Ford’s Rental Overhaul Isn’t “Balance” it’s Blatant Bias Against Renters

The Ford government’s latest omnibus rental bill rushed through Queen’s Park with little regard for public input is yet another reminder that this administration governs with its ears closed and its priorities misplaced. Bill 60 passed its third reading on Monday amid loud, emotional protests from tenants, housing advocates, and everyday Ontarians who are exhausted from watching their housing security erode year after year.

And frankly, who can blame them?

This bill, framed by the government as a way to “bring balance” to the Landlord Tenant Board, does the opposite. It gives landlords more power, more leverage, and faster routes to eviction, at a time when many Ontarians are already hanging onto their homes by a thread. The legislation shortens timelines for evictions and loosens rules around landlord compensation when they want to force tenants out to move family in a loophole many renters already fear and many bad actors already exploit.

If this were truly about balance, why fast-track it? Why deny Ontarians the chance to speak at committee? Why shut down the very democratic process that protects the people most affected by housing laws?

The government’s answer is silence. Or perhaps the answer is in the voices of the protesters who filled the gallery: “People over profit.” “You’re putting people on the streets.” Their shouts cut short only by security echoed the sentiment of countless renters across the province.

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Rob Flack insists he “doesn’t dismiss anyone,” a strangely hollow reassurance from a government that has repeatedly bypassed public consultation on consequential housing legislation. A government that claims to listen while plugging its ears isn’t listening at all.

Opposition leaders, including NDP Leader Marit Stiles, didn’t mince words. They’ve seen this play out before: the Ford government pushes through legally dubious, one-sided legislation, courts strike it down, and the cycle repeats. Except this time, people won’t just be inconvenienced they could lose their homes.

And beyond the rental changes, the bill is stuffed with unrelated measures that curb municipal freedom, restrict cities from reducing traffic lanes, and reshape planning compliance in ways that developers will surely applaud. It’s hard not to see this as a pattern: hitch a bundle of developer-friendly reforms to a housing system already stacked against renters.

Bill 60 isn’t just bad policy it’s a message. A message that renters’ stability is secondary to efficiency. That public consultation is a nuisance. That “balance” is whatever the government says it is, even when the public knows better.

Ontario didn’t need another fast-tracked, lopsided housing bill. It needed leadership willing to protect tenants in a crisis not push them closer to the edge.

The government could still choose to fix this. As Stiles said, they could repeal it before real harm begins. But judging by the speed and force with which they rammed it through, this doesn’t look like a government eager to rethink anything.

The protesters were right to raise their voices. When lawmakers stop listening, the public has no choice but to shout.