Thank you to the member from Brampton West for that question—and all the members from Brampton that are surrounding me here.

We know the people of Ontario are facing the rising cost of living and shortage of homes, and our government has a strong mandate to help the people of Ontario find a home that is right for them. Ontario needs more housing, and we need it now.

We are building a durable foundation for action that will increase housing supply and attainability over the long term. That is why we announced an increase to the Non-Resident Speculation Tax to 25% to prioritize Ontario families and homebuyers. Mr. Speaker, this increase means Ontario has the most comprehensive NRST in the land.

And finally, Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: As part of this commitment to tackle Ontario’s housing crisis, we are prioritizing Ontario families and homebuyers, not speculators.

The foreign buyer ban the federal government is proposing would be temporary, and some proposed exceptions appear to still permit residential property purchases in Ontario that may be subject to the NRST.

But, Mr. Speaker, while we support the federal government’s actions following Ontario’s lead in addressing housing supply, this government knows the housing crisis is not temporary. It is a long-term challenge that requires long-term solutions. That is why we increased the NRST to 25% and eliminated loopholes by focusing relief eligibility to newcomers who commit to laying down roots in Ontario long-term so that Ontario has the most comprehensive Non-Resident Speculation Tax in the land.

Mr. Speaker, all levels of government need to work together to co-operate and address the housing crisis.

Through you, Mr. Speaker: Thank you to the member opposite for that question. As the member well knows, this government actually acted on the non-resident speculation tax by increasing it from 15% to 20%, and made it province-wide, so that foreign speculators wouldn’t hurt people buying homes in this province.

Now, the member opposite also talks about the vacancy tax, and of course, the vacancy tax is in action right now. In fact, municipalities such as Toronto have the vacancy tax, and other municipalities have asked for the vacancy tax, and we have granted that.

But, Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite is really getting to is that we have a housing supply challenge in this province, and it’s this government that is committed to building 1.5 million houses over the next 10 years, something they didn’t do.