Speaker, today we’re amidst the most severe housing and homelessness crisis in recent memory. Every day, the Premier reiterates his commitment to providing shelter for the people of Ontario, yet year after year, tenants and landlords alike are left waiting for justice.

The backlog at Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board has ballooned to over 53,000 cases. This backlog is not merely a statistic but is a testament to a system spiralling out of control, as highlighted in the report by Tribunal Watch Ontario. Tenants facing maintenance disputes endure extremely long waits of over 14 months for resolution, while landlords struggling with rent non-payment eviction cases are left hanging for more than a year. This is unacceptable. The report highlights that the root of this issue lies in the politicization of the LTB by the Ontario government, by this Conservative government, favouring political appointments over experienced professionals. Regional centres shuttered under this government have only exacerbated the delays. Every day, my office hears about the profound consequences of this, with individuals bearing significant personal costs: lost housing; poor living conditions for tenants; and significant financial hardships, particularly impacting small landlords.

Speaker, our Ontario NDP colleagues and I are calling on this government to implement much-needed reforms of the LTB suggested by the Ombudsman. It’s time to ensure that all Ontarians receive the justice and relief they so desperately need.

I rise today to share a distressing story of one of my constituents, Laura, and her two autistic sons. After nine years in a basement apartment, they were served an N12 notice and suddenly evicted from their home. Laura is the sole provider for their family and faced incredible barriers in finding a new home.

Speaker, the rental market’s exorbitant demands pushed Laura and her sons away from their community. She was asked for extensive financial documentations, advance payments for up to a year and even to provide medical notes detailing her sons’ behaviours due to their autism, just to find a home. Laura’s history of timely payments—contributing substantially over $150,000 to her landlord’s mortgage while living in a basement—didn’t shield her from getting evicted.

Because Laura was unable to secure any affordable option in Toronto, she and her sons moved to Niagara Falls, leaving their community and their safety nets behind.

Speaker, this isn’t just Laura’s story; it’s a glimpse into the broken system. There are thousands of Ontarians, thousands of families struggling to find affordable places to live. So many small landlords are relying on rental income, struggling to keep up with the high rate of mortgages. Vulnerable tenants are facing impossible barriers to finding affordable housing. We are facing an enormous housing crisis across the city and the province.

The government must do better to safeguard tenants from unjust evictions and discriminatory rental practices. All Ontarians, regardless of their circumstances, deserve equitable access to safe and affordable housing.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Toronto city staff’s assessment of Bill 23 notes that it does not sufficiently address housing affordability, but instead decimates the city’s ability to fund services for new residents;

“Whereas the assessment from officials, including the chief planner, notes that this bill will harm the city’s ability to build affordable rentals and new homeless shelters;

“Whereas this bill does not present solutions that would push developers to build in ways that would save homebuyers any additional cost or address the skyrocketing cost of housing;

“Whereas this bill will push for a revenue loss for Toronto while the city is anticipating an $815-million budget shortfall and residents continue to struggle with not only day-to-day costs but also underfunded city services;

“Whereas this bill will impact the city’s ability to deliver on its 10-year housing targets, invest in new shelter services, and continue affordable housing development and protection programs that support vulnerable residents;

“Whereas this bill will decrease the amount of affordable housing required under the city’s zoning policies and deliver on the HousingNowTO targets and the annual financial impact of Bill 23 on Toronto would be approximately $200 million, $130 million of which would be removing housing services;

“Whereas Bill 23 will take away the powers of municipalities to protect tenants in the case of demovictions and harm renters, homeowners, and families who are looking to find safe and affordable homes and remove access to city services;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to repeal this harmful piece of legislation and engage in meaningful consultations with municipalities, conservation authorities, and communities to address the housing affordability crisis.”

Speaker, I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature to it and give it to page Sophie to take to the Clerks.

My question is to the Premier. On three separate occasions just recently, families in Scarborough Southwest have had to rely on calling 911 because their family member was going through a mental health crisis—and that is only in the hope that they might get professional support for mental health. I heard from one parent whose daughter has been waiting, after immense trauma, for 18 months to get mental health support. Another parent called me in tears, feeling guilty that she had no choice but to call 911 for her son. This is the terrifying reality across our province to get mental health support.

My question is very simple: What will this government do so that families do not have to rely on 911 emergency services or wait for more than a year to get mental health support?

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, the number of people waiting for mental health supports has increased by 135%, with an increase of 175% in the number of people who need urgent assessment and support and who may be at risk of homelessness. The CMHA has only received a total funding increase of 3.9% over the last 11 years, nowhere close to the rate of those seeking mental health supports, especially in my community and communities across this province, or to the level of mental health and addictions support necessary.

Will this government commit today to consistent annual increases to meet the need of mental health and addictions support services across this province?

I have a petition here to double ODSP and OW rates.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas CTV recently reported that at least two Ontarians with disabilities are choosing to die through medical assistance in dying (MAID) because they could not pay for housing that would reduce their suffering from their disability;

“Whereas London, Ontario, ICU physician Dr. Scott Anderson reports seeing more patients asking for MAID because they cannot afford the services they need to accommodate their disabilities;

“Whereas the Center for Justice and Social Compassion estimates that almost half of the 12,000 people in Ontario who are homeless have a disability or mental illness and 216 people experiencing homelessness died on the streets and shelters of Toronto in 2021, more than double the rate since the Conservative government took office in 2018;

“Whereas the Premier and the Conservative government have promised to raise Ontario Disability Support Program ... rates by 5%, to $1,225, of which $520 is for shelter and $705 is for food, clothing, transportation, medicine and other necessities;

“Whereas current monthly ODSP payments are 47.5% short of the municipal poverty line in Ontario and 30% below the province’s poverty line;

“Whereas it is not possible to survive on these amounts in Ontario and therefore, Ontario Works (OW) and ODSP rates kill because they do not provide Ontarians with enough income to live;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to take action on the ODSP and OW crisis by doubling OW and ODSP rates immediately so that Ontarians with disabilities have enough income to survive.”

Speaker, I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature to it and give it to page Kalila.

I want to thank the members from Mississauga–Lakeshore as well as Mississauga Centre for both of your remarks, and also thank the member from Mississauga Centre for her work in the health care sector and the dedication that she has shown, especially during the pandemic, going back to it. It’s incredible.

I do have a few questions. I know that the things you’ve highlighted are what we’re facing in our province right now in our health care sector. My question to the members opposite—and mainly, I guess, this goes to the member for Mississauga–Lakeshore because I want to quote one of the words that he’s pointed out, which was that they will “ensure” that people will, for example, be placed near their homes, and if there is a payment that someone’s asked for, this bill will “ensure” that that’s not the case. But we know that there are a lot of things that are up to the regulations, for example. How will you ensure that they are within the region of their homes or that they are liking the home that they’re placed in? And how will you ensure that there is no extra payment made?