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July 15, 2020

42nd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2020-Jul-15 vol. A (PDF)

L176A - Wed 15 Jul 2020 / Mer 15 jui 2020

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Wednesday 15 July 2020 Mercredi 15 juillet 2020

Orders of the Day

Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 visant la protection des locataires et le renforcement du logement communautaire

Members’ Statements

Long-term care

Manufacturing sector

Education funding

Restaurant industry

Music Hall Concert Theatre

Caregivers

First responders

Automotive industry

COVID-19 response

COVID-19 response

Question Period

Education funding

COVID-19 response

Municipal finances

Economic reopening and recovery

Education funding

Education funding

Highway construction

Government contracts

Education funding

Arts and entertainment industry

Royal Canadian Legion Halls

Energy rates

Energy rates

Landfill

Long-term care

Deferred Votes

Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight

Introduction of Bills

2404907 Ontario Ltd. Act, 2020

2585303 Ontario Inc. Act, 2020

Orders of the Day

COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 visant à favoriser la reprise économique face à la COVID-19

The House met at 0900.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers/Prières.

Orders of the Day

Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 visant la protection des locataires et le renforcement du logement communautaire

Resuming the debate adjourned on July 14, 2020, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 184,

An Act to amend the Building Code Act, 1992, the Housing Services Act, 2011 and the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and to enact the Ontario Mortgage and Housing Corporation Repeal Act, 2020 / Projet de loi 184, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1992 sur le code du bâtiment, la Loi de 2011 sur les services de logement et la Loi de 2006 sur la location à usage d’habitation et édictant la Loi de 2020 abrogeant la

Loi sur la Société ontarienne d’hypothèques et de logement.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Further debate?

Ms. Suze Morrison: It’s always a pleasure to rise in the House. Today, I will be speaking to Bill 184. The government is, of course, calling this bill the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act; however, across Ontario, and particularly in my riding, the bill has taken on a much more apt

short title. Folks are calling it the eviction bill, because that’s actually what this bill does. It makes it easier and faster for landlords to evict their tenants. So this morning, I would like to start with what’s in the bill and why it is so dangerous for tenants. I want to start with

schedule 4, which contains several concerning clauses that will further erode tenant rights in Ontario.

The bill limits a tenant’s ability to defend themselves at an eviction hearing for rent arrears. It complicates the tribunal process by putting an onus on the tenant to give prior written notice to raise a new issue at their eviction hearing, like, for example, the landlord’s lack of maintenance on the unit. It denies that tenant the ability to make their case and to access a fair day in front of the Landlord and Tenant Board if they don’t have the administrative knowledge to know to give that advanced written notice ahead of their hearing.

Most tenants who go to the Landlord and Tenant Board can’t afford legal representation. They’re navigating a complex tribunal setting full of legalese, and within a system set up to favour those with money and privilege, which is the landlords—those who can afford the legal representation they need to fight for their interests and who come to the board with legal representation a whopping 97% of the time. Through Bill 184, this government is creating new rules for this system that will make it harder for tenants to self-advocate for themselves.

You shouldn’t need a law degree to fight an eviction, Speaker. People deserve to have their fair and rightful day at the tribunal to make their case and seek justice. This bill also makes it easier for landlords to evict tenants, and specifically in situations like COVID-19, where a tenant may have fallen behind on their rent, as we have seen through this pandemic, through no fault of their own. We’ve heard over and over again at committee that the fast-track eviction measures in this bill are the wrong move at the wrong time by this Conservative government.

Specifically, if a tenant enters into a repayment agreement with their landlord—which, I’ll add, is exactly what the Premier has asked tenants across Ontario to do to work things out with their landlord—tenants who come up a day late, or a dollar short, will be at risk of being tossed right out with a single call to the sheriff and their right to an eviction hearing at the board will have been waived.

Now, there’s a lot of very understandable situations where a tenant may be a day late or dollar short on their rent in the first place, and so I’d like to share an example. Maybe we have a landlord who has refused to pay for pest control in a unit, and after months and months of suffering with bedbugs, the tenant pays out of pocket to bring in an exterminator.

The tenant knows it’s the landlord’s responsibility to pay for that exterminator to get rid of the bedbugs that their children have suffered with, and they withhold the difference that they’ve paid the exterminator on their next rent cheque, but the landlord then disputes that it’s their responsibility to pay for the exterminator service.

The landlord then proceeds to harass and bully the tenant and threaten them with eviction if they don’t pay the difference that they were short on their last rent payment, and under extreme duress and out of fear of losing their home, the tenant agrees to a repayment plan as the easiest path forward for the rent that they withheld because they paid for an exterminator out of pocket.

Now, that tenant never gets a day at the Landlord and Tenant Board. They never get an important contact point with services like tenant duty counsel or legal aid to help them sort out the real source of the issue here, which is actually a lack of maintenance by the landlord, or the damages that might potentially be owed to the tenant for that, and when the tenant is a day late, or even a dollar short, on one payment, the landlord can call up the sheriff and have the tenant evicted without ever having stepped foot inside of the Landlord and Tenant Board where they would have been advised of their rights and been able to prevent an eviction potentially into homelessness.

Even worse, Speaker, when we take this example into consideration with the previous measures, that prevents a tenant from raising a new issue at an eviction hearing without giving advanced written notice.

Let’s say that that tenant actually finds a way to make it to the Landlord and Tenant Board, and they get a hearing for their eviction, but they don’t know that they have to give advanced written notice to raise the issue of the bedbugs, and the fact that they were only short on their rent because they paid out of pocket for pest control, so they aren’t able to raise the reason why they deducted that amount from their rent at the eviction hearing—the board is never able to take that into consideration.

The board never gets to hear the tenant’s side of the story and the issues that are really the underlying cause of the potential eviction.

So what about if a tenant simply makes an error? When they make the last payment to get caught up on arrears after entering into a repayment agreement—let’s say they lost their job as a result of COVID-19, that’s why they were initially behind in their rent—they enter into a repayment plan and on the very last payment it’s not a full payment, maybe it’s slightly less because it’s the last one, and they miscalculate and underpay that last payment by $5.

We heard in public hearings from one tenant who had a landlord make an accounting error which led to an attempted eviction because the landlord said they were a dollar short on their rent one month. For one dollar, this landlord was willing to drag a tenant in front of the Landlord and Tenant Board for an eviction, and it turned out that the landlord’s accounting was wrong and the landlord actually owed the tenant one cent. Did they ever get that one cent? No, that never happened.

This is the type of situation you’re enabling with this legislation. If a tenant comes up $5 short on that last repayment, they don’t get a chance to go to the board and say, “Oh, look, I’m really sorry. I’ve almost entirely caught up except for a few pennies”—and now you’ve created a system where that landlord’s going to be able to go straight to the sheriff and boot a tenant out on the street for being $5 behind on the last payment to get caught up on the arrears, potentially because of COVID-19.

To the tenants of Ontario, really, all I have to say is, clearly this Conservative government is not here to protect your rights as they claim to be doing with this bill.

Speaker, this is all sounding pretty awful to me so far, but there’s more. This bill also legalizes fraud. Bill 184 puts a one-year limitation period for tenants to seek redress for illegally collected rents. If a tenant unknowingly pays a rent increase that’s above the prescribed amount and they don’t know any better, if they pay that illegal rent for 12 months, under Bill 184, it becomes legal, permanent rent.

Speaker, why might that happen? Maybe the tenant is new to Ontario. Maybe they’ve come from another province or they’re new to Canada, and they don’t know our rent rules; they don’t know what their rights are.

For those at home, the rules as they stand right now for rent increases is that your landlord can only raise your rent once per year. They have to give you 90 days’ written notice to do it, and they can’t raise it by more than a prescribed amount. That’s set by inflation, by regulation, every year. It’s usually around 2% or so. This year it’s 2.2%, and that’s called the annual guideline increase.

There are, of course, two notable exceptions to that—again, for the folks at home. The first is by special order of the Landlord and Tenant Board through what’s called an above-guideline rent increase. If your landlord has to do substantial amounts of capital repairs, they might go to the board and ask the board to be allowed to raise their rents above that guideline amount every year, but they can’t do it without a signed order from the board. Tenants have a right to fight those above-guideline increases, and there are folks who will help you do that.

The second, of course, is the Conservatives’ rent-control loophole, which they introduced, I guess, just over a year and a half ago now, that says that in the province of Ontario, any unit constructed for first occupancy that was built after November 15, 2018, now has no rent control. If you’re living in a brand new building like in my riding, any of the brand new condo towers that go up that you’re renting in that were built after November 2018, your landlord, once a year, could raise your rent by 50%, 100% or 300%.

There is literally no limit, and I’ve raised concerns about that specific measure a number of times in this House, but nonetheless, here we are. So again, like I said, outside of those two circumstances, your landlord can legally only raise your rent once a year—this year by 2.2%.

If we go back to the example: We have a new tenant in Ontario, and they don’t know these rules. They just don’t know. Their landlord comes to them a few months into their tenancy with some sort of sob story and says that they want to increase the rent by 10%—maybe they had to fix the roof on the house or something like that. The tenant doesn’t know their rights. They don’t know that it’s not their responsibility to pay for whatever the landlord’s repair and maintenance issues are. They’re not on the hook for a 10% rent increase in Ontario, but they don’t know their rights.

They’re new to Ontario, they’re scared of losing their housing, they don’t want to be evicted, they don’t know where else they would go in the market, and so they unknowingly pay that 10% rent increase for 13 months, thinking they don’t have a choice, and under duress.

Then 12 or 13 months go by, and this person who is new to Ontario maybe starts making some friends, and they go out for a coffee with a new friend. After chatting about how expensive it is to live in this city and how awful their experiences with landlords have been—particularly if maybe they’re in an Akelius or a Starlight building; we know that these are the large corporate landlords who are—Akelius, for example, has been rebuked by the United Nations for their human rights abuses. So these two tenants go out for a coffee and they’re chatting about their negative experiences in the housing market.

Our tenant learns that the increase they’ve been paying for the last 13 months is illegal, and it’s the first time they learned that. But now, under Bill 184, they don’t have a right to go back to the board and say, “I’ve just become aware of my rights. I’ve been illegally paying hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to my landlord in illegally collected rent for the last year, and I would like my landlord to refund the illegally collected rent that he has been taking from me.” This bill now takes that right away from those tenants.

It is legalizing fraud and it is legalizing rent theft from tenants in the province of Ontario.

In another example: What about a tenant who is owed a legal rent reduction that the landlord doesn’t deliver on? The tenant may not even know that they are entitled to a legal rent reduction or in fact are even able to challenge the rent that they are owed. There are a number of cases where this may come about.

There may be a situation where a landlord has received a substantial reduction in municipal property taxes, which has to legally be passed on to the tenants, or a substantial reduction in utility costs, or if a previously issued above-guideline rent increase, which is a temporary order, has expired and that tenant is owed a rent reduction.

If the landlord doesn’t communicate to that tenant that they’re owed a rent reduction and thinks they can sneakily slide under the radar for at least 12 months, they’ll get their get-out-of-jail-free card, and the rent reduction that was owed to their tenant will never materialize because this government thinks that rent fraud is okay and fine and dandy. The landlord, again, gets to collect and profit off illegal rents.

The only people that benefit from this specific change in Bill 184 are the landlords that have acted illegally. The good landlords, the mom-and-pop landlords who are doing their best to provide safe and stable housing in our market, the ones that follow the rules: This doesn’t apply to them because they haven’t broken the rules. This is only a get-out-of-jail-free card for the bad actors in our system who have learned how to abuse our tenant rights’ system in Ontario. It’s shameful, and it has no place in this bill.

I want to talk a little bit next about what’s not in the bill that I think should be, and about where this government has really missed the boat on protecting tenant rights, as they claim to have stated to attempt to do with this bill.

One of the measures that simply doesn’t go far enough to address the problems they are supposedly attempting to fix, considering the time that we’re in, is that this bill does absolutely nothing to prevent COVID-19-related evictions. It doesn’t do anything to help tenants who have perhaps lost their jobs or their income as a result of the pandemic to not fall behind on their rent and to maintain their housing.

This bill doesn’t guarantee any new funding for community housing or the development of any net new rent-geared-to-income units in the province, or address the 15-year wait-list for community housing which, as I have mentioned a number of times in this House, is a wait-list I grew up on. My mom was a single mom with two girls when she decided to go back to university, when I was about nine or 10 years old, so that she could make a better life for herself. She went on the wait-list for Toronto Community Housing, and do you know how long she waited on that list, Speaker? She waited more than 15 years.

I was a grown woman, had graduated university and had moved in with my husband before my mom was moved off the list that she went on as a single mom with two girls under the age of 10. It’s shameful, Speaker. It is shameful that whole generations of families are languishing on the wait-list for community housing.

The worst

part is that her needs had completely changed by the time she reached the top of that list. She wasn’t a single mom with two kids anymore; she was a frail senior with disabilities who now needed a wheelchair-accessible unit. She waited another two years on an internal wait-list for a wheelchair-accessible unit in our system.

What is this government doing in Bill 184 to address that 15-year wait-list? Absolutely nothing.

This bill also doesn’t do anything to guarantee the development of new supportive housing units or to create new shelter spaces to address the homelessness crisis in this province—a crisis, I should add, that will only be worsened by the eviction measures in this bill. It does absolutely nothing to address the rent-affordability crisis in Ontario, a crisis that has been driven by the erosion of rent control.

What is the Conservative government doing to help my constituents in Toronto Centre, where we have rock-bottom vacancy rates in Ontario—and not, as the members opposite would accuse, because of a lack of supply. We have cranes in the sky on every single corner of my riding.

We’re building more housing in Toronto than we’ve ever built, but because of artificial pressures in our system—and that includes short-term rentals like Airbnb taking long-term rental housing off-line and the practice of speculation, which sees a significant portion of our housing stock taken off-line by investors who live outside Ontario and who are seeking to profit off our housing crisis by purchasing new units with no intention to either live in them or rent them. We see this in Toronto. You can look at the skyline. Look at these brand new buildings that go up.

You’ll see whole floors where the lights never come on. Investors will buy up a whole floor of a building that never gets lived in. They treat our housing stock like a stock market, and this government has done nothing to clamp down on that speculation or, in fact, on the dirty money laundering that’s happening in our housing system as well that is also driving the prices up.

What follows rock-bottom vacancy rates, even those that have been artificially created by bad actors in our system? Sky-high prices is what follows. It’s a problem that is only made worse by the erosion of rent control.

In my riding, the vacancy rate hovers at less than 1% and the average price of a one-bedroom apartment hit $2,300 in January. The minimum wage in my riding would have to be $36 an hour for a single mom to be able to afford an apartment for her and her children—$36 an hour. That’s a far cry from the $14—should have been $15 last year, before this government rolled back the $1-an-hour increase that minimum wage workers in this province were owed.

This bill does absolutely nothing to successfully end the practice of renovictions in Ontario. Over and over again, we heard at committee that the real financial incentive to kick out long-term tenants is because of the gaps in current rents when compared to much higher market rents created through a lack of rent control in between tenancies. If we scrapped vacancy decontrol tomorrow in Ontario, I can promise you without a doubt the practice of renovictions would end completely, full stop.

The moderate fines proposed by this bill will do nothing to deter this immensely profitable practice which is the entire business model—it is the stated business model—of large multinational landlords like Starlight and Akelius, like I’ve said before, two of the worst actors in our housing system—Akelius, again, as I said before, being so notorious that they’ve been rebuked by the United Nations for their human rights violations.

I can’t understate for this House how incredibly profitable the practice of renovictions is. Just this past November, we saw a record-breaking sale of 44 GTA apartment buildings to Starlight for just short of $2 billion. How do 44 apartment buildings get to have a valuation of $2 billion, Speaker? The CEO behind the deal even admitted in an interview, admitted on the record, that the deal was so profitable explicitly because of the money they can make when they kick out long-term tenants and turn over the units for a much higher rent because of the weak rent control laws in Ontario specifically.

He said, “We had a gap in our rents—between our in-place rents and our market rents—of over 30% and that was the reason for the strong order book on the IPO.” He added, “The buyer recognized the value of that gap and was willing to pay for that gap.” They’re profiteering off a business strategy that involves kicking long-term, good-paying tenants out of their homes.

Housing is a human right, Speaker. It’s not a stock market, and it’s not an investment portfolio that you can make billions of dollars of profits off of on the backs of tenants. It’s a human right. Nothing in our community—no one can have a good life in our community if they don’t have stable housing. Everything that you build a good life on is built on top of stable housing. Housing should be for the people and not for the exploitation of billionaires.

The public had a lot to say about this bill when it went to committee. We heard from subject matter experts on tenant rights in Ontario. We heard from legal experts. I have to say, it was a rough couple of days for the government members. I honestly don’t know how they sat through those committee hearings and allowed this bill to come back into this House without supporting the amendments we had proposed to address the issues that were raised by an abundance of stakeholders over those few days.

I’d like to share two specific communications from the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, also called ACTO, on the subject of Bill 184.

Ahead of the committee hearings, ACTO shared an open letter condemning this bill, and it was co-signed by about 45 legal organizations, tenant advocates and community groups, including the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly; the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa; the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness; the Canadian Environmental Law Association; Cathy Crowe, a street nurse fighting homelessness in my riding; Centre des services communautaires Vanier; the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation; the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic; the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic; Community Legal Aid and Legal Assistance of Windsor; Community Legal Assistance Sarnia; Community Legal Clinic Brant Haldimand Norfolk; Community Legal Clinic of York Region; Community Legal Services of Ottawa; Downsview Community Legal Services; Downtown Legal Services; Durham Community Legal Clinic; Emily Paradis, housing and homelessness researcher; the Fairbnb coalition; the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations; the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic; Health Providers Against Poverty; the HIV and AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario; Huron Perth Community Legal Clinic; the Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services; Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic; Lake Country Community Legal Clinic; the Legal Clinic of Guelph and Wellington County; Mississauga Community Legal Services; Neighbourhood Legal Services; the Neighbourhood Legal Services in London and Middlesex; Niagara Community Legal Clinic; Northwest Community Legal Clinic; North Peel and Dufferin Community Legal Services; Parkdale Community Legal Services; Renfrew County Legal Clinic; Rexdale Community Legal Clinic; Shelter and Housing Justice Network; South Etobicoke Community Legal Services; Sudbury Community Legal Clinic; Waterloo Region Community Legal Services; West Scarborough Community Legal Services; West Toronto Community Legal Services and Willowdale Community Legal Services.

All of these organizations signed onto this letter that I’m going to read into the record. I hope the government members opposite listened to that list, because I’m sure a number of these organizations are in their ridings. Community organizations and community legal experts in your community are outright condemning this bill.

The letter reads: “The clients of Ontario’s community legal clinics face daily struggles to pay the rent and life’s other expenses. Ontario is home to over one third of all renters in Canada with nearly half of them living on an annual income below $40,000. Out of the 10 most unaffordable cities to rent a home in Canada, eight are in Ontario. Rents in this province have been on a constant rise without significant improvements in the quality of the housing stock. Many renters living on low to moderate incomes will point out the state of disrepair in their homes while they pay exorbitant monthly rents.

This is the result of laws that put landlords’ interests first, including the right of landlords to rent gouge on tenant turnover.

“The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has laid bare these unfair policies. The pandemic crisis has shown the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots. Public officials point to sheltering in place as the number one defence against the virus. It is time for Ontario to introduce changes to the law that support people’s access to safe, secure and affordable homes. Instead, the Ontario government has decided to quickly push through Bill 184, Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act—the wrong bill at the wrong time.

“Aside from the landlords, speculators and developers, no one is protected by the provisions of Bill 184. The changes proposed to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) are a collection of pro-landlord amendments that will impoverish and displace tenants.

“We are greatly concerned by many of the provisions in Bill 184. For instance, the amendments will add post-tenancy debt collection to the Landlord and Tenant Board’s (LTB) workload—a tribunal that is already experiencing significant delays in deciding cases. The bill proposes an ‘alternative dispute resolution’ that will put tenants at the risk of eviction after being pressured to agree to terms they cannot meet. The bill restricts tenants’ rights to bring forward repair and maintenance issues in rent arrears cases, encouraging landlords to keep their units in a state of disrepair.

And despite the claim that this bill will protect tenants from no-fault evictions, the provisions fail to provide a meaningful deterrent to the abuse of no-fault eviction provisions by landlords.

“What Bill 184 does is to provide landlords with additional avenues to evict tenants. This bill is out of touch with the challenges faced by tenants, especially as the pandemic crisis has deepened the vulnerabilities of low-income Ontarians. The Ontario government must take bold steps to protect those who are struggling. Without effective leadership, people will fall further into poverty as we move into the post-pandemic recovery phase.

“The Ontario government must relieve the pressures that will push tenants to the brink of economic eviction. They must address the short- and medium-term consequences of the pandemic crisis on tenants and the rental housing market. We urge the government to scrap Bill 184 and instead take the following actions”—these are the five actions that the 45 community legal clinics and housing experts and tenant rights’ advocates and folks fighting homelessness in all of our communities are asking for right now:

“

(1) Update the purpose of the RTA to include improving public health in Ontario and recognizing the progressive realization of the human right to housing as enshrined in the federal legislation.

“

(2) Extend the current eviction moratorium until the pandemic and the post-pandemic recovery period are over to ensure enough time for employment rates and other economic indicators to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. While urgent matters with serious health and safety implications continue to be heard, Ontario must commit to keeping people housed.

“

(3) Amend the RTA to provide direction to the LTB for mediated repayment agreements that are feasible and will not push tenants into homelessness or continued poverty.

“

(4) Provide the LTB with direction on providing relief from eviction due to circumstances caused by the pandemic crisis. Tenants that lost their employment, faced illness or had to take care of their children out of school should not be punished because they faced financial hardship” because of the pandemic and because this government hasn’t stepped in to provide any meaningful support.

The fifth thing that they’re asking for is to “re-institute effective rent control and alleviate the greatest source of anxiety for tenants even before this pandemic” started, and that’s “the unaffordable rents that skyrocket every” single “year, displacing people from their homes and communities.”

The letter ends off with a quote that says, “Tenants in Ontario need laws that will address their pressing needs today. Curbing rent increases is even more critical at this time of great uncertainty and economic hardship—tenants’ finances remain volatile and many have come to depend on government supports. If the government truly wants to protect tenants, Ontario must focus on preventing the displacement of tenant households, including the elimination of rent gouging that leads to poverty and economic eviction.”

We had all of these legal experts, even before committee started, come out swinging against this bill, condemning it, asking you to scrap it completely. And then all of these legal experts, community advocates and housing experts came to committee and spent days telling this government why this bill was so terrible, and not one of the government members actually took any of that to heart and listened to the stakeholders and what they were saying.

After committee hearings concluded, ACTO came back again and released another statement on their experiences with the committee process and how this bill was amended by the government to make it even worse, Speaker. They voted down all of our amendments, but tabled some of their own that somehow made a bad bill even worse.

Again, I do want to share the full text of this letter with this House because I think it’s really important for the government members to hear this. Again, this is from ACTO. It says, “Last week, the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Social Policy heard from tenants, tenant advocates, landlords and landlord lobbyists on the Ontario government’s proposed Bill 184, Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act. The hearings had a unanimous message from tenants—the provisions of Bill 184 will not protect them or their communities.

“The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario presented our serious concerns to the committee and provided them with a detailed written submission that outlines the problems with Bill 184. Our open letter, Bill 184: Wrong Bill, Wrong Time, was signed by many organizations across the province that urged the government to scrap Bill 184 and instead adopt five alternative recommendations that would truly protect tenants.

“Many tenants, tenant organizations and legal clinics presented to the committee last week. Tenants provided compelling testimony of their experiences as low-income renters and many shared their experience of losing their homes to bad faith evictions. Legal clinics and non-profit organizations that serve tenants spoke on the state of housing insecurity in their communities, the skyrocketing of rents and the lack of legal protections for tenants.

“The message from tenants and advocates was overwhelmingly clear: Contrary to its title, Bill 184 does little to protect tenants from no-fault evictions and does not help tenants to stay housed. Instead, the changes to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) proposed by Bill 184 will simply make it easier for landlords to evict tenants. In effect, the government is trying to fix the delays at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) by removing tenant rights rather than addressing the problems with the LTB.

“Of particular concern, tenants feared that they would be pressured by their landlord to sign repayment plans they cannot afford, and include a clause (s. 78 of the RTA) that permits a landlord to seek an eviction order without a hearing if they faltered. In addition, tenants opposed the changes to their right to raise other issues at their rent arrear hearings (such as a landlord’s failure to do repairs). Many were deeply concerned about the government’s change to the law that downgrades a landlord’s duty to provide proper notice of rent increases to their tenant.

“All tenants told the committee that one month compensation, additional disclosure requirement and fines will not stop bad-faith evictions. They all called on the government to eliminate the practice of rent gouging by landlords by removing vacancy decontrol and closing the November 2018 rent control loophole.

“Sadly, the recommendations made by tenants and advocates were rejected by the Progressive Conservative members that sit on the social policy committee. Their response was to pass new amendments to the bill that will speed up new eviction rules and force landlords and tenants into some kind of mediation process whether they want it or not.

“For its part, the NDP opposition moved many of the amendments that tenants were looking for. These included putting all units back under rent control even if the tenant in the unit has changed, and directing the LTB to refuse evictions where households have been hurt by the pandemic. Each of these amendments was voted down by the Conservative majority.

“The bill has now been referred to the full Legislature for third reading debate, which is the last step before it becomes law. This is our last chance to put the pressure on the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. It is more important than ever to let him know that Bill 184 will remove tenant protections and fast-track evictions.”

Speaker, that’s a pretty condemning letter if I’ve ever heard one. And that’s from, again, the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. I should say that their only stake in this game is protecting the tenants that they serve. They have nothing financial to gain, no big battle to win by fighting back against this bill other than doing the right thing and protecting tenants. They’re speaking on behalf of tenants who are in all of your ridings, who are falling through the cracks, because of bad legislation that will increase evictions and strip away tenant rights in this province.

But ACTO is not the only one that had quite a lot of damning things to say about this bill. We also heard from the Canadian Mental Health Association and their Ontario division who also supported ACTO’s recommendations, but in their public statement they also added a few things. They added to their letter—again, this is the Canadian Mental Health Association—that they “joined the Advocacy Centre for Tenants in Ontario and other stakeholders to express concerns about proposed amendments to a government bill that could weaken tenants’ rights.

“Last week, the Ontario Standing Committee on Social Policy heard submissions on Bill 184. In CMHA Ontario’s submission, it outlined its concern and provided recommendations to address the short- and medium-term consequences of the pandemic crisis on tenants and the rental housing market.

“CMHA strongly believes housing is a basic human right.”

We also heard from CERA, which is the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation, after committee, on their renewed concern with how a bad bill was made worse in committee. They called on the Conservative government to walk away from this dangerous bill. CERA’s statement read: “Last week, CERA sent a submission to the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Social Policy on Bill 184.

“In our submission, CERA outlined its grave concerns that the bill will expedite eviction, undermine access to justice, and have negative financial impacts on tenants. These impacts will affect Ontario’s most vulnerable the hardest—individuals who are low income, racialized, newcomers and persons with disabilities.

“We are therefore shocked today to find out that the Ontario government is doubling down on removing protections for tenants with several proposed amendments to the bill that will make what will already be a bad situation worse. The government’s amendments propose to:

“—require Landlord and Tenant Board adjudicators to consider whether a landlord tried to negotiate a settlement agreement with the tenant prior to moving forward with the eviction process. This could be used as an argument in the landlord’s favour at the hearing, and could encourage landlords to bully and attempt to coerce tenants into agreements they cannot meet due to job loss and financial crisis as a result of COVID;

“—remove the requirement that both parties agree to mediation at the Landlord and Tenant Board. This could result in tenants being forced into mediation and losing their right to due process;

“—bring sections 15, 16, 22, 30 and 31 into force immediately upon royal assent, instead of later at proclamation, which means they will directly impact tenants affected by COVID-19 despite Premier Ford stating that ‘No one will be kicked out of their home or their rental apartments based on not being able to pay the rent. It’s just not going to happen. We won’t allow it to happen.’ This means Bill 184’s new rules that would prohibit tenants from raising issues at eviction hearings and allowing for evictions without a hearing for tenants who default on their repayment agreement will come into force immediately.

“Bill 184 and the amendments announced today are coming forward in the context of an unprecedented economic crisis caused by COVID-19, where an estimated 50,000 arrears applications await processing when the current eviction moratorium is lifted.

“Reintroducing this bill, which weakens protections for tenants, at a time when this government has provided no dedicated financial or other support to tenants is disgraceful. The mass homelessness that could result from this bill will be one of the most significant human rights crises that this province will ever face. We are calling on the Ontario government to repeal the proposed changes to Bill 184 and to not proceed with the elements of Bill 184 that will evict thousands of Ontario renters, many into homelessness.

Strengthening our communities includes protecting tenants, not undermining their right to an adequate home.” Again, that was from CERA, the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation.

We heard from the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, the FMTA—again, for the folks watching at home, when I spoke earlier about folks who can help you fight above-guideline rent increases or issues with your landlords, if you’re in a multi-unit building, if you’re in an apartment building in Toronto, FMTA is a great resource that will help you form a tenants’ association.

In Toronto, there’s a tenant defence fund that they can connect you to where, if you have a tenants’ association in your building, you can get access to a paralegal to help you fight your above-guideline rent increases at the Landlord and Tenant Board. They’re just generally a great resource that I do want to point folks to.

FMTA came, and Robert Field, in his remarks at committee, stated:

“It appears that one aim of Bill 184 is to try to speed up eviction proceedings ... during a pandemic. Our agency can think of nothing more cruel or monstrous to do to the hundreds of thousands of tenants facing eviction now.

“In various consultations and meetings with the ministry, we have stressed the need to stop illegal evictions, mostly being done via landlord’s-own-use applications. Instead of helping stop these illegal evictions. Instead of helping stop these illegal evictions, this bill actually helps the fraudulent landlords by capping awards against them.

“We have also stressed another major issue, the cost of rent. We’ve argued for a host of ways to improve affordability. Instead of helping with that, this bill makes an illegal rent increase legal after 12 months.

“All of this is happening against the backdrop of the worst eviction crisis” in the province of Ontario. “An estimated 10% of households have not been able to pay full rent during COVID-19. That translates to 400,000 tenants facing eviction in April, and another 400,000 in May, June, July etc.”

Speaker, “cruel and monstrous” is what the FMTA had to say about this bill, and if that doesn’t just about sum it up, I don’t know what does.

Lastly, Speaker, on the subject of public response to this bill, I’d like to share the words of tenants themselves with this House. Over and over again at committee, we heard a clear and consistent message from tenants: First, that this bill is an outright attack on tenant rights, that people are terrified of losing their homes right now because of COVID-19, and that tenants are not seeing the supports that they need from this government to survive this crisis.

We heard that the proposed fines for bad-faith evictions aren’t strong enough, and that the real solution to renovictions lies in strong rent-control measures. The only way to remove the perverse financial incentive to displace tenants for the purpose of obtaining a higher-paying tenant in the same unit is rent control that is maintained between tenancies, so that when one tenant leaves an apartment, the landlord can’t charge $500 more a month for the next family that moves in.

That’s where the perverse incentive to kick tenants out comes from, and there is no level of fine that this government can introduce that is going to make that an unprofitable situation to create. That’s the solution: rent control, scrapping vacancy decontrol in this province, not slap-on-the-wrist fines that large corporate landlords will willingly pay. They will willingly pay those fines because renovictions are so profitable.

We heard that no matter what good this government says this bill does in any other sections or clauses, the bad overwhelmingly outweighs the good and the poison-pill attack on tenants’ rights makes this bill completely and utterly unsupportable.

I’d like to share a few quotes from the written submissions that we received from tenants. From the Akelius Tenants Network—as I said, Akelius is one of the worst actors in our system, a multinational corporation, and all the money they make doesn’t even stay in Canada. They’re here for the express purpose of abusing our weak tenant protections and our weak rent control laws, and they make millions of dollars doing it.

The Akelius tenants said, “It is unclear to tenants why the Conservative government of Ontario has decided to introduce Bill 184 in the Legislature during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tenants are experiencing an exceedingly high level of stress between trying to determine how to pay their rent in a period of record unemployment....”

We heard tenants at 440 Winona Drive, who said, “Many of the residents in our building are newcomers and do not know their rights as tenants. Our association was formed because of numerous reports of improper and illegal evictions, improper maintenance, pest infestations, illegal rent increases and surcharges, and unjust and discriminatory treatment by the building staff. Many times this unjust treatment and/or illegal evictions succeeds because tenants do not know their rights, or are afraid to assert their rights.

At this time, we know of at least several tenants in our building who are not able to pay their rent in full, due to COVID-19-related job loss. This bill will make it even more difficult for tenants to defend themselves in these very challenging economic times. Through no fault of their own, many of our tenants have lost employment, even temporarily, and are struggling to pay rent.

“We urge you, do not approve this bill and instead focus on supporting vulnerable residents of Toronto and Ontario.”

And then we heard from the York South–Weston Tenants’ Union, from Chiara Padovani. She said, “In the midst of this global pandemic, rather than protecting tenants, Bill 184 makes it easier for tenants to get kicked out of their homes by denying us the opportunity to defend ourselves. In the context of widespread economic hardship caused by COVID-19, Bill 184 is a particularly cruel attack on tenants all over this province. York South–Weston Tenants’ Union firmly opposes this bill.”

The only folks that seem to support this bill wholeheartedly are large corporate landlords and the ones that are looking to profit off of a crisis in our province.

The comments I’ve just shared with this House that were raised in public hearings are just a small example of the overwhelming opposition that we’ve seen to Bill 184. In the words of housing advocates, this is the wrong bill at the wrong time.

To the government members opposite, to each of you in this House today, we have one more chance to walk away from this bill. You have one more chance as members of the governing party to stand up to your party leadership and stand up for the tenants in your communities, the ones who elect you, to have their best interests at heart. I know that the members opposite are often deeply financially supported in their campaigns with the big-business money that comes from developers and large corporate landlords—who, I might add, are the only ones who seem to profit from the eviction measures in this bill.

But to the Conservative members of this House, the big landlords of this world, the Akeliuses and the Starlights of this world who pour money hand over fist into the Conservative Party campaign coffers, may pay for your campaign signs, sure. They might help pay for your ads and your campaign offices. But it’s the tenants in your ridings whose rights you’re stripping away. It’s those tenants who actually mark your name in the ballot box on a little piece of paper when it comes time to pick who the next government of this province is going to be.

And I’m here to warn you, if you keep down this track, I can tell you, it’s not going to be you. When your constituents have been displaced in such mass numbers as a result of your unwillingness to stand up to the big corporate interests that are wrapped up this bill, and stand up for your tenants, they’re going to remember that, when they’ve been displaced by this crisis and you were nowhere to be found.

Speaker, in the time that I have left, I want to also speak about the government amendments to this bill and how they make this bill worse. They introduced one amendment that retroactively applies sections 15, 16, 22, 30 and 31 immediately upon royal assent instead of at proclamation, which means that this bill comes into full force and will have a direct impact on tenants who are hurting because of COVID-19.

The retroactivity applied parts of the bill deal with eviction applications concerning rent arrears and it specifically backdates that measure all the way back to March 17, which is the date the state of emergency started. Why March 17? Why retroactively apply an eviction bill to, specifically, March 17—specifically the date that the state of emergency started in this province? Speaker, if I had to answer that question, I would say it’s specifically to legalize COVID-related evictions instead of stopping them.

This amendment could allow landlords to put pressure on their tenants to sign take-it-or-leave-it repayment agreements that the tenant knows full well they can’t afford, or that they may not understand the consequences of when they enter into these repayment agreements. And if the tenant refuses, the board would be required to consider in the landlord’s favour, that the landlord attempted to enter into a repayment agreement with their tenant. But they didn’t enter into a willing agreement. They are under duress, under immense duress and pressure—threatening to evict their tenants if they don’t sign these agreements.

A tenant may not understand the consequences. They may think, “Okay, fine. I’ll sign this agreement because my landlord is threatening me. Then I’ll go to the board and I’ll make my case, and we’ll work something out that I can actually afford when I get to the board.” Nope, not under Bill 184. You get pressured under duress into an agreement, and if you come up a day late or a dollar short, the landlord calls up the sheriff and you’re out—no hearing. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Go directly to the homeless shelter down the street with your kids in tow. That’s what this government is doing with this bill.

The repayment plans made during COVID-19 will have to follow the new Bill 184 rules, meaning you could have signed away your right to an eviction hearing before this bill even passed. So any tenant who has entered into a repayment agreement with their landlord, going back to March 17—which I’ll remind this House is exactly what the Premier has been asking folks to do. “Work things out with your landlord,” he said. Just work things out. It doesn’t matter that we’re in an unprecedented global crisis and there are no jobs, that you have no money, that you have $17 in your bank account.

Your phone lines have been disconnected and you don’t know how you’re feeding your kids dinner tonight, but work things out with your landlord. We’re not going to help you do it. We’re not going to give you a rent subsidy. We’re not going to top up CERB, which in my riding doesn’t cover the rent.

If your rent is $2,200 a month in my riding, and you’re a family with two kids, how far does $2,000 go? Right off the bat, you’re $200 short on just paying the rent. How are you supposed to pay hydro, pay the phone bill or the Internet, so your kids can stay in class? Because now all their classwork is online; you can’t let the Internet get disconnected or they will fail the grade. What is this province doing to stop that?

Instead, you’ve retroactively applied eviction measures going back to the start of the emergency, throwing all those tenants right under the bus. It’s shameful.

Then you moved another amendment that removes the requirement that both parties must consent to the mediation or alternate dispute resolution process, which I will add is quite vague in the bill. We don’t know what the mediation or ADR process is going to look like. You say, “Trust us. We’ll figure it out in regulation.” I don’t trust you. I don’t trust you at all, not with bills like this. Why would I trust you? Trust has to be earned. None of you have earned it.

The amendment that you tabled in committee could force a tenant to unwillingly—unwillingly—participate in a process that could result in them being evicted without a hearing.

On the other hand, we proposed a number of amendments that would have saved this bill and made it salvageable. If you had supported any of these amendments, we would be having a very different conversation here today. We would be talking about how proud we were of you to see you stand up to your party leadership and take our suggestions that would have made a bill you’re passing during an unprecedented crisis in this province better—taken our suggestions, listened to us and worked together, like you’re always saying. But instead, you voted against or blocked all of our amendments.

We had one that would require that the number of RGI, which is rent-geared-to-income units, designated under the HSA not decrease. There is a provision in this bill that does allow non-profit housing providers to exit out of agreements for rent-geared-to-income, which there are some reasons why that might be happening, but the bill does that in the context of not requiring that the system replace any net RGI units that are lost to the system through the cancellation of these agreements.

So if non-profit housing providers, for their own reasons, want to exit out of providing RGI, there’s nothing in this bill that says that the government or the ministry is responsible for replacing those net RGI units anywhere else in the province. So we could actually see a quiet dismantling of rent geared to income through non-profit housing providers in this province, and this bill enables that to happen.

We could have had an amendment that would have said, “You know what? Allow the mechanisms of exit agreements to happen.” No one is saying that shouldn’t be allowed to happen. There are good reasons for it. But if you’re going to allow the agreements to end, you have to replace the units elsewhere so we’re not net losing subsidized housing in the province of Ontario. You voted that down. Why? What’s the motivation there?

We had another amendment that would have scrapped the 2018 rent control loophole that means that any building built after November 2018 has no rent control protections. Why? Why would you vote against that? We heard at committee overwhelmingly how dangerous this measure was in the province of Ontario.

We had another amendment that would have raised the compensation for no-fault evictions for a tenant from one month, as proposed in this bill, to three. This is specifically in cases of no-fault evictions where the purchaser needs to move into the unit, where the landlord is demolishing or converting a unit as part of a complex of five or fewer units, or where they intend to repair or renovate the unit, again in a complex of five or fewer units.

What we heard from tenants is that one month’s compensation when they’re displaced by these types of no-fault evictions is not enough. It’s not enough to help offset the cost of moving. It’s not enough to offset the raised market rents that they’re going to be forced to pay through their displacement. One month’s rent may offset the difference in rent by two or three months, and then after that they’re going to be out hundreds of dollars a month forever because of this displacement. That one month’s compensation is not enough to be kicked out of their homes through no fault of their own.

They’re good-paying tenants. One month’s compensation is not enough. That’s what we heard at committee. So we wanted to propose to raise that to three months. We thought that was fair to both the landlords and tenants. This government voted against that.

We had an amendment to remove the illegal rent increases and the limitations period that this government has required or put in place around illegal rent increases. You voted against that. We were just trying to remove the provision that legalizes rent fraud. No, no; you won’t give us an inch. You won’t listen to anything that the tenants had to say. You won’t listen to anything that we had to say.

We had another amendment that would have required the Landlord and Tenant Board to maintain a registry of no-fault eviction applications. You voted against that. We had one to ban COVID-related evictions. You blocked that.

We had one to prevent landlords from going after tenants for compensation related to interference with reasonable enjoyment of a unit, specifically in cases that could potentially be human rights violations. So if a landlord tries to evict someone because their neighbour’s kid has autism and the kid with autism is disruptive, does that family of a child with autism deserve to be displaced from their home? No, that’s a human rights violation. We wanted to encode better protections for human-rights-based evictions into this act. You said, “No, we don’t want to do that.”

We tried to scrap vacancy decontrol. You said no to that too. We tried to increase the fines for corporate landlords who violate the Residential Tenancies Act—specifically, again, the corporate landlords. We’re talking about the Akeliuses and the Starlights, who can afford to buy up 44 properties in Toronto for $2 billion. We proposed to increase the fines from $250,000, which is a slap on the wrist to a multi-billion dollar multinational corporation like Akelius or Starlight, and we proposed increasing the fines to $1 million, which I still think is not strong enough to deter some of the abuses and practices that our weak tenant protections in Ontario allow to take place.

I know I only have a few minutes left, but I do want to speak very briefly to my frustrations with how this bill has moved through the House procedurally. I don’t understand why, in the midst of a global pandemic, this government is trying to table a bill that will make it easier to evict tenants. Worse, this is the first bill that you brought forward that was non-COVID-related business in this House during a pandemic. We had an agreement in this House when the pandemic started that we were only going to address COVID-related business, and this is the bill that you chose to break that agreement on when you called this bill for second reading without any notice.

This government has been playing petty politics behind the scenes for weeks now. They don’t tell us what bills are being called when—which is fine. I do my homework. I do my research. I’m here. I’m prepared to speak about any bill before this House, and I’m prepared to get here within minutes or hours of notice. But Speaker, that’s not the way that this House should be proceeding. It’s not respectful to the people of Ontario, who expect us to come here prepared to bring their voices and be collaborative and constructive. Instead, this government has insisted on playing petty politics with this bill.

I’ve been walking around with my speaking notes for this bill for six or seven days now, because they wouldn’t tell us when it was going to be called. I’ve had to cancel meetings with constituents, because I’m here all the time. I’m happy to be here—I’m doing my job—but I can’t

schedule effectively, because you won’t tell us what you’re calling when. And not that I care: I can manage; I’m fine. It’s a disservice to my constituents, and it’s a disservice to all of your constituents, because you’re playing petty games in a pandemic when we should be working together.

Speaker, in my last two minutes, I want to talk about the alternative vision that we as New Democrats have for housing policy in this province. We could get back to the original agreement of this House and get back to COVID-only related business, and we could enact a real plan to support tenants through this unprecedented emergency. As New Democrats, we have been continuously calling on the government to implement a rent subsidy program for tenants affected by COVID-19 to help them through this difficult time and to prevent evictions. If you would hear us out, we could have that work done in a matter of a day.

We could shift our energies together away from an eviction bill and towards providing real help to families. We could do so much more for the people of Ontario, if you’d meet us halfway.

Our vision, as New Democrats in Ontario, is that we want to prevent homelessness. We want to make sure that people are staying housed during a pandemic.

We want to see a well-funded social safety net where we have adequate subsidized housing, where we have adequate supportive housing, where the shelters in our communities have enough beds to meet the need, and a future where that need is zero because people are housed; where we have more co-ops and more non-profit housing than ever before, where children grow up in homes where mom and dad aren’t deciding whether to pay the phone bill or the hydro bill or the Internet bill or rent, or how they’re going to put food on the table tonight; where tenants’ rights are respected, where they live in homes that are properly maintained, where their landlords aren’t trying to gouge them on illegal rent increases, and where evictions are prevented and staved off, particularly in a time of crisis.

Speaker, we can have that future. We can achieve a better vision for what housing and tenant rights in Ontario can look like. But Bill 184 takes us backwards, at this time, now more than ever before. We need a truly progressive vision for housing and tenant rights in Ontario, and the first step to that is withdrawing this bill and voting against it. Let’s get to work supporting tenants in Ontario. Thank you. Meegwetch.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): It’s now time for questions and response. I recognize the member from Milton.

Mr. Parm Gill: I want to thank my honourable colleague on the other side for her speech, but unfortunately there’s a lot of misinformation that’s out there, obviously, a lot of fearmongering—

Ms. Jennifer K. French: Point of order.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Excuse me. First of all, I recognize the member from Oshawa.

Ms. Jennifer K. French: Just a point of order, Speaker, in terms of the allegation that was just made by the government member: I think it ought to be—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): I recognize your point. The allegation that you were referring to was not directed at a member. It was a general comment.

Back to the member from Milton.

Mr. Parm Gill: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that.

The reality is no landlord can go straight to the sheriff for an eviction. That’s not in this bill. The reality is that no one can be evicted without an order from the Landlord and Tenant Board. My question for the member is this: Bill 184 proposes encouraging mediation or alternate dispute resolution between landlords and tenants, something that is already done in seven other provinces; why does the opposition hate mediation?

Ms. Suze Morrison: There was a lot in there and not a whole lot of that was a question. I encourage you to share your version of your alternative facts during your debate, because I see that’s the crux of the issue here: that you think I’m being untruthful. Quite frankly, I shared the words of experts and advocates and subject-matter experts in our community, who have told us the exact opposite of what you’ve just said.

But I will say that I don’t hate mediation. I am unclear about what your mediation process looks like, because you haven’t outlined it in this bill, and I’m unclear about what protections are being provided to ensure that tenants aren’t strong-armed into a mediation process or a repayment agreement under duress. There is nothing in this bill that protects tenants who are being forced into a process that will not end in their best interests and that could end up in them becoming homeless, because you haven’t been clear about what your mediation process looks like and you haven’t protected against the influence of duress in this process.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I very much appreciate not only the voice and passion of the member, but her preparedness and the fact that this is a member who has been doing the heavy lifting in the community and working with community groups, not just at committee. She certainly walks the walk and lives in the community.

To the member in regard to her comments: When you were doing the work in your community or at committee—and I know that there were government members who were a part of that committee process—give us a little bit more background on what led to some of the specific amendments. I’m not going to ask you to guess why the government didn’t support them; this is a government that says they’re working with us and very clearly that’s just a talking point and isn’t something that happens, and they would never accept an amendment on principle. But why should they have? What did they hear and what did you hear at committee?

Ms. Suze Morrison: We did hear overwhelmingly at committee from both tenants and tenant rights advocates, and from legal experts who have differing opinions than the government’s talking points on this bill, that the real solution to ending practices like renovictions, which hurt tenants across the province of Ontario, is effective rent-control measures. Fines are not going to cut it, guys. Fines are not going to stop that practice, and if you think that that’s a successful way to end renovictions, you are seriously out of touch with the reality of the state of housing in this province.

The real solution to renovictions is rent control. We proposed amendments that would scrap your terrible post-2018 rent-control exemption and bring back vacancy rent control, so rent control between tenancies in the province of Ontario. The Conservative members voted against or blocked all of those amendments.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Mr. Kaleed Rasheed: Thank you to my colleague for her remarks this morning. Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned meeting with constituents and how we are working here. I must say that during this time, pre-COVID and during COVID, the use of technology has been exceptionally amazing. We meet with our constituents when we are here, as well, through Zoom and other platforms, and I would encourage the member to do so. It works perfectly all right for myself and my colleagues. We continue to meet with our constituents as well, too.

My question to the member is: Where in the bill does it specifically mention landlords evicting tenants? It’s a very straightforward question. Where in the bill does it say that the landlord can evict tenants? Based on her—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Thank you.

Back to the member from Toronto Centre.

Ms. Suze Morrison: Specifically,

schedule 4. It’s

schedule 4 that enables landlords to quickly and efficiently fast-track evictions and erodes tenant rights in this province. I would suggest to the member opposite to read his own legislation.

Specifically to the comment about how great it is that during COVID we are doing Zoom committee meetings: Speaker, you can’t attend a Zoom committee meeting if you don’t have a home, if you don’t have Internet. How is the public supposed to engage in our committee processes if they’re evicted into homelessness?

A home with functioning Internet and electricity and a computer is a prerequisite to engaging in the democratic processes of this building, and this government is about to preside over the largest mass eviction and tenant displacement that this province has ever seen. But sure, sure, it’s great: We’re doing Zoom committee meetings. Clearly, that’s where our priorities lie.

But to the actual question:

schedule 4.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Ms. Marit Stiles: I want to start by thanking the member from Toronto Centre for her incredible work on this file and her preparedness. We know it hasn’t been easy to be ready at any moment. We really appreciate it. And on behalf of constituents in my riding who have been overwhelmingly flooding us with emails, letters and calls about this legislation, I want to thank her for all her work on this.

I want to note that in my riding, the people I’m hearing from are not all renters. I think that’s really important to understand. People across the province, I think, understand that this legislation is simply cruel, that it’s coming at a time that is unnecessary, that the government seems to be exploiting a terrible situation that we’re all in.

I would ask the member if she wouldn’t mind explaining a little bit more about the efforts—were there any efforts on the part of the members opposite in committee to actually ask questions of the tenant organizations and such that were helpful?

Ms. Suze Morrison: In terms of the government’s participation in the committee hearings and the types of questions they were asking for tenants, what I’ve witnessed—and not just on this bill, but overall, there has been a shift in tone towards how deputations at committee are being handled by this government. It’s becoming quite adversarial. I’ve had tenants reach out to my office and say they felt like they were being cross-examined at a trial when they came to present to committee. That’s not a good feeling.

We have folks who are not legal experts, who are not legislators, who aren’t lawyers—well, sometimes they are lawyers. With this bill, we did hear from a lot of lawyers, who provided their expert legal opinions on why this bill is bad. But oftentimes, it’s stakeholders in our communities and constituents who are coming to committee to share their voice and their thoughts on how this bill will impact them. We need to treat them with respect when they come to do that, and not be interrogating renters—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Thank you very much.

Further questions?

Mr. David Piccini: I’d like to thank the member opposite for her speech—I listened to it intently—and for her advocacy for renters across the province of Ontario.

Just a comment: There was no reference to small landlords. I’m from a rural Ontario riding, and a number of friends and constituents of mine don’t have cash reserves. They need rent just to cover their costs. It’s their retirement. They don’t have a pension. They don’t have a lavish pension fund. This is their retirement—so some acknowledgment of that.

Section 136(2) of the RTA has always said that rent increases paid for 12 months without dispute are deemed lawful. Just a process question—because a lot of her interventions were strong. I’m just wondering—that piece takes away from it, because that’s not true. She asserted that Bill 184 would make illegal rent increases legal.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Excuse me. Stop the clock, please.

I would ask the member to withdraw.

Mr. David Piccini: I withdraw, Speaker.

Could the opposition explain how this bill does what they claim?

Ms. Suze Morrison: I’m really excited to speak about the important role that small landlords play in our community housing, particularly in rural communities and in small towns outside of Toronto. I would like to recognize that a solution we’ve been advocating for that would help both tenants and small landlords to navigate this crisis is a rent subsidy. It’s helping tenants pay their rent, and small landlords then get that rent paid. It’s a very simple solution that helps small landlords and tenants to navigate the crisis.

I would also add that we are very cautious in the NDP about ensuring that small landlords are reflected in our policy. My St. James Town Act, for example, only applies to buildings with 10 or more units.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Thank you very much. The time for debate has expired.

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

Members’ Statements

Long-term care

Ms. Doly Begum: Mr. Speaker, throughout the past four months, I have talked to dozens of health care workers, including personal support workers, who have been working in long-term-care homes and seniors’ residences during the pandemic. Over and over again, I hear them ask, “While taking care of our most vulnerable seniors, how do we protect ourselves and our families from contracting the virus?” But this government does not have an answer.

Vijhitha, a PSW who got sick with COVID-19 at her job and didn’t get a hotel room, learned that her husband’s lungs were failing due to the side effects of the virus—because he also caught the virus. He spent eight days in ICU fighting for his life. Two weeks later, Vijhitha took her 10-year-old son to SickKids because he was diagnosed with multi-organ inflammation and Kawasaki disease. He received a blood transfusion and is now taking 25 different medications and fighting for his life.

Mr. Speaker, not only has the virus changed this family’s life forever, but the poor conditions of our homes actually impacted this family and their family members forever. Vijhitha, like many other PSWs who work in our province, received zero support from this government. What will this government do to protect the lives of those who sacrificed so much for us, to save all of us and the people in this province? What will this government do?

Manufacturing sector

Mr. Mike Harris: Ontario is home to some of the finest manufacturers who produce world-renowned products right here in our backyard. Last week, I was very pleased to hear that our Premier and government would be using the Ontario Together Fund to support the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters’ Ontario Made program. Not only do our manufacturers produce world-class goods, but they also employ over 700,000 hard-working men and women across this province. When we buy Ontario-made products, we’re supporting these jobs and getting more people back to work during these tough times.

In Kitchener–Conestoga, we have incredible manufacturers producing goods that are sold all across the country and around the world, like Ontario Drive and Gear, who have been making the Argo all-terrain vehicle for over 58 years and are headquartered in New Hamburg, or AMI Attachments, a leading manufacturer of attachments for excavators, backhoes and construction equipment that is all produced in Wellesley township and shipped across Canada and the United States.

We also have plenty of food processors, with companies like Dare Foods, Piller’s meats, Weston bakeries and Grand River Foods all producing in Waterloo region, and I’d be remiss not to mention one of the largest apple growers in Canada, Martin’s Family Fruit Farm, who have production facilities in Woolwich township.

I’m very proud to represent a riding and a region with so many incredible Ontario-made products. When we support our manufacturing, we support the hard-working people on the production floor, many of them our friends, family and neighbours, so I encourage everyone to go out and check out supportontariomade.ca and look for the Ontario Made logo when they are in the store.

Education funding

Ms. Rima Berns-McGown: Parents in Beaches–East York and around the province are anxious. We need a plan for back-to-school that ensures that parents can keep working, kids can be educated in a classroom that is safe and everybody can stay healthy.

Parents are still exhausted from trying to work and educate their kids under lockdown conditions. We know that home-schooling didn’t work for all families and online learning doesn’t work for all kids. It especially doesn’t work for kids with special needs, and no parent should have to choose between their child’s education and their health. No parent should have to choose between their ability to maintain their job and their children’s education or health and safety.

Right now, the government has no viable plan. What we do have is an education, child care and economic disaster in the making. If schools and daycares are to open safely, we’re going to need more space, smaller classes and more teachers and child care workers. We’re going to need buses with room for kids to spread out safely. We need touch-free sinks and soap dispensers. We need to consider the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black, Indigenous and other racialized families. We need meaningful investments in education and child care to ensure that kids don’t lose a year of education and parents can continue to work.

School starts in six weeks. This is urgent. The health and education of our kids, the well-being of parents in Ontario and our economy all depend upon it.

Restaurant industry

Mr. Kaleed Rasheed: I wanted to speak today about how inspired I am by the perseverance of local businesses in my riding of Mississauga East–Cooksville. We know that many businesses have struggled, and the food service industry has been hit especially hard by the limitations of the lockdown and not being able to serve the public in their usual way with in-person dining.

However, throughout the past few months, I’ve heard how many restaurants have rearranged their service to continue to serve their communities through curbside pickup and delivery services. For example, a local neighbourhood bistro, Arkady, has been operating their hot-table-style service for curbside takeout throughout the lockdown. Once Mississauga arrived at phase 2, it was very encouraging to see restaurants start to figure out patio spaces and to expand their services more fully once again.

Before the crisis, my team and I enjoyed visiting Village Taste at Rockwood Mall, across from our office. This local dine-in restaurant is known for their delicious South Asian lunch buffet. I’m so glad to see that restaurants have recently opened up new patio spaces in Mississauga East–Cooksville and will be serving meals again throughout the summer. With or without a patio, local restaurants, like all small businesses, deserve our support, and I encourage everyone who is able to continue to support them.

Music Hall Concert Theatre

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I have a letter that was sent from Aleksandra Stevanovic in Oshawa.

“Today, June 1, 2020, The Music Hall Concert Theatre in Oshawa announced its forced closing. The many folks of the Durham community, specifically in my hometown of Oshawa, are utterly devastated that this music venue, a second home for many of us, had no choice but to close its doors due to a lack of financial assistance during these dire times....

“When I moved here, I fell in love with how caring people were for the local music industry ... the music scene in Oshawa was tied to a primary place, that being The Music Hall Concert Theatre. As big as this local music industry was, it still seemed so small, so closely connected and passionately driven by authentic people.

“The Music Hall Concert Theatre was a space not only for larger Canadian artists to sell out, but most importantly, a space for our local grass-rooted artists to have the opportunity and essentially the chance to perform for our music supported community....

“Artists are not the only people who relied on the space and the community that was promised to be found at Oshawa’s music venue.... I can tell you first-hand that I met the most hard-working individuals that dedicated their last ounce of energy to ensure that a wonderful show could be put on for this community....

“I ask you to please acknowledge the hundreds of people who are losing the simple possibility of a chance in their goals, and the thousands of people who will no longer know where to turn when times get difficult and music in the community was the only thing that provided reassurance and made sense.”

The owners, Ed and Maggie Maybee, cultivated a space where burgeoning Canadian artists and established fan favourites could find an audience in the Durham region. We thank them, and we will miss them.

Caregivers

Mr. John Fraser: With COVID-19, we essentially had a lockdown in our hospitals, our long-term-care homes, our group homes and our retirement homes. While that was necessary in the short term, we need a better plan. BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have developed a plan for essential caregivers. Although Ontario this morning has extended that in long-term care, which is encouraging, there are still challenges that exist for essential caregivers.

COVID-19 is not going away any time soon, and essential caregivers are of critical importance to the health and well-being of patients in hospitals and of residents in long-term care, group homes and retirement homes. They are an extra set of eyes and ears for those who, at times, can’t advocate for themselves. They feed. They bathe. They accompany their loved ones. They watch medication. They’re an essential part of our health care system, and should be treated as such. A visitor policy does not address essential caregivers.

The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement has put forward seven key steps to reintegrate essential caregivers into hospitals. I encourage the government to look at that and adopt that.

Essential caregivers are a priority. They’re not only a priority for families and for loved ones; they should be a priority for government. They support our health care system. They’re are a key part, and I encourage the government to take action.

First responders

Mr. Lorne Coe: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and Wounded Warriors Canada recently announced a new collaborative program to meet the growing mental health needs of first responders in the region of Durham.

First Responder Assist offers a number of virtual and in-person prevention and treatment services for individuals and couples-based trauma therapy, immediate crisis support, resiliency training, and cognitive behavioural and processing therapies. It’s anticipated that the program will support approximately 20 first responders through its first year of operation. Why is this service so critical? Well, Canadian research looking at operational stress injuries among first responders suggests that they are much more likely to develop mental health disorders than the general population.

As well, Speaker, first responders experience post-traumatic stress injuries and critical incident stress at twice the level of the general public. First Responder Assist is a significant step forward in helping first responders and their families as we work together towards developing a comprehensive province-wide program to better serve the unique needs of our first responders.

Automotive industry

Mr. Percy Hatfield: Last week, after 27 years, Fiat Chrysler ended the third shift of the minivan plant in Windsor. This comes with the loss of 1,400 jobs, plus the collateral damage of more jobs lost in the local feeder plants. Many more jobs will be lost in the stores, restaurants and businesses where these autoworkers were once regular customers.

Every year, workers at the minivan plant would raise more than a million dollars for the United Way. I’m told that amount was the highest collected for the United Way in any one workplace in all of Canada, and the United Way is just one of the local charities that these autoworkers so generously supported.

For years, we in the NDP and our friends in the labour movement have called for a national auto manufacturing strategy that would attract new investment to Ontario. This would protect our existing manufacturing workforce and lead to the possibility of more well-paying jobs in the future. We have seen what’s happened in Oshawa with GM. Ontario can’t afford to give up on our manufacturing base.

Speaker, the Premier will be in the Windsor area soon to get a haircut. Will he meet with the company and the union to discuss the ways and means of securing another product for that plant, and will he promise to play a role in creating a national automotive manufacturing strategy? After COVID, we need a real plan to stimulate our economy, and automotive jobs should be a major part of that investment.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Jeremy Roberts: Over the past several months, hundreds, if not thousands, of Ontarians have volunteered to ensure that their family, their friends and their communities have had access to free fabric face masks. These masks have allowed Ontarians to more safely engage in activities that require close-proximity gathering, like grocery shopping. It has also helped take away demand for medical masks that have been vital for our front-line health care workers.

There has been a group in my hometown of Ottawa that has been making and giving away thousands of these masks, each of them contributing in different ways. Amongst others, we have seen many retirees and, on the other side of the spectrum, high school students volunteering their time to this important cause. They have all demonstrated the Ontario spirit. I would like to thank everyone across Ontario who has been helping to keep Ontario safe. You have made an important impact on your community.

Last week, members of my staff delivered thank-you notes to many of these volunteers across Ottawa. If I had the time, Mr. Speaker, I would recognize each and every one of them in this chamber, but suffice to say, thank you for everything you have done to make our community a safer place during these extraordinary times.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Parm Gill: I am proud to rise and recognize and thank the Milton Chamber of Commerce that has been supporting businesses in Milton since 1888. Their leadership and community focus has been paramount during this pandemic. Shortly after the pandemic hit, the team at the chamber of commerce got to work on a local PPE procurement portal. This portal connected local suppliers of non-medical PPE with people and businesses who needed it.

The portal has been able to connect many, many businesses and community organizations with non-medical PPE, much of which was donated. Some of the organizations that benefited from this portal include the Bob Rumball Canadian Centre of Excellence for the Deaf, the Milton Community Resource Centre, Milton Meals on Wheels, Halton Women’s Place, and many, many more.

My team and I are proud to have been able to support the creation of this portal and are glad to have been able to help connect local suppliers with local businesses. We know businesses need support now, more than ever. Thank you to Scott McCammon and his whole team at the Milton Chamber of Commerce for doing everything that’s needed and going above and beyond in providing true leadership during this difficult time. We are in this together, Mr. Speaker, and we need to support our businesses together.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our members’ statements this morning.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Timmins on a point of order.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: I would ask the government for unanimous consent to stand down the leads as we wait for the Premier.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Timmins is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to stand down the leads for the leader of the official opposition. Agreed? I heard a no.

Question Period

Education funding

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I’m going to start this morning, then, with a question for the Minister of Education. Last week, the Ministry of Education quietly issued instructions for school boards, ordering them to plan for a reopening that would leave kids out of the classroom as much as three days a week.

Yesterday, one critic of the government slammed that plan saying, “I want kids in school five days a week. We don’t need to shut the school down on a Wednesday to clean....” That critic, Mr. Speaker, was the Premier himself.

So, to the Minister of Education, if even the Premier doesn’t understand your plan, how do you expect parents and teachers to?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Mr. Speaker, we understand the incredible challenges that COVID-19 has imposed on working parents, on educators and, of course, the mental health of our kids. It’s why we have brought forth a plan to request school boards to be prepared for all three circumstances that are manifesting globally around us in the context of the reopening of schools. It’s why we put in place a training regime that will ensure all staff, including educators, are better prepared to respond to these very unique and real challenges that will take place. And more importantly, it’s why we put in place additional funding.

But, Speaker, beyond that, it is a commitment we’re making to the people of this province to do whatever it takes to keep kids safe. We want to ensure we maintain the integrity of learning each and every day, but it has to be safe. That’s why we’re working so closely with the chief medical officer to achieve that objective.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, the Minister of Education and the Premier aren’t just on different pages, they’re on different planets. Yesterday, the Premier said he wants staff cleaning schools overnight instead of shutting down for a day. But unfortunately for parents, the minister fired hundreds of custodial workers and school support staff just last year.

The Premier can’t keep telling parents they’re getting help while doing nothing to help them. When will they get a concrete plan together that not only gets kids back to school full-time in the fall but gives school boards, staff and all concerned the financial support that they need to keep everyone safe?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Indeed it is the priority of the government to keep kids safe because we recognize that, for so many people in the province, particularly parents, this has been uniquely challenging for them. That’s why we want to ensure that their kids are in class each and every day.

But before we can make that commitment, before any legislator can submit to themselves that that is the plan forward, it has to be safe. It has to be based on public health data. It has to be based on some metric that gives people public confidence to do that. I just believe it is irresponsible to not want to adhere to the advice of the chief medical officer in order to build out that scenario.

What we’ve asked the boards is for three circumstances, three plans, to respond to potential scenarios that may arise over the next 30 or 60 days in the context of Ontario’s incredible response to COVID-19.

Our commitment is to ensure funding and training remain in place. We’ll work closely with our school boards to ensure we get this right, because when it comes to our kids, we’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, parents need a plan to hire teachers and education workers, make desperately needed repairs, and install touch-free sinks and soap dispensers so kids will be safe from infection. Instead, they have a Premier who talks about opening schools five days a week while quietly ordering school boards to do the exact opposite.

The Ford government needs to put their money where their—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m sorry to interrupt the Leader of the Opposition. The Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries cannot yell back to her colleague two rows back during question period.

Hon. Lisa MacLeod: I’m sorry, he couldn’t hear me, so I apologize.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): We’re going to add some time to the clock.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Okay, the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries will come to order.

Again, I’ll recognize the Leader of the Opposition, and I’ll give you some additional time. Sorry I didn’t stop the clock.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Thank you kindly, Speaker.

Instead, what they have is a Premier who talks about opening schools five days a week while quietly ordering them to do the opposite. The Ford government needs to put their money where the Premier’s mouth is, Speaker. The Toronto District School Board came forward today with a plan to hire additional teachers, to ensure that kids can safely return to school five days a week. Will the Premier support that?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Our commitment is to keep kids safe. That is why we’ve asked school boards in the province to be prepared for three circumstances, so that we can respond to the reality on the ground in 30, 60 or 90 days as it arises in the province. We have an obligation, and the Premier has been very clear when it comes to my mandate, to build out plans to keep kids safe, to ensure that the continuity of learning is not impeded as a result of a challenge that could arise.

In jurisdictions that have reopened schools, Speaker, we have seen difficulty, and the commitment we are making to the Leader of the Opposition, to all parliamentarians, is to work with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, with our school boards, with our federation partners to ensure that everyone is safe, with the resources and training in place. As we have said, we will do whatever it takes to keep our youngest learners safe in the province of Ontario.

COVID-19 response

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is to the Premier. Yesterday, Ontario hospitals called on the government to produce a contingency plan to ensure that this health care system is equipped for a potential second surge of COVID-19 outbreaks.

In response, the Premier insisted that the province was “completely prepared.” The government used that exact same word months ago, when they insisted that cuts to public health wouldn’t impact COVID response, and when they insisted that there was an “iron ring” around long-term-care homes and that they were completely prepared to contain the spread of COVID, which instead claimed thousands of lives in our province. Will the government make details of their plans public today?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Hon. Christine Elliott: Through you, Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the leader of the official opposition that there is a detailed contingency plan in place for a second wave, and we also know that we have flu season approaching, as well.

We’re dealing with many issues. One is the fact that there are many people who are now alternate-level-of-care, who are back in hospital because some of the long-term-care homes that had four-bed rooms now are reducing those to two people per room, for isolation and protection against COVID-19. So we’re dealing with that, and we’re watching the capacity in the hospitals as we’re also trying to deal with catching up on the delayed procedures and surgeries that had to be delayed in order to create the capacity in the hospitals in the first place, in case we were faced with major outbreaks of COVID-19.

Fortunately, that did not happen in the first wave. We weren’t having to deal with situations such as what happened in Italy and Spain, and even in New York. But we are prepared for a second wave. I’m very pleased to discuss that in the supplemental.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Well, Speaker, the assurances that this government gave last time did not save lives and did not stop the spread of COVID-19, particularly in long-term care. Hospitals have particularly flagged human-resource challenges in the next wave, and we’re hearing directly from front-line health care heroes that they’re exhausted, that they’re run off their feet and they’re seriously concerned about the Premier’s plan to indefinitely suspend their rights on the job with Bill 195.

Months ago, the government wrongly insisted that they had a plan for the human resource challenges of COVID-19, and instead they left PSWs working at multiple sites for months, leading to the spread of COVID-19 and in several cases—in many cases—their deaths. Will the government make their plans for dealing with the human resource challenges of the second wave public today?

Hon. Christine Elliott: We are certainly concerned with the health human resources, particularly since there have been a number of people who have not been able to come back to work or did not come back to work in long-term-care homes, with making sure that they have adequate resources. But we also have made sure that they have had the resources in the shorter term by allowing people from hospitals to go in and help in long-term-care homes. In fact, right now we are currently running 11 long-term-care homes through hospital personnel. We’re also in another 11 long-term-care homes providing assistance.

We know that staff, when they come back to hospital, are going to need some respite, because they’ve been taken from their original circumstances. They’re working under difficult circumstances in long-term care. We know they need a respite. We know they can’t keep going five or six months without a break, because they’re dealing with people dying, they’re dealing with very ill people, they’re dealing with stressful circumstances. That is something we are certainly taking into consideration as we are ramping up for a busier flu season, a potential second wave and catching up on those surgeries and procedures.

But the front-line workers, who are the heroes in all of this, are very much on our minds, and we want to make sure that they are not completely depleted both physically and mentally. We want to make sure that they can stay on the job and stay strong.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Back to the Premier, Speaker: The government’s claim that Ontario is prepared for every contingency of the second wave would sound more believable if it wasn’t exactly what the government had been insisting at the start of the first wave. But whether it’s residents in long-term-care homes left without staff to care for them or parents left without a plan for child care or schools, the Premier’s boastful claims have failed to match reality far too many times.

When will the government be releasing details so that the public knows what’s going to happen—details of their plan to handle the second wave across our entire health care system?

Hon. Christine Elliott: I thank you for the question, but we have been releasing information publicly. Virtually every single day, the Premier has been releasing this information. I’ve been releasing information from the Ministry of Health.

Our plan is working, and I just want to just give you a few statistics, for anyone who has any doubt about that: Ontario, with 14,711,000 people, has had 36,950 cases—the number of cases per 100,000 is 251—versus, let’s say, Quebec, with a population of 8.5 million, 56,730 cases, 664 cases per 100,000.

Take another—I’ll take a state. Let’s look at Florida: 21 million people, 291,000 cases of COVID-19, 1,347 cases per 100,000.

The statistics speak for themselves. Our plan is working for the first wave, and should we encounter second wave, we will be prepared for that as well.

Municipal finances

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is for the Premier. But I have to remind the minister that we’ve seen over 1,830 seniors die in long-term care, and the OHA is sounding the alarm bells about our preparedness, so I would take that into consideration if I were her.

Yesterday, the mayor of Toronto repeated warnings that the city is going to face massive tax increases or devastating cuts to services if the provincial and federal governments don’t come through with emergency operational funding. He said Toronto “doesn’t have the luxury of time,” and the longer the city waits for funding, the deeper the cuts will be.

The Premier claimed to agree with the mayor yesterday but then passed the buck to Ottawa and said it was up to the federal government to come up with a solution.

Does the Premier of Ontario, of this province, have a plan for municipalities in Ontario beyond passing the buck to Ottawa?

Hon. Doug Ford: I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for the comments. We’ve been on the phone every single day, getting a great plan not only for Ontario but every single province and territory across this great country. We’re very, very close, but I’m just not going to walk away and leave billions of dollars on the table.

I’ve been in constant communication every single day with Mayor Tory, along with other mayors. I agree with what Mayor Tory said the other day, Mr. Speaker: We need a national strategic plan when it comes to supporting our municipalities. And that’s what we’re fighting for: We’re fighting for the 444 municipalities every single day, and yes, we do need support from the federal government.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Well, Speaker, yesterday, I met with the mayor of Mississauga, and later today the finance committee will be hearing from representatives from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario about the impacts of COVID-19. The message has been consistent, Speaker, and the message has been clear: Municipalities cannot bear these costs alone. They need operational funding from the provincial and federal governments or else municipal services will be put at long-term risk.

And I just want to repeat: It’s not just the federal government’s responsibility; it is the provincial government’s responsibility as well to open the coffers and help municipalities out.

So my question is, regardless of what the federal government chooses to do, will the Premier, right now, promise Ontarians that municipalities will not be forced to bear the cost and risk of COVID-19 and that this Premier will step up to the plate and help our municipalities, as he should?

Hon. Doug Ford: Through you, Mr. Speaker: I don’t know if the Leader of the Opposition isn’t paying attention, but we’ve already funded over $400 million to the municipalities, and there’s actually more coming.

Again, I would rather have no deal than a bad deal. Right now, we’re very close. We’re in full communication with the federal government. I personally think they’re doing a really good job. They’re doing their best to help all the provinces out. We’re having great conversations, and hopefully, very soon we’ll have a deal. But again, we’re going to have a deal that represents all 444 municipalities—not just one or two municipalities but all 444 of them.

Economic reopening and recovery

Mr. Mike Harris: My question is to the Premier, but before I get started, I just wanted to thank him for coming to Waterloo region yesterday and spending some time down there and getting to meet with some of our local businesses.

Premier, our priority as a government has always been clear: We will do everything to ensure the health and safety of people of this province while doing all we can to restart our economy as quickly as it is safe to do so. From our initial response to COVID-19 declaring a state of emergency to our Ontario action plan for supporting businesses and the health sector to our staged framework for reopening, our province continues to make great strides.

We’re in this position because all Ontarians made the choice to act responsibly and treat each other with respect, whether it’s wearing a mask when we can’t physically distance, working from home when possible, or adjusting our business to adhere to public health advice. Can the Premier please share with this Legislature about the next phase of reopening for various regions of our province?

Hon. Doug Ford: I want to thank the member from Kitchener–Conestoga, along with the other members from Waterloo region. We had an incredible visit there yesterday and went into Challenger. These are the folks who are responsible for bringing goods from point A to point B. We went to an incredible company called Eclipse. They’re making a million N95 masks every single week. This is a company that focuses on automation. Then we went to Shaver. Shaver switched over their manufacturing to make face shields. I’m just so proud of all those companies out there. I went out there to thank them and get the province moving forward.

In June, Ontario created over 378,000 jobs, including 66,000 new jobs in the manufacturing sector. That’s what I was seeing yesterday when I was travelling the province out to Waterloo region. We’re bringing manufacturing back to Ontario, once and for all.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?

Mr. Mike Harris: Back to the Premier: That is very exciting news for my constituents and the people of Waterloo region. With many parts of the province moving into stage 3, this will include expanding the limits on public gatherings. With new limits allowing up to 100 people to gather outdoors and up to 50 people indoors, it is through our collective efforts that Ontario is in a strong position amidst the global pandemic that is continuing to take a human toll in our province and, unfortunately, to a much greater degree in some other places beyond our borders.

As the Premier has said on numerous occasions, no business should reopen until they feel it is safe to do so. Can the Premier inform the Legislature about what operations will be allowed to resume as part of stage 3 and what health and safety measures should be put in place?

Hon. Doug Ford: I want to thank the member from Kitchener–Conestoga. Stage 3 reopening will give our province another economic boost. Nearly all businesses and public spaces will be allowed to open their doors safely. That is why we are glad to announce that the following businesses and places will be allowed to open in stage 3: dine-in restaurants and certain bar operations; gyms and fitness centres; most personal care services; live shows, performing arts and movie theatres; recreational facilities and activities; and tour guide services.

Mr. Speaker, I had a phone call yesterday—and I don’t know how they got my cell number, but a gentleman called me who has 2,000 employees.

Interjection: You give it out.

Hon. Doug Ford: I know. I’m one of the few who actually talks to the real people out there, and that’s why I’m travelling around.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

Hon. Doug Ford: Mr. Speaker, do you know something? I got a call from a gym owner—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

Hon. Doug Ford: —who has 17—

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Only him. Come on.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Timmins will come to order.

Premier, conclude your answer, please.

Hon. Doug Ford: This is going to give an opportunity to a gentleman who messaged me yesterday. He has 17 gyms around the province. He has 2,000 employees and a payroll of $46.6 million, and he was telling me the story: that his 2,000 employees can’t get back to work. Now, because of what we’ve done, they can get back to work, making sure they can put food on the table and pay their mortgages. That’s what we’re doing right across the province.

Education funding

Ms. Marit Stiles: This question is for the Premier. All of us, I’m sure, in this room have been inundated with emails from desperate parents all over Ontario worried that the government isn’t doing their job to prepare for the safe reopening of schools.

Jennifer, a parent of three in the Ottawa region, said she is “concerned about the effects that part-time school combined with online learning will have on our children’s mental health.”

Jill, a mom of two, wants to know what parents are supposed to do on the days their children are not in school. Send them to a pub?

Stuart from my riding wrote, “With this hybrid model, working parents (but working mothers and many front-line and essential workers in particular) are being asked to do the impossible: choose between their children and their livelihood.”

Many of these letters are copied to the Premier. Why isn’t he listening?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Education to reply.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I appreciate that many moms and dads in the province of Ontario have faced great challenges, economic as well as the mental health and safety of their own children and, of course, themselves. It is the obligation of the government, working closely with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, to build out a protocol that keeps every child and staff member safe in Ontario. The government’s preference, I will reaffirm, is to get kids into class on a daily conventional model, day to day, with heightened safety protocols.

But our commitment first and foremost, before today committing to that absent that data, is to make sure that we are prepared for every circumstance that may arise in September because, in the absence of knowing with absolute clarity the risk associated in 30 and 60 and 90 days, we’re going to be prepared. That is the prudent way forward. It’s why most provinces in this federation are proceeding on that basis. The commitment remains to keep kids safe. That’s exactly what we’re going to do.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Ontarians did the right thing. They stayed home and their actions have bought us precious time. But the Premier and this government are wasting that time now. They are leaving parents in the dark about their children’s education while they’re watching daily announcements about the opening of golf clubs and bars and casinos. We have just six weeks to go—six weeks to go. The clock is ticking and there is a way forward.

I’d ask the members opposite, please: I have tabled a motion that calls on the government to hire—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. No. The member for Mississauga East–Cooksville will come to order. The member for Northumberland–Peterborough South will come to order. There are a number of members over here that were yelling as well. I could call you out by name too. Next time I will.

There’s a state of emergency in the province of Ontario. That’s why we’re here in July.

Restart the clock. Member for Davenport.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Thank you, Speaker. I was going to say, and I hope they’re listening now, that I have tabled a motion that calls on the government to hire more teachers for smaller classes, more custodians to do the cleaning and maintenance that are essential for infection control, and investments in upgrades to make buildings safer.

Will the Premier finally get the message from parents across this province, pass our motion today and do what’s needed to ensure a safe return to school for all our students this September?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: The Progressive Conservatives believe it is not an either-or proposition. We can have a growing economy while concurrently having quality education in the province of Ontario. I respectfully reject the premise by the member opposite.

Speaker, our plan is, yes, to grow the economy, create jobs, put people back to work, instill a sense of confidence in the market, but it is concurrently about ensuring that students remain learning under any scenario that may manifest.

The Leader of the Opposition just asked a question earlier about the inevitability of a second wave. We must be prepared. Of course, no one on this side of the House wants an online option in lieu of in-class conventional learning. But Speaker, is that not a lesson learned for all of us as legislators, that we have an obligation to ensure that kids remain learning irrespective of the challenge that arises? We’re going to work very closely with the chief medical officer and put the resources and the training in place to keep every child safe in Ontario.

Education funding

Mr. John Fraser: While the Premier is playing his version of Where’s Waldo? this summer, parents and kids across Ontario are going to be searching—not for the Premier; they’re searching for a plan for full-time school resuming in the fall. And do you know what? They’re not going to find one. There’s no plan for more educators, no plan for more spaces to learn, no plan for more supports for vulnerable students. It’s not there.

Not only do families need a plan, but our economy needs a plan so that people can fully participate in the workforce. Speaker, when is the Premier going to put forward a plan so we can have our kids return to school full-time this fall in classes that are smaller and safer?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Minister of Education.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: The only thing the member opposite is searching for is a purpose in this Legislature after a decade of inaction, higher taxes and school closures.

The people of this province gave us a mandate to ensure that we prudently prepare for all circumstances, that we have a plan to improve quality of education, to ensure that every single student gets an experience that is defensible in every region of the province. Irrespective of if you live in an urban or rural setting—north, south, east or west—our plan is to put more funding in place, more training in place and a clear commitment, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, to keep kids and staff safe. We will do that over the coming weeks, building out these plans, working with our boards to get this right and keep everyone safe in this province.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): And the supplementary question.

Mr. John Fraser: It was a real debate between Where’s Waldo? and Dora the Explorer.

In my hometown of Ottawa, the Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Vera Etches, has said, “I’m recommending that we prioritize and plan to have students in class five days a week, and that we work from there to make sure we make that as safe as possible.” Ottawa school boards agree with Dr. Etches.

Here’s the kicker, here’s the thing, Speaker: They’re not going to be able to do that unless the Premier gives them the resources and the investments that they need to keep class sizes smaller and safer. So far, the Premier has not stepped up with a plan to do that. So, Speaker, through you: Is the Premier prepared to do what’s right for our kids, for our families and for our economy, and invest in a plan to get children back in school full-time this fall?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I just want to affirm to the member opposite that the government is working closely with the Chief Medical Officer of Health to ensure kids remain safe. We have announced to date, through the Grants for Student Needs—the large vehicle of funding to school boards—a net investment in every school board. In every region, in every town in this province, funding is up in this respect.

We recognize, Speaker, that there’s more to do. That’s why we’re working closely with school boards, with federation partners and, of course, with the Chief Medical Officer of Health to ensure that we have the resources in place, the staffing in place, to keep these kids safe. But when it comes to our priority, it’s to build out three scenarios to respond to three very real circumstances that may arise. That’s prudent. It’s about keeping kids safe, but also ensuring that kids continue to learn, irrespective of the challenges on the horizon.

Highway construction

Ms. Christine Hogarth: Today my question is for the Associate Minister of Transportation. Before I ask my question, I just want to thank the minister for her advocacy to get Toronto moving, for transit for the people of Etobicoke. I want to say thank you for your hard work on that.

Highways also play a very crucial role in moving goods, and this has clearly been evident throughout this pandemic. We rely on our highways to get food, medicine and other critical supplies to people all around our province. However, COVID-19 has had an effect on every part of our economy, including the construction industry. Speaker, can the minister tell us what this government has been doing to ensure that the current highway projects that were under construction prior to the pandemic are being built as quickly as possible?

Hon. Kinga Surma: I want to thank the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore for working so diligently and so hard during COVID-19. She is certainly a wonderful neighbour to have. I wholeheartedly agree with the member on the importance that our provincial highway network has played in getting crucial goods into the hands of Ontarians during the pandemic. With COVID-19 impacting traffic levels, we took an opportunity to see where we could accelerate work on 51 different highway and bridge projects, including parts of Highways 401 and 400, to make sure we can avoid delays as much as possible.

Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has reminded all of us in the House how important our highway network is in the province of Ontario and how we have to continue to invest in it.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question.

Ms. Christine Hogarth: Mr. Speaker, to the minister: Thank you very much for that response. I’m very glad to see that our government is taking steps to make sure that the ripple effects of COVID-19 do not leave needless delays on these critical infrastructure projects. I agree that it is so important that we keep these crucial projects on track.

Speaker, last week the government announced a plan to build highways faster by removing red tape and regulations, while investing $2.6 billion to expand and repair Ontario’s highways and bridges. Can the minister please tell the House more about this multi-billion-dollar plan to expand Ontario’s highway network while doing it more efficiently?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Associate Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Kinga Surma: Well, it’s certainly good to be expediting work on projects that are already under way, but we need to get shovels in the ground faster for new projects. That’s why Bill 197, if passed, would also streamline highway projects so that we can get to work faster on important projects, such as widening Highway 3, Highway 17 and Highway 69. The existing process can add months of red tape and construction delays—up to 12 months for highway projects.

We believe that landowners have a right to be heard; that will never change. And that is why we are developing a responsible and timely alternative process. We’re making transportation a priority and working to get critical infrastructure built in the province of Ontario.

Government contracts

Mr. Taras Natyshak: My question is to the Premier. For the past two days, this government has refused to answer our questions or those of the media about contracting out COVID-19 testing to a private, start-up health care company that has no footprint or experience providing these services in Ontario, up until about a month ago.

The government already had the power to move public health staff, including nurses and aides, to where they were needed most. That was the whole point of their emergency orders. Now the government is saying that this contract was granted in a competitive process. Will the government make the contract and tendering process public today so that people can see for themselves?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Hon. Christine Elliott: We have dealt with this question twice already, but I want to be perfectly clear: Ontario Health, an independent organization, was responsible for acquiring the contract with Switch Health.

With the increased need for on-site testing on farms in Windsor-Essex, it was clear that swift action needed to be taken, and it was. Ontario Health sought requests for proposals for mobile testing from 15 different vendors. Through this competitive process, and in following usual procurement processes and timelines, Ontario Health evaluated and assessed these proposals using standard criteria. Switch Health proved to have the means to get the job done diligently and effectively, which is why they were granted the contract.

Again, I want to be very clear that this contract was awarded through normal channels and was led by Ontario Health.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question.

Mr. Taras Natyshak: Then make the contract public. Let us see.

The minister would know that the chief coroner’s office had offered early on to mobilize mobile testing units down to our region. That was never taken up, nor was it commanded by