The housing crisis is making life unaffordable in Ontario and driving young workers out of the province. This government claims to understand the issue, but their actions say otherwise. They commissioned an expert task force to address the problem, yet they’ve ignored the experts and one of their most important recommendations: to build density in our towns and cities, not to expand their boundaries outward. The province last week ordered cities to do just that and destroy neighbouring farmland.

This attack on farmers will reduce the supply of local food, raising food prices, and create more sprawl, which undermines our carbon reduction goals. Farmers are against this decision, cities and regions are against it and the government’s own experts are against it.

My question to the Premier: Who is telling the Premier that he should pave over our farmland, and are they the same people who will benefit from this decision?

The member for Haldimand–Norfolk introduced a bill to protect our farmland from development. It was supported by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and all MPPs except those on the government side. This government is being very clear: They want to pave over farmland.

Speaker, my question to the Premier: Can the Premier please explain how paving over their farmland helps farmers?

Interjections.

On November 25, 15 top architectural firms and urban planners wrote an open letter to the Premier—I hope he read it—showing how Bill 23 will not help people achieve the dream of affordable home ownership that this government says it will.

The letter says, “It will inhibit the construction of affordable housing...; dismantle regional planning and urban design considerations; undermine ... environmental protection...; and limit public participation in how we build our communities ... ”—for example—“by reducing the affordable housing requirement in inclusionary zoning from 20% to” just “5%.” It will reduce fees that cities use to pay for housing inspections. None of that sounds good for Ontarians.

The Premier’s own housing task force did not say we need to swap land in the greenbelt to get housing built.

So, my question to the Premier: Who is telling him that paving over the greenbelt is the solution to the housing crisis? And are they the same people who will stand to profit from this decision?

I would like to address the pressing matter of the flawed Bill 23 and the Conservative government’s broken promise to protect our greenbelt. Paving over farmland reduces local food production, which contributes to higher prices and makes it harder for Ontarians to put food on the table. Thousands of people are reaching out to this government through their MPPs, through petitions and rallies, asking them to reconsider. Is this government listening?

Their own housing task force says, “A shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem. Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts.”

The land in the greenbelt, meant to be permanently protected, provides our food, clean drinking water and clean air. Proposing to replace it with different land, protected only until this government breaks that promise too, would be laughable if it were not so sad.

Bill 23 threatens existing affordable rental housing. My constituents in Don Valley West and Thorncliffe Park, many of whom are new Canadians, are worried that the 50-year-old apartment buildings they live in are being worn down and can be torn down under this bill and not replaced, forcing them out of their community. They need affordable housing in their community, not houses in the greenbelt that line the pockets of Conservative donors and greenbelt land speculators.

With petitions of thousands opposing Bill 23, it’s clear that Ontarians do not support this bill and want major amendments made. Is this government listening?