Speaker, my constituent Tracy Christoforou is currently being evicted from her building that is getting demolished, forcing her out in the bitter cold this winter. Tracy pays $1,076 for a two-bedroom apartment, but rental rates in the current market are about three times higher. Her son suffers from severe mental health issues which have only deteriorated severely since the eviction notice.

Despite relentless searching, as a part-time PSW and single mother Tracy is denied housing due to her low income. Some landlords even demanded applicants earn $100,000 just to rent. This is the alarming reality of Ontario’s housing crisis. Ontarians are unimaginably struggling right now due to the rising costs of living, Speaker.

How is this government going to address this so that Tracy and others don’t end up on the street in this bitter cold winter?

I have another tenant in that building who might also be evicted: Karen Azucar shared that the offered rent-gap compensation runs $1,000 low if we look at the current rental market. For a low-income renter like her, it’s pretty much impossible to rent an apartment.

Speaker, 32 units in that building in my riding—and I welcome the Premier to come and see what’s happening, because these buildings are getting demolished. These are the only affordable places people have left right now. They are being demolished and all these families are asked to find new homes while demands of the current housing markets are completely unreachable for these families.

Is this government and the Premier going to prioritize Ontarians’ desperate need for affordable homes or are they too preoccupied with evading accountability in an ongoing RCMP investigation right now?

Interjections.

Speaker, my constituents Deo Marshall and Adrianna reached out to my office to share the financial struggles that they are facing due to decisions made by their building’s condo board. Recently, they discovered that their condo board has accumulated $100,000 in fees, primarily due to an eviction—$70,000—and underpaid gas bills. The management of the condo board has requested all residents to pay approximately $700 by June 15 to cover these costs. Deo and Adrianna have been informed that their failure to meet this deadline could result in collections, which would have a detrimental impact on their credit scores. They are being penalized for the condo board’s incompetence and wrongdoing. These are seniors on fixed incomes who are now burdened with an unexpected financial obligation, with no offer of an alternative payment plan.

Speaker, this is not the first time we’re hearing such a story where condo residents are suffering due to the lack of legal protection and support for them. We have heard stories where condo residents have been forced to pay over $30,000 in mere days or face a lien on their property. Condo residents in Ontario are frustrated as there’s no effective regulator, no government agency and no tribunal they can turn to that can hear disputes such as this and resolve them in a quick and affordable manner.

This government must regulate and strengthen the Condominium Authority Tribunal’s jurisdiction to protect the rights of all residents—especially residents like Deo Marshall and Adrianna.