QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario NDP Housing critic Jessica Bell responded to the Ford government’s passage of Bill 23 with the following statement:
“The Ford government’s scheme has one very clear winner, and that is Doug Ford’s wealthy developer friends.
Bill 23 will make Ford’s developer buddies even richer, while hurting Ontarians by making the housing crisis even worse. Many in Ontario are forced to leave their communities because the cost of housing won’t stop rising. Many tenants live in fear of their landlords jacking up their rent or threatening them with eviction.
Instead of adopting the NDP’s housing solutions to fix this, Doug Ford has concocted a scheme that will line the pockets of his developer buddies waiting to carve up the Greenbelt. Ford’s legislation jeopardizes environmentally sensitive land; it puts renters at greater risk of being evicted or having their rent jacked up; and it will see purpose-built affordable rental buildings torn down and replaced with luxury condos the average person cannot afford.
The NDP has a comprehensive plan to build homes people can afford, but the Ford government voted against it. New Democrats will keep fighting for positive proposals that will help Ontarians find affordable, decent places to live, including:
- Increasing rental housing supply while protecting tenants from predatory rent increases.
- Bringing back rent control on all units and ensuring tenants pay what the last tenant paid.
- Investing in non-market housing, enabling affordable and missing middle homes in existing neighbourhoods."