My question is to the Premier. Desjardins Credit Union just released a report showing short-term rentals are having a negative impact on housing affordability. The report found that neighbourhoods with a lot of short-term rental listings see their rents rise faster, have lower vacancy rates and higher home sale prices.

To increase the number of homes available for long-term rentals, Desjardins is calling for governments to crack down on short-term rentals in investment properties.

My question is this: Can you move forward on this simple request?

Back to the Premier: Justin is a University of Toronto student living in downtown Toronto. When his apartment was bought by a US investor landlord, he became a victim of illegal harassment to drive himself and his neighbours out of their homes. When his neighbours had given up and moved out, their landlord turned their homes into pricey short-term rentals where you can rent out one bedroom in an apartment by the week. That is the new reality for students in Toronto today.

Justin and his neighbours have called provincial bylaw officers begging for help, and no one has returned their calls. Can this government work with these tenants to enforce our rental laws?

Minister, renters are not being helped by the Conservatives; they’re being harmed by them. It’s not just Kara.

A new report by Urbanation shows that rental prices are skyrocketing at alarming rates, well beyond what people can afford. Rent in Toronto for an available one-bedroom went up 20.5% last year; in Markham, rent went up 30%; in Brampton, 31%; in Scarborough, 32%. No one can afford rent hikes like this, Minister.

How high does rent have to get for the Conservatives to realize their housing plan is not working?

My question is to the Premier.

Kara Petrunick lives in St. Catharines, Ontario. Her landlord just hiked her rent by $350 a month; it’s a 17% rent hike. If Kara had known she was going to receive a rent hike like this, she would never have moved in.

But even the government’s own brochure for tenants and landlords fails to explain that rentals first occupied after November 2018 are exempt from rent control.

Premier, do you think it is acceptable for renters living in new rental homes to receive 17% rent hikes?

I’ll withdraw.

We had the highest construction of purpose-built rentals that we have seen in this province to date.

When there has been no rent control on new buildings, such as what we had under the previous Liberal government and what we have here—we have seen a reduction in rent control.

What we also know is that there are very effective ways to stimulate purpose-built rental construction and more affordable homes in Ontario that don’t involve holding up renters and saying, “You’re going to be the sacrificial lamb for us to tackle the housing affordability crisis. You’re the victims of the crisis. We’re going to make you suffer for the solutions.” That is not a good solution for Ontario today.

I urge you to look at better ways to address our housing supply crisis than making life even more expensive for renters, because they’ve had enough.

My question is to the Premier. Nikki has lived in a rental home for two years. She pays $1,995 for a 600-square-foot basement apartment. Earlier this month, her landlord slapped her with a $200 rent increase, and now Nikki can no longer afford to pay the rent. This unaffordable rent increase is allowed because this government scrapped rent control on new units.

As more and more people in Ontario are struggling to pay the rent, what is this government’s plan to make rent affordable now?

Thank you very much, and congratulations. It’s good to see you in the chair.

My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, about Bill 23, this new bill. One measure that I’m particularly concerned about is the proposal to do away with protection for tenants who live in purpose-built buildings, who might find that their purpose-built rental will be converted to a condo and they will have no right to return to their unit at the same rent that they’re currently living at. Can you commit to ensuring that renters can return to their original unit once construction is complete?