I will recognize the member for Kingston and the Islands.

My question is for the Premier. The construction of Highway 413 will require the destruction of sensitive lands currently within the greenbelt. Yet, the Premier has been very clear about his support for this project. The Premier already promised Ontarians that he would not touch the greenbelt and then promised $8.3 billion worth of land to friends through a flawed and biased process.

The Premier recently apologized for removing those lands and has once again committed to protecting the greenbelt. Mr. Speaker, protecting the greenbelt and building Highway 413 are incompatible goals.

Will the Premier please be clear with Ontarians? Will he once again remove lands from the greenbelt so he can build Highway 413 or will he learn from his mistakes and finally keep his promise to Ontarians?

Mr. Speaker, Ontarians do not need more highways cutting through the greenbelt. They need more public transit. Highway 413 has been widely recognized as a terrible investment. It is estimated that, at a cost of over $6 billion, the new highway would move 7,000 people per hour at peak capacity, but investing the same $6 billion in public transit instead could move over three times that number of people.

This government claims to be fiscally responsible, but it’s clear that Highway 413 does not make financial sense for everyday Ontarians. Despite the many questions surrounding this project, the government refuses to provide Ontarians with a clear business plan for it. Will the Premier explain why Ontarians should trust this government’s decision regarding Highway 413 when it refuses to be transparent about how much the project will cost taxpayers and how many hectares of prime land will be destroyed?

From Ottawa, I would like to welcome Sue Hylland. She’s the director of sport services at the University of Ottawa. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I want to start by thanking the leader of the official opposition for bringing this motion forward, because housing affordability has been an increasingly pressing issue in my own riding of Ottawa, like it is in the rest of the province, frankly. The government has been bringing forward various housing bills, but none with solutions to address unjustified and abusive rent increases. In my riding, more and more people are contacting my office, either because they are struggling to find affordable rental housing or because they are victims of abusive landlords.

Colin Nielson told me, “I am a single man and I work a decent job. I try my best to save and I live an extremely frugal lifestyle. I just received notice from my landlord, a multi-million dollar company, that my rent in June was increasing by a full 7%.

“I am seriously concerned about my ability to support myself going forward due to these increases. This time it was only 7%, next time what will it be?”

David-Michel Sarrazin told me, “Realstar corporation ... has started to charge an extra fee over and above the 2.5% allowable rent increase by the provincial government. Some are seeing an extra increase of up to 5% on their newly increased rents for 2023. Realstar is calling” it “an update and maintenance fee.

“Is this some new law giving landlords the legal rights to raise rent by 7.5%?”

Madeleine Brownrigg said, “I am a concerned citizen with a family member who cannot find affordable housing in this region. This crisis started with the abolishment of rent control for buildings that were built after 2018, among other things. It would be nice if this law was reversed so that people don’t need to go to the food bank to eat, or live where it does not suit their requirements, or are left having to work two jobs....”

These stories demonstrate just how unaffordable rental prices are becoming for people in Ottawa–Vanier, and I am sure many members on both sides of this House have heard similar stories from their own ridings. Ontarians are finding it increasingly difficult to find a rental unit that they can afford even when making a decent income.

Rent control is one measure that the government has as its disposal to help relieve some of the pressure on renters and give them some certainty for the coming years.

This government has focused a lot on the supply side of the equation, but because housing is a necessity, Ontarians are forced to make difficult choices when the rent market becomes too expensive. They may make other choices on budget items, like giving up on children’s recreational activities or food. We’ve seen this play out in recent years, with the demand for food banks skyrocketing and a greater proportion of families cutting down on their grocery bills in order to pay their rent.

The fact that housing is a necessity, coupled with the lack of rental housing supply, puts landlords in the driver’s seat. It allows them to raise rents without losing their renters, because tenants don’t have any other option. This, of course, is an unacceptable situation.

Renters need support, and rent control can be part of the solution, particularly in the short term.

My question is for the Attorney General. The number of people who face urgent housing situations in my riding has reached new peaks. I have both landlords and tenants reaching out for help to resolve their issues. However, the only help I am able to provide is to refer these constituents to the Landlord and Tenant Board. The problem is that these housing disputes are, by nature, urgent and pressing, which makes the long delays at the board a crisis for families in Ottawa–Vanier. People have to wait months for a hearing, and when they do get one, it is a short, summary affair with little time to find a just outcome. It is clear that the experiment of completely virtual hearings is not working for landlords, and it’s not working for tenants either.

My question is, will the Attorney General commit to reopening in-person hearing sites across the province so that we can have a hybrid system that provides landlords and tenants with access to justice in a timely manner?

Monsieur le Président, une propriétaire m’a récemment contactée pour me dire qu’elle n’avait pas reçu de loyer pendant six mois de la part des locataires, qui avaient barricadé la porte et refusé de quitter la propriété. À cause de ce non-paiement, la propriétaire n’a pas pu payer son loyer de sa propre maison, et elle et sa fille handicapée sont en train de se faire expulser. L’angoisse vécue par cette mère et sa fille et tant d’autres est due à la façon défaillante dont la Commission de la location immobilière planifie les audiences.

Le Centre ontarien de défense des droits des locataires et d’autres parties prenantes souhaitent un retour à la tenue d’audiences par région. Le procureur général a-t-il un plan pour mieux organiser les audiences afin de réduire les retards de la commission?