Updates

QUEEN’S PARK – MPPs Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines), Tom Rakocevic (Humber River–Black Creek), Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk–James Bay) and Peter Tabuns (Toronto–Danforth) are bringing solutions that would bring down people’s utility bills with Bill 213, Affordable Home Heating Act.
 
“Ontarians have seen their Enbridge bills double in recent years,” said Stevens. “By passing Bill 213, today, this government can prevent thousands of families and seniors from being forced to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table this winter."
 
This legislation puts into place recommendations from the Low-Income Energy Network, which addressed the critical need for inclusive on-bill support programs in their 2023 report, a Pathway Out of Energy Poverty.
 
"No matter how you choose to heat your home, you should qualify for financial help if needed to stay warm,” added Rakocevic. “Ontario winters can get very cold and it's unacceptable that many seniors are switching off their furnaces because they can't afford their heating bill. They deserve better. This assistance serves as a safety net to prevent energy poverty."
 
Additional Quotes:
 
“The proposed bill offers much-needed relief for seniors on fixed incomes who are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of living in Ontario”
                   
          – Advocacy Centre for the Elderly

“Expanding bill assistance to natural gas and those who heat with expensive oil or propane will help create a universal social safety net against energy poverty. In addition, this policy will help identify the homes who could benefit the most from energy efficiency upgrades - providing a durable energy affordability solution.”

          – Brendan Haley, Senior Director of Policy, Efficiency Canada

“Dramatic rate increases, coupled with inflation, are having an adverse impact on vulnerable consumers – including seniors, the working poor, people on social assistance, rural communities and Northern Ontarians. In order to address high natural gas prices, we are recommending that an on-bill credit program, similar to the OESP program available for electricity users, be created for natural gas users. A proactive program that provides ongoing affordability would reduce the need and reliance on emergency assistance funds.”

          – Low-Income Energy Network

QUEEN’S PARK – Official Opposition NDP MPP, Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines), introduced legislation today that would help families and seniors keep the cost of home heating low in an affordability crisis. 

“Across Ontario, seniors and young families are grappling with rising home heating costs”, said Stevens. “No one should be forced to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table, especially seniors already on a fixed income.” 

The Affordable Home Heating Act would establish a Heating Support Program that would offer on-bill relief for eligible households who heat with natural gas, similar to the Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP). It would also enable an assistance program for low-income consumers of non-regulated fuels. 

“Young families and seniors in my riding saw their Enbridge bills double last year,” said Stevens. “That volatility wreaks havoc on household budgets and pushes those on fixed incomes to the brink. We have a cost-of-living crisis on our hands, and people are already struggling. We need to do everything we can to support them.”  

This legislation puts into place recommendations from the Low-Income Energy Network, which addressed the critical need for inclusive on-bill support programs in their 2023 report, a Pathway Out of Energy Poverty. 

“I’m calling on the Ford government to immediately pass this solution to ease the burden on seniors and families across Ontario,” said Stevens. “It’s the right thing to do.” 

The Affordable Home Heating Act is co-sponsored by NDP MPPs Tom Rakocevic (Humber River – Black Creek), Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk – James Bay), and Official Opposition Energy critic, Peter Tabuns (Toronto – Danforth). 

QUEEN’S PARK – The Ontario NDP Official Opposition joined countless families and advocates at Queen’s Park today to declare Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) an epidemic.

“We need every tool available to put an end to intimate partner violence and gender-based violence – and this is one right at our fingertips,” said Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre). “Nearly 100 cities in this province, including Toronto have declared Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic and today we can ensure Ontario does too.”

On April 10, the Ontario NDP will debate Bill 173, which would declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in Ontario. This was the number one recommendation of the 86 from the Renfrew Inquest – a recommendation directed at the Province of Ontario that’s been repeatedly rebuked by Ford and the Conservatives.

“This is an epidemic and we need to act on this issue with the urgency it deserves,” said Jill Andrew, NDP critic for Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity. “Without meaningful action, we’re putting women and gender-diverse people across our province at risk.”

Recent instances of Intimate Partner Violence have been all too common across the province, from Sault Ste. Marie to Huron County to Windsor. Many impacted families join the MPPs today.

“I am deeply grateful to the advocates and family members who have joined us with their relentless advocacy”, said Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West). “Intimate partner violence has impacted so many people and touched so many communities, including my hometown of Windsor. Stories like Sahra Bulle are heartbreaking – but all too common. We’re here to say that enough is enough.”

“We’re calling on Ford to do the right thing today,” said MPP Peggy Sattler (London West). “There’s too much at stake and no time to waste.”

Quotes

Fartumo Kusow, Mother of Sahra Bulle

“Intimate Partner Violence is pervasive, predictable and preventable and that is the definition of epidemic. My daughter Sahra was murdered by her partner last year, and it has been an ongoing nightmare. We need the provincial government to step-up and do the right thing: declare Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic in Ontario.”

Erin Lee, Executive Director, Lanark County Interval House and Community Support

“Nearly 100 Ontario municipalities have declared IPV an epidemic, and I strongly urge all members to vote in support of Bill 173. It is critical for victims, families, survivors, and those living isolated to hear a message, loud and clear that they are believed, that they are heard and that they are being responded to by the government of Ontario.”

Kirsten Mercer, Lawyer, Goldblatt Partners LLP (Counsel at the CKW Inquest)

“Using the language of an epidemic frames gender-based violence as the public health emergency that it is- a social challenge not an individual problem. We are telling all those who live with gender-based violence that what is happening to them is not their fault. This violence is our collective concern.”

Sami Pritchard, Interim Director of Advocacy & Communications, YWCA Toronto

“While we know that this declaration will be merely a first step to addressing and eradicating this epidemic, we also know that we cannot change what we refuse to name. By naming this crisis for what it is - an epidemic - we are sending a clear message to the survivors and children fleeing violence, the frontline workers, advocates and organizations supporting survivors, and the loved ones of those lost to femicide – we see you, we believe you, we respect you, and your life matters.”

QUEEN’S PARK – Official Opposition NDP MPP Peter Tabuns (Toronto – Danforth) and Housing critic Jessica Bell (University – Rosedale) are demanding Ford’s Conservatives force corporate landlords to follow the law on expired Above Guideline Increase (AGI) orders to ensure tenants get the rent reductions they are owed.

“The Ford government is missing in action when it comes to enforcing expired AGI orders, so tenants are getting stuck paying higher illegal rents,” said Tabuns. “We’re calling on the Premier to make it clear to corporate landlords that they have to follow the law, follow the orders from the LTB and ensure that tenants get the rent reductions they are legally owed.”

Tabuns and Bell have been working with tenants in their communities living in buildings where AGI orders are set to expire to make sure they are not being charged illegal rents by property management companies. So far, they have succeeded in getting rent reductions for tenants in two buildings.

“Landlords are not telling tenants that they are owed a reduction,” said Bell. “It shouldn’t be up to tenants to force landlords to obey the law. Doug Ford needs to stop corporate landlords from illegally making tenants pay surcharges on their rent and start putting that money back in people’s pockets.”

BACKGROUND:

• In 2007 the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) was changed to put time limits on rent increases arising from an Above Guideline Increase order. Tenants paying for millions of dollars in building repairs and improvements are not supposed to be paying the surcharge forever. The LTB ordered these rents to come down when the original order expires in 10, 12, 15 or 19 years.

• Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have failed to protect tenants covered by these AGI orders, despite calls by tenants' associations to require landlords -- by law -- to notify eligible tenants they are due for a rent reduction. They have also called for a way for tenants to apply to the LTB to force the reductions they’re entitled to under the law.

QUEEN’S PARK – Official Opposition NDP critic for Energy and Climate Action, Peter Tabuns (Toronto Danforth) is introducing legislation to help Ontarians save money on rising energy bills.

Tabuns’ Bill, Affordable Energy Act, 2023, is co-sponsored by MPPs Jessica Bell (University – Rosedale), Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West – Nepean), and Doly Begum (Scarborough Southwest).

“We are in a cost-of-living and climate crisis. Report after report shows that a focus on conservation and community-based distribution for renewable energy can substantially cut costs of providing energy,” said Tabuns. “It’s time for the Ford government to get serious about Ontario’s energy future and focus on making sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy more accessible for Ontarians.”

This Bill gives residents, including tenants, the tools to cut their energy usage and costs. It calls for the province to set up agencies to finance retrofitting homes and setting up distributed energy systems that will help people afford reliable and sustainable energy.

"These measures will help people access more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy.”

ADDITIONAL QUOTES

“Ottawa residents need options to generate power closer to home and make their homes as energy efficient as possible. Practical solutions like these will ensure Ottawa residents aren’t left without options following extreme weather events in the future.” - MPP Chandra Pasma, Ottawa West - Nepean

“People are hard pressed now to cover all their bills. We must take the most cost-effective energy options and put them at the heart of our power system. This bill sets out how to do that." - MPP Doly Begum, Scarborough Southwest

“We have the technology to build a reliable and sustainable energy future in Ontario that does not leave Ontarians footing a pricey bill. If the Ford government wants a solution that works – here is one that keeps energy costs low and reduces carbon pollution.” - MPP Jessica Bell, University Rosedale

QUICK FACTS

• Ontario is looking at spending $400 billion on our electricity system over the next 25 years. Government scenarios project an increase in electricity prices by up to 30% in that time.
• In 2022, Ontario’s electricity system operator put out a study showing that providing electrical generation at or near a home, distributed energy, could substantially cut the costs of electricity in Ontario.
• The measures in the bill are new to Ontario but not elsewhere. Just last week Nova Scotia announced a Community Solar Program. Deep retrofits and community energy generation are increasingly part of the energy solutions in Europe and the US.
• This Bill creates the framework to set up large scale programs to finance and organize deep home energy retrofits, including installation of heat pumps and facilitate the implementation of distributed energy generation from homes to neighbourhoods using community energy facilities.

LONDON – Peggy Sattler (London West), Official Opposition critic for Colleges and Universities, released the following statement in response to reports of provincial funding for postsecondary institutions:

“Does Ford understand that we are in a crisis?

“Ford has been fully aware of how decades of chronic underfunding by Liberal and Conservative governments, and five years of Ford cuts, have pushed our postsecondary institutions to the brink. Now Ford’s rumoured investment is half what his own panel of experts have recommended”

“Instead of taking serious action, Ford has encouraged unrestrained international student recruitment, enabled bad actors, rewarded PC party donors, and left everyone else out in the cold.

“We should never have gotten to this level of crisis in our colleges and university sector. We need serious solutions to get us out.”

Background

• The Blue Ribbon Panel recommended an urgent $2.5 billion investment over three years as the minimum needed just to keep colleges and universities running. And that was before the international student cap was announced.
• Ford’s investment is rumored to be $1.2 billion – not nearly enough