Ontario Legislature HANSARD November 15, 2005 http://www.ontla.on.ca/hansard/house_debates/38_parl/Session2/L017.htm#P399_66798 Statements: TENANT PROTECTION Mr. Michael Prue (Beaches-East York): In the weeks and months leading up to the last election, you couldn't hear Liberals talk too much about the need for a new Tenant Protection Act. They promised, within 365 days of their election, that there would be a new act. Well, I have to tell you, you are now 409 days late on your commitment and your promise. In that period of time, 35,000 tenants have been evicted from their homes because of your inaction. In that time, above-guideline increases have affected tens of thousands of people in Ontario because of your inaction. In that time, vacancy decontrol has continued unabated because of your inaction, and in that time, tens of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people have seen the total lack of maintenance in the apartments, in the places they call home. Landlords are no longer afraid not to do maintenance. There are cockroaches and mice. There are living conditions no one here would want to live in. The parliamentary assistant said not to expect anything in this particular session of Parliament. The minister refuses to answer the question about when he will introduce this legislation. I think members opposite should be ashamed they are not carrying out the very promise that helped them get elected by the tenants of Ontario. The time for that act is now. Questions: TENANT PROTECTION Mr. Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): I have a question for the Acting Premier. Who promised, "In our first year in government, we will repeal the misnamed Tenant Protection Act and replace it 2 with an effective tenant protection law"? Was it (a) the Conservatives, (b) the Rhinoceros Party, or (c) the McGuinty Liberals? Hon. Gerard Kennedy (Minister of Education): The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Hon. John Gerretsen (Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing): Let me just say that this government has done more for the vulnerable people, when it comes to their housing situation, than has been done over the last 15 years. And let's just recount some of the things we've done. We've invested $301 million to match the federal government's $301 million for an affordable housing program that will create over 5,300 new units of affordable housing. We will also be providing housing allowances for over 5,000 lower-income households, and right now we're in the process of hearing that from our service managers throughout the province. We've established a rent bank to help people in emergency situations. We've established a Toronto pilot project in which some 400 units were made available at extremely low rents. We have the lowest rent guidelines -- in 2005 at 1.5% and this year at 2.1% -- that we've seen in this province. We've done a lot and we will be doing a lot in the future as well. Mr. Hampton: The correct answer to the question is the McGuinty Liberals. This was the Liberal platform and this is what it said: Before the election, Dalton McGuinty called the Tenant Protection Act a "tenant rejection act." He said that it "destroyed rent controls." He promised to repeal it within 365 days of taking office and vowed to replace it with real rent controls. Acting Premier, today is day 774. Where's the tenant protection and where are the real rent controls that Dalton McGuinty promised? Hon. Mr. Gerretsen: I'm sure the member will agree that this is a very complex and complicated issue. There have been a lot of different acts dealing with tenant protection over the last number of years that have been changed repeatedly. We felt that the right way to go about it was to have a consultation process that was led by my parliamentary assistant, Brad Duguid, in a very, very competent fashion. We will be dealing with this issue, and I can tell you that we are also very proud of the $24 million that has been made available for the strong start program, to make sure we can get affordable housing up and off the ground as soon as possible. 3 Mr. Hampton: I want to remind people that this is the minister who talked about real and meaningless consultation. Jennifer Ramsay, who is with the Advocacy Centre for Tenants, says, "I hate to think of myself as naive, but I really believed the Liberals were going to act on this issue." Unfortunately, tenant protection is just another example of how the McGuinty government can't be trusted. The Premier promised "real rent control within 365 days." But here we are on day 774, with no results for tenants: Single parents, seniors, students and new Canadians are still waiting for Dalton McGuinty to keep his promise. I ask again, when is Dalton McGuinty going to keep his promise of real rent controls, real tenant protection for hard-pressed tenants in Ontario? Hon. Mr. Gerretsen: As the member well knows, when I made that very unfortunate statement -- it was on the first day that the House sat, about two years ago -- I was referring to an old Tory talking point. He well knows that. Let me just say that we are going to bring in real tenant protection, but the best protection we can give to the vulnerable in our community is to make sure that affordable housing is available, to make sure that housing allowances are available and to make sure that the rent guidelines are at the historically low levels they have been for the last two years. We are proud of the work we've done, and we're going to bring in the kind of legislation that I think we will all be proud of in the near future. The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): New question. Mr. Hampton: To the Acting Premier again: I think tenants would probably be getting more from the Rhinoceros Party on this issue than they've obviously gotten from this government. Tenant advocates came to Queen's Park today. They say the McGuinty government's broken rent control promise has meant more unfair rent increases, especially for lower- and modest-income tenants. That's because they can see that decontrol remains the law of the land; it gives landlords a free hand to raise rents when a rental unit is vacated. Dalton McGuinty promised real rent control and real tenant protection in 365 days. On day 774, will the McGuinty government finally keep its promise and introduce real rent controls that guarantee affordable rental housing for tenants? Will you do it now? 4 Hon. Mr. Kennedy: To the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Hon. Mr. Gerretsen: Let me just say this: This is very much like the first question, and I've already stated this government is very proud of the record it has with respect to what we've done in the housing area for the vulnerable and low-income people in this province. It's a very complex issue. We will be dealing with it in due course, and we will be bringing in the kind of tenant protection laws that all of us can be proud of. Mr. Hampton: The minister says that this has become a real complex issue. Well, Dalton McGuinty said, "We will provide real protection for tenants," and, "We will introduce real protection for tenants from excessive rent increases." He said all those things. Let me tell you another problem here: arbitrary evictions. The Tenant Protection Act has set up a sort of kangaroo court system that lets unscrupulous landlords drive tenants out of their homes on to the streets without a hearing. The former Ombudsman called it "a mechanical exercise devoid of human consideration." He said that tenants deserve better. You said tenants deserve better 774 days ago. When will the McGuinty government bring in real rent control and end the unfair, arbitrary evictions that are driving tenants out of their homes and on to the streets? Hon. Mr. Gerretsen: Just let me repeat again: We will be bringing in an act, and it will give real protection to tenants. But let me give some quotes of what people said about some of the earlier initiatives we had when we had the low rent guidelines. Michael Prue, what did he say? He said on April 20 in Hansard, "I stand up to actually applaud this government for reducing rents by 2% in the coming year. I believe that this is a good thing." We agree with Michael Prue. What did Gail Nyberg say, the former program coordinator of the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations? "We're very pleased. Tenants need help now and this is a big step. It's a positive sign that this government is listening to both sides." We listen, we consult with the people as we have, and we will bring in a piece of legislation that we can all be proud of and that will protect tenants in this province. 1500 5 Mr. Hampton: Minister, the reason tenant advocates came here today is because they've been talking to your government for 774 days, and as usual, they heard the promises of the McGuinty government, but there is no delivery, no keeping of the promises. They point out that tenants want to live in safe, secure, well-maintained apartments. Unfortunately, the Tenant Protection Act leaves many tenants living in squalor, in rundown buildings, while disinclined landlords refuse to maintain the properties, and when the landlord finally does do some maintenance work, they get a free hand to raise rents through the roof.