No more HVAC scams.

My question is to the Premier. For years, the government has ignored the crisis of predatory HVAC scams which target seniors, newcomers and those living with disabilities. Scam artists trick people into signing contracts where the devices get more expensive every year, the contract lasts longer than the lifespan of the machine, and the buyout is tens of thousands of dollars when the machine itself only cost hundreds. Sounds like a scam to me, Speaker.

When will the government stop talking about a problem everyone knows about and finally act to protect seniors and others who are being scammed to this day?

When these scam companies register a notice of security interest, or NOSI, it becomes a lien on a homeowner’s property. The scam artists target the vulnerable and give everyone else in the industry a bad name. According to the government’s own numbers, 38,000 NOSIs were registered in 2022. So I look forward today, when the NDP tables its legislation to look after NOSIs going into the future and those that have been registered historically, that this government will support it.

The government recently held a consultation where they learned 38,000 NOSIs had been registered in 2022 alone. My bill would stop this predatory practice in its tracks by allowing the registrar to remove a notice of security interest upon writing from a consumer, as well as stop those moving forward. It would make sure that we stop the scam economy in Ontario.

I’ll just read the explanatory note: Section 54 of the Personal Property and Security Act is amended to provide that a notice of security interest where the collateral is a prescribed consumer good or an extension of any such notice shall not be registered and that any such existing registrations shall be discharged by the registrar.

I look forward to this bill passing.