Buying a new home should be a dream, not a nightmare. We continue to hear about bad builders who extort homebuyers by raising the price of homes after contracts have been signed, or turn around and cancel the contract and re-sell the home to the highest bidder. This has to stop.

Your regulator, the HCRA, has only investigated 10% of all complaints, and not a single fine has been laid. To make matters worse, because of the government regulator’s inaction, many homebuyers have had to spend thousands and thousands of dollars in court, sign NDAs and go through years of unnecessary stress, because your government regulator isn’t protecting them.

Why is this government letting this happen, and if they’re not willing to act, are they willing to reimburse homebuyers for their legal fees since they are unwilling to protect them?

My question is for the Premier.

Speaker, you may remember the case of Mr. Vibert Britton, who I spoke about in December. At the time, Vibert was suffering from large bed sores, and his sister, Pamela, fought to have him taken to the hospital for life-saving treatment. Now, several months later, matters have gone from bad to worse, and he has been in and out of the hospital. His sister tells me she believes this is a result of his private long-term-care home not following hospital orders.

Sadly, this situation is all too common. Seniors are spending their hard-earned savings on inadequate care in private LTC homes which lands them in and out of hospitals. This burdens our emergency rooms and is adding to the health care crisis. This has to stop.

When will this government ensure adequate standards of staffing and care in private long-term-care homes? Vibert and so many others don’t have the time to wait.