home care, it was a bullet point in a press release.

Speaker, as was mentioned in the news release, the goal of this legislation is to create integrated service organizations with home care—the Ontario health teams, which have been well-received by stakeholders in the province.

I want to provide one more quote from a website, and it’s a bullet point: “Promote coordinated care by establishing an integrated model for continuity of care.” That bullet point is from Bonnie Crombie’s leadership website—who this member endorsed.

Will he support this bill?

I would like to introduce Peter and Beverley Maranger, great community leaders from my riding of Perth–Wellington. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

This bill enacts the Life Leases Act, 2023. A life lease is a written tenancy agreement that involves payment of an entrance fee for a rental unit. The person who is first entitled to occupy the rental unit is granted right to occupancy for life or for a fixed term of not less than 50 years.

The bill authorizes certain payments in respect of life leases and requires the disclosure of information related to life leases. The information that a landlord is required to disclose to a tenant includes the estimated entrance fee; the projected completion date; information regarding governance and management of the residential complex; the estimated amount of other fees, including monthly occupancy fees; and the estimated refund that a tenant will receive upon termination of the lease.

Prescribed landlords are required to maintain a reserve fund to pay for any unforeseen major repairs to or replacement of assets of the complex. The landlord is also required to maintain insurance policies in accordance with regulations.

The bill includes rules relating to tenants and board meetings, including requirements in respect of notice and timing.

The landlord is required to appoint a trustee to receive and administer a tenant’s entrance fee in accordance with specified requirements.

Beckett Gloor is page captain today, from my beautiful riding of Perth–Wellington. I would like to welcome his parents, Tracy and Steve Gloor, to Queen’s Park.