The member for University–Rosedale speaks of the fact that she admits that there is a housing supply crisis, a housing affordability crisis, that we need to be on target for building 1.5 million homes. Yet, she sits among members who supported the previous Liberal government in the 40th Parliament.

Steve Del Duca, the current mayor of Vaughan, has admitted that that housing affordability crisis of which the member speaks began under the Liberal government. It began when the member for Waterloo arrived with the mayor for Vaughan. They arrived together in 2012, and in 2012, 2013 and 2014, the NDP and the Liberals were together politically. They had the political will to do something, and they did nothing.

Will the member opposite, the member for University–Rosedale—now having admitted the housing affordability crisis, knowing that this goes back to the NDP supporting the Liberals—support this bill and engage in forward thinking for the good of Ontario?

I thank the excellent member for Thornhill for that thoughtful question. Last fall our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, introduced comprehensive consumer protection legislation. After a decade and a half of Liberal government neglect, this House unanimously passed the Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act, 2023.

I want to emphasize the sheer scope of this legislation. Nearly every single Ontarian engages in marketplace transactions online or in our communities. We’re all consumers. That is why our government is taking responsibility to ensure marketplace fairness and competition. We have tackled unfair business practices, made it easier for Ontarians to cancel subscriptions and membership agreements, protected a consumer’s right to take action in small claims court and increased fines for bad actors using illegal business practices.

We continue to engage now in the regulation-making phase under the act with stakeholders and consumers to ensure consumers are protected and we embrace the—

Back in October, my ministry launched consultations seeking public input on ways to reduce the harmful and fraudulent use of NOSIs. Now I am proud to announce to this House that our government intends to table legislation that, if passed, will retrospectively ban all residential NOSIs in the land registry system. This is a monumental step, not only for Ontario but for Canada, for Ontario has taken the lead on this. Unlike the NDP’s limited understanding of this issue, the misuse of NOSIs has evolved beyond the HVAC industry and has even been used on items as small as camera doorbells.

Doing nothing is not an option. We will take action. Stay tuned for this legislation this spring.

Speaker, the member would know that bills such as Bill 146 contain technical legal language. For example, to address the issue of affordability—which, I’m glad to hear, the member seems to be in favour of—that’s exactly what this act is about, in part. For example, when the technical language in schedule 3 relating to the Fuel Tax Act reads, in reference to clause 3(1.1)(a) of the Fuel Tax Act, it “is amended by striking out ‘December 31, 2023’ and substituting ‘June 30, 2024’,” that extension is about increasing affordability.

This initiative comes from listening. I’m fortunate that the Minister of Finance is a member from Durham region—I’m from the riding of Durham—and not only is he a brilliant leader in the area of finance, but he listens to the people in his riding. He and his parliamentary assistants go all over Ontario for pre-budget consultations. He is with me by my side with our Durham colleagues, the members for Ajax and Whitby, as we listen to the people of Durham region. His expertise and his listening skills are what are part of this act and in particular the Ontario Infrastructure Bank proposal.

I submit that one of the most important things this government is noted for and will be remembered for is—the government that stands up for the people of Ontario, the government that stands up for cutting costs, the government that stands up for affordability.

Will the member support this bill, at least in part, on the basis that we’re extending the gas tax cut, and what that means to families and individuals and businesses in such a good, positive way throughout Ontario?

Our Premier, the Honourable Doug Ford, is second to none in terms of his outreach to the citizens of this province, his availability to meet with and communicate with all of our citizens, and in that sense, he stands as one of the great Premiers of the province of Ontario, with that kind of representation.

I do want to say specifically to this question that this government vowed to stop bad actors from trying to make extra money off the backs of hard-working Ontarians, which is why we announced new changes that strengthen the regulatory tools available to directly address this issue. The Home Construction Regulatory Authority is one of 12 administrative authorities under the jurisdiction of my ministry, and we will work with that administrative authority to make sure that bad actors are stopped in their tracks.

The member opposite has a lot to say about helping Ontarians, but when push comes to shove, the members opposite choose to play politics rather than vote for real supports for Ontarians. They voted against stronger consumer protections for new home buyers. They voted against higher fines for bad developers. And they voted against providing families across the province with the supports they need to purchase a new home. We’ll take no lessons from this gang opposite us.

This past Friday, May 12, I was very honoured to welcome Premier Doug Ford to Durham region. I was joined, as a member of the Durham four, by the Minister of Finance, the member for Pickering–Uxbridge, the member for Ajax and the member for Whitby—also with the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Energy present—for the announcement of new electric double-decker GO buses for our GO system. And I can proudly say that it is warmly welcomed within Durham region, of course, and across this great province.

We are making new investments, record investments, in public transit across Ontario and in Durham region. The future is bright and the future is electric, and that is because we are charging forward with a great plan for clean energy and for record investments in public transit. I thank the Premier for joining me this past Friday.

I welcome to the assembly today, in the members’ gallery, Remi Ferreira, who arrived in Canada from Guyana in 1952—married for 69 years to Inge. He makes the community of Guildwood in Scarborough his home. He was a successful businessman, retiring as executive vice-president from Stafford foods company after 38 years.

Welcome, Remi Ferreira.