Do the math: Ontario housing minister Jim Watson's day-long commitment – along with members of his staff – to take up hammer and nails and help build 16 new homes as part of a charity build in Toronto underlines the urgent need for the provincial government to ramp up its housing efforts as it continues a province-wide consultation for a comprehensive new housing plan. If Minister Watson, and his staff, were to maintain the same level of production every day (including weekends and holidays), then it would take eleven and one-half years just to build enough homes to house the 66,675 households on Toronto's affordable housing waiting list. Charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity, sponsors of yesterday's build, do fantastic work and have created a strong local and global network. Habitat deserves the full support of Minister Watson. However, the sheer scale of the affordable housing needs in Toronto and across Ontario means that while charities will continue to play an important role in building homes and engaging communities in practical solutions, Ontario's provincial government – which invests less per capita in affordable housing than any other Canadian province – needs to ramp up its commitments.