I’d like us all to welcome Emilie Coyle, the executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies; Jennifer Chambers, the executive director of the Empowerment Council; Yusuf Faqiri, the brother of Soleiman Faqiri; Maryam Faqiri, the mother of Soleiman Faqiri—they’ve all been here to support the justice for Soleiman act.

If denying solutions to the housing crisis was an Olympic sport, this Conservative government would be setting new records with their performance and denials.

Just a week ago, a landlord in the Premier’s own Etobicoke riding placed an advertisement renting out half of his bed. The kindest thing that I can say about this posting is that this landlord is at least making more housing than this government.

But this is just another serious story that Ontarians are living with because this government is refusing to bring back real rent control.

Will the Premier restore real rent control, or is he simply satisfied that more Ontarians will just rent out half of their beds to desperate tenants in order to respond to the housing affordability crisis?

Interjections.

Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Speaker. I would like to welcome the Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada to Queen’s Park. It’s wonderful that you were able to host a reception this morning.

I also want to extend my personal warm gratitude and welcome to Sue Graham-Nutter, the CEO of the Rekai Centres, a distinguished long-term-care facility in our community of Toronto Centre, and also the chair of AdvantAge Ontario.

I recognize that the Premier is in his chair today, so hopefully we can get an answer from him today. Nevertheless, my—

Interjections.

Bill 23 does nothing to house a single homeless person in encampments. Bill 23 does nothing to end homelessness or the mental health or the opioid crisis that 29 big mayors have spoken to.

Why is the Premier cutting $100 million from Ontario’s housing program when we need more investments and not less for deeply affordable housing in Ontario right now?

My constituent Andrew reached out to me saying, “I make decent money as an engineer but there is no way I will be able to afford a house in the next 10 years. It makes me want to leave. Many believe that zoning and supply are the issues, but demand is artificially generated by those who are rich enough to speculate and pay cash. Their greed will never run out.”

Speaker, every housing expert notes that supply alone didn’t create the housing crisis; speculators with insider connections did.

What is this government doing to stop the rampant speculation taking home ownership out of reach for young families and tenants?

Speaker, while encampments grow in every Ontario city, why is this government worsening inflation by allowing a historic rent increase?