Published plans and annual reports 2022–2023: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Ministry Overview

Ministry Vision

Working with local governments and partners across Ontario to build safe, strong and sustainable urban and rural communities with dynamic local economies, a high quality of life for residents, and homes that meet people’s diverse needs.

To protect our economy and build Ontario, the ministry is leading initiatives to support families, workers and employers:

• Releasing the report from the Housing Affordability Task Force. The report highlighted expert recommendations to increase supply and serves as Ontario’s long-term housing roadmap to address the housing crisis.
• Implementing the More Homes for Everyone Act, which delivers both near-term solutions and long-term commitments to build more homes faster to put home ownership within reach for all Ontario families. It includes concrete actions to address Ontario’s housing crisis, such as protecting homebuyers from unethical development practices and accelerating development timelines to get more homes built faster, with the ultimate goal of building 1.5 million homes over the next ten years.
• Supporting More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan (HSAP) by helping municipalities and partners implement the 2020 Provincial Policy Statement and new community benefits charge regime that supports the development of affordable housing and business investment.
• Helping municipalities become more efficient, and unlock housing supply by streamlining, digitizing, and modernizing local development approvals processes through the Municipal Modernization Program, the Audit and Accountability Fund, and the Streamline Development Approval Fund.
• Leading government-wide efforts to support Ontario’s municipalities, who are on the front lines of our COVID‑19 response. Ontario’s total investment through the Social Services Relief Fund as of early April is nearly $1.2 billion, in addition to the $4 billion provided through the Safe Restart Agreement.
• Implementing changes to Ontario’s Building Code that will help unlock housing supply and reduce barriers to using innovative construction materials and techniques to build more housing quickly.
• Developing the next edition of Ontario’s Building Code to enhance the alignment with the National Construction Codes and further reduce trade barriers, without compromising the province’s high standards.
• Modernizing the delivery of Building Code services, consulting the sector on potential improvements to support implementation and enforcement of Ontario’s Building Code, and planning to release a fully accessible, digital version of the Building Code Compendium.
• Implementing measures to strengthen accountability for council members and certain local boards under the local codes of conduct to ensure they maintain a safe and respectful workplace and carry out their duties ethically and responsibly.
• Leveraging Minister’s Zoning Orders to support the development of Transit Oriented Communities by helping to cut unnecessary red-tape and deliver more homes and transit sooner.
• Delivering the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians and Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance programs to help people and municipalities recover after a natural disaster.
• Delivering the ‘Build Back Better’ pilot project to incent eligible municipalities to improve infrastructure damaged in a natural disaster so it is more resilient to future extreme weather.
• Giving municipalities, conservation authorities and others access to federal funding for flood mapping and mitigation projects to help reduce Ontario’s flood risk by administering the National Disaster Mitigation Program in Ontario.
• Supporting development of a new low-cost national flood insurance program and national action plan on relocation to protect homeowners at high risk of flooding by engaging in federal/provincial/territorial discussions.
• Working across ministries on how to accelerate industrial and manufacturing development approvals and permitting to support economic recovery, attract investment and create jobs.

To protect our progress, the ministry is leading initiatives that help care for people, including our most vulnerable.

• Negotiating a one-year plan under National Housing Strategy Second Action Plan to ensure municipal service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators have certainty and stability in funding for their housing and homelessness services. The province continues to advocate for municipalities to receive their fair share of funding from the federal government, which is underfunding Ontario by approximately $490 million under the National Housing Strategy and Reaching Home program.
• Delivering a new, streamlined Homelessness Prevention Program that will help more people experiencing or at risk of homelessness find housing, services and supports. The new program consolidates three programs into one and increases funding by almost $25 million, for a total annual investment of $463 million each year.
• Ensuring all service managers have By-Name Lists to better connect people experiencing homelessness with the local services and supports they need. New provincial By-Name List requirements will support service managers in assessing the impact of initiatives and progress in reducing homelessness.
• Helping provide Indigenous people with culturally appropriate housing and wraparound support services. The government has invested an additional $6.7 million in the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program starting in 2022–23, for a total annual investment of $30 million. Together with a $10 million investment in Indigenous supportive housing, this more than doubles the amount of funding available for Indigenous housing and support.
• Providing nearly $1.2 billion through the Social Services Relief Fund to build affordable housing, add to rent banks, and protect shelter staff and residents to address increased demand during COVID‑19. This funding is supporting over 6,600 temporary shelter spaces, social distancing in shelters and congregate care settings, Personal Protective Equipment for service providers, people with rent arrears, and capital projects to provide more permanent solutions to homelessness, including approximately 1,200 new supportive housing units.
• Continuing to implement Ontario’s multi-year Community Housing Renewal Strategy to help stabilize, repair and grow the province’s community housing sector. New regulatory framework changes will protect much-needed community housing and ensure the system is sustainable in the long-term.

Mandate

The goals of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing are to provide leadership to help ensure communities are served by strong, efficient local governments and that all Ontarians have access to housing that meets their needs and budget. To achieve this, the ministry:

• develops, coordinates and implements Ontario government policies and programs that support municipalities
• leads the provincial-municipal relationship with municipal stakeholders including the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the City of Toronto as well as provincial-business relationships with key growth partners
• supports Ontario’s federal-provincial-municipal relationships.

The ministry also develops and administers policies and programs in support of municipal administration, governance and finance; infrastructure improvement; municipal and provincial land use planning; growth management; building regulation; and community and market housing. This includes residential and commercial tenancy regulation, homelessness reduction and prevention, and housing programs. The ministry also administers disaster financial assistance to eligible communities and individuals.

The policies and programs of the ministry support the response to and recovery from COVID‑19.

COVID‑19 Response

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) continues to help with COVID‑19 recovery efforts by working with all levels of government to support municipal financial sustainability and stimulate local economies. MMAH leads the relationship with local governments and knows they are the backbone of strong communities and will be pivotal in Ontario’s economic recovery. The ministry is working with municipalities to build on the progress made by keeping critical infrastructure projects on track, identifying and implementing measures to increase housing supply, and modernizing local service delivery.

MMAH is also helping municipal service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators keep vulnerable people and families safe through the Social Services Relief Fund. Several rounds of funding are laying the foundation for the future, supporting longer-term, more sustainable solutions to homelessness long after the pandemic ends.

Ministry Programs

The ministry is responsible for the following programs:

Municipal Finance and Governance

This program supports local governments so that local services and infrastructure are effective and have a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of the people of Ontario.

Through this program, the ministry provides a legislative, regulatory and programmatic framework to build municipal capacity. This program also enables municipal partners to create prosperous and financially sustainable communities, so they are able to invest in infrastructure and deliver services. The ministry, in collaboration with other provincial ministries, works directly with municipalities, municipal associations and other partners on initiatives that impact municipalities to ensure a strong relationship between the province and municipalities as well as to ensure the municipal perspective and impacts are understood and inform the province’s work.

The ministry will continue to support municipalities and stakeholders in response to COVID‑19. Actions previously taken can be found in the Part I Appendix (2020–21 Annual Report).

In 2022–23, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities in the Municipal Finance and Governance program:

• Continue actively engaging municipalities through the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), Toronto-Ontario Cooperation and Consultation Agreement, hosting discussions with Heads of Council across Ontario and participating in municipal association meetings. The ministry also co-leads a Provincial-Municipal Technical Working Group on COVID‑19 with AMO and the City of Toronto to facilitate discussions between partner ministries and the municipal sector on emergent issues.
• Support the implementation of the new development charges and community benefits charge framework, which is designed to support the government’s efforts on increasing housing supply.
• Support municipalities in delivering local elections in October 2022 including education and training initiatives, updated resources and guidance for candidates, municipal staff, and third-party advertisers, and operational support from early 2022 to early 2023.
• Continue to monitor the impacts of COVID‑19 on municipalities and make recommendations to the government about policy and program initiatives to support recovery.
• Encourage and foster collaboration, consultation and engagement between partner ministries and the municipal sector to ensure there is a strong relationship between the province and municipalities. This includes working with and supporting ministries by identifying municipal considerations as municipalities develop and deliver their policies and programs.
• Implement the Streamline Development Approval Fund to help Ontario’s 39 largest municipalities address the housing crisis by modernizing local approvals processes for new housing projects and other development applications.
• Implement the Municipal Modernization Program and the Audit and Accountability Fund to help municipalities become more efficient and reduce expenditure growth.
• Continue to assess municipal capacity to manage finances and to deliver services and good governance. Identify those municipalities that require support and deliver targeted and sector-wide capacity building as required.
• Continue to gather data and local intelligence about municipal issues, challenges, and best practices to inform future provincial policy development and program design.
• Connect municipalities to partner ministry programs and tools in order to support local economic recovery and economic development.

Land Use Planning

This program is responsible for the development, monitoring and administration of land use planning systems in Ontario. The provincial land use planning framework has evolved significantly over time and is regularly subject to legislative and policy reviews to ensure that it reflects current trends for managing growth, protecting resources, and protecting public health and safety. The framework includes the Planning Act, the Provincial Policy Statement and geographic-specific provincial land use plans such as: the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (A Place to Grow), the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, and the Parkway Belt West Plan (among others).

The land use planning system advances and upholds provincial interests through a policy-led system largely implemented by municipalities through local planning documents (for example, official plans and zoning by-laws), through the ministry’s one-window provincial land use planning approvals service, and through Minister’s Zoning Orders for priority initiatives/projects. The ministry provides a variety of mandatory and discretionary tools to support municipal implementation of the provincial land use planning framework at a local level.

In 2022–23, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities in the Land Use Planning program:

• Continue to protect the Greenbelt for future generations through oversight of related legislation and regulations, the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Greenbelt Council. This includes delivering on the government’s commitment to grow the Greenbelt.
• Support the Minister in the making of Minister’s Zoning Orders for priority provincial-led initiatives, such as affordable housing, transit-oriented communities and long-term care homes.
• Advance and uphold provincial interests and support municipal implementation of land use planning through a variety of legislative tools, and a coordinated inter-ministry one-window planning approach for provincial decisions. This will include increased focus on A Place to Grow official plan conformity exercises associated with the July 2022 conformity date.
• Continue review of the land use development approvals process to identify and propose streamlining improvements to help bring housing and business investments (for example, industrial and manufacturing) online faster.
• Continue to provide technical support and guidance to municipalities to support municipal implementation of the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 and changes to the Planning Act.

Growth Planning

This program provides a strategic, long-range, comprehensive and integrated approach to manage growth and build prosperous and sustainable, complete communities.

In 2022–23, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities in the Growth Planning program:

• Advance and uphold provincial interests and support municipal implementation of A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe through a coordinated, inter-ministry planning approach for provincial decision-making on economic development, affordable home ownership and infrastructure planning.
• Lead growth plan conformity monitoring, data collection, and issues management to help ensure that municipalities have the information and tools they need to implement A Place to Grow.
• Lead stakeholder engagement activities to support implementation of growth management policies and programs.
• Continue to measure the performance of provincial growth management policies together with other land use policies and provincial plans in Ontario, as required by the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, the A Place to Grow Plan, and the Provincial Policy Statement, in order to determine the effectiveness of the policies in achieving their intended policy goals.

Building Regulation

This program establishes the policies, technical supports and regulatory system governing the construction, renovation, changes of use and demolition of buildings through administration of the Building Code Act and the Building Code regulation.

In 2022–23, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities in the Building Regulation program:

• Develop the next edition of Ontario’s Building Code, which will enhance the alignment of the technical requirements with the National Construction Codes, and implement timely adoption, consistent with the commitments made in the Reconciliation Agreement under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. The Reconciliation Agreement was signed by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on August 27, 2020.
• Participate in the Federal-Provincial-Territorial work to transform the National Construction Codes system to be nimbler and more responsive to provincial needs.
• Develop technical and guidance material to support consistent implementation of Ontario’s Building Code and priority areas such as housing affordability and supply.
• Continue transforming and modernizing the delivery of building regulatory services by developing options for service improvements and implementation pathways including service delivery through a potential administrative authority, third-party and/or on an in-house basis.
  • Progress opportunities for Code amendments that help to streamline the qualification process for building officials to support recruitment within the profession while upholding public safety.
  • Obtain recommendations from a third-party Vendor on recommendations for potential enhancements to the ministry’s Qualification Program for Building Practitioners.
• Obtain survey-based feedback from Ontario’s building official community to help address recommendations from both the “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Use in Buildings (2020) Value for Money Audit” and “Special Audit of the Tarion Warranty Corporation (2019)”.
• Deliver technical support on the Building Code to the building sector, the Building Code Commission, the Building Materials Evaluation Commission, and building regulatory services (including the qualification and registration of building practitioners and overseeing training provided to practitioners by the college sector).

Disaster Recovery Financial Assistance

The program delivers disaster recovery and mitigation transfer payment programs, manages the ministry’s legislated emergency management program and represents Ontario’s interests in discussions on disaster recovery and mitigation funding with federal, provincial and territorial counterparts.

In 2022–23, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities in the Disaster Recovery Financial Assistance program:

• Respond to emergencies/disasters and deliver the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians and Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance programs to help people and municipalities recover after a natural disaster.
• Continue the ‘Build Back Better’ pilot project to provide an incentive to municipalities eligible under the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program to improve infrastructure damaged in a natural disaster to be more resilient to future extreme weather.
• Complete administration of the National Disaster Mitigation Program in Ontario to provide municipalities, conservation authorities and other eligible recipients access to approved federal funding for flood mapping and mitigation projects to help reduce Ontario’s flood risk.
• Provide assistance to evacuated residents for emergency expenses and additional housing costs under the Wheatley Residents Assistance Program.
• Engage in federal/provincial/territorial discussions to support federal commitments to create a new low-cost national flood insurance program to protect homeowners at high risk of flooding and to support the development of a national action plan to assist homeowners at highest risk of repeat flooding with potential relocation.

Community Housing

Community Housing includes operating and capital funding to service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators. Payments to service managers are made under the Canada-Ontario Social Housing Agreement (SHA), and payments to Service Managers and Indigenous Program Administrators are made under the National Housing Strategy Programs. This program also provides funding to the Indigenous and Community Housing Initiative which includes the Rural and Urban Indigenous Housing Program (RUIHP), and provincial affordability payments under the Affordable Housing Program Agreement.

Community Housing includes both social and affordable housing, and it supports housing that is owned and operated primarily by non-profit housing corporations, housing co-operatives and municipal governments or district social services administration boards. These providers offer subsidized or low-end-of market rents. Approximately 228,000 households live in community housing. This includes approximately 185,000 households that rely on deeply subsidized rental housing to maintain housing stability (social housing that provides rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance) as well as approximately 43,000 households that live in affordable rental housing.

The Social Housing Agreement (SHA) provides federal funding to replace the prior federal share of social housing costs that Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) would have incurred for federal/provincial agreements and federal unilateral projects by providing funding listed in the SHA. Between 2018–19 and 2027–28, federal funding decreases as projects’ mortgages/debentures mature or original operating agreements expire under the SHA, thereby resulting in a scheduled annual decline in federal revenues. The Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI), one of the programs under the National Housing Strategy, aims to protect affordability for households in social housing, to support the repair and renewal of existing social housing supply, and to expand the supply of community housing over time. COCHI funding is used as a top up to SHA funding to maintain 2018–19 federal funding levels for social housing; as SHA funding declines each year, COCHI funding increases.

The Community Housing Renewal Strategy outlines a provincial plan to work with our partners to stabilize and grow the community housing sector.

Investments through the National Housing Strategy are a key element of the Community Housing Renewal Strategy. The National Housing Strategy bilateral agreement between Ontario and the federal government provides more than $5.75 billion over nine years to protect, renew and expand community housing; support Ontario’s priorities related to housing repair, construction and affordability; and deliver direct affordability support to Ontarians who need housing.

In 2022–23, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities in the Community Housing program:

• Implement the new community housing framework that was announced by the government on March 30, 2022. The new framework will stabilize community housing system for those who live and work in it by:
  • Encouraging housing providers to remain in the system by signing service agreements. This will protect critical community housing supply and encourage housing providers to continue to offer deeply affordable rents for tens of thousands of Ontario households.
  • Requiring Service Managers to set local income and asset limits and continuing to prioritize survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking for rent-geared-to-income assistance.
  • Improving efficiency and updating accountability rules to encourage new programs that meet local housing needs.
• These changes will begin to come into effect on July 1, 2022, with full implementation by July 1, 2023. MMAH plans to work with sector partners on guidance material to support implementation, negotiation of service agreements, and dispute resolution processes.
• The ministry will continue working on longer-term transformational elements on community housing such as working with sector partners to develop a modern outcomes-based accountability approach for community housing, which could include new service level categories.
• Work with CMHC to mutually agree on the next three-year Action Plan under the National Housing Strategy agreement.
• Continue to deliver existing programs that support community housing, including:
  • Community Housing Programs that include payments to service managers under the Canada-Ontario Social Housing Agreement and provincial affordability payments under the Affordable Housing Program, which will continue until 2033.
  • National Housing Strategy Programs that include working with service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators to deliver the Ontario Priority Housing Initiative and the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative. These initiatives help build, create, and renovate community housing, provide homeownership opportunities, and improve housing affordability. The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit is a portable housing benefit that can be accessed by survivors of domestic violence, survivors of human trafficking, persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness, Indigenous persons, seniors, people with disabilities, and households living in community housing.
  • Indigenous and Community Housing Initiatives including the Rural and Urban Indigenous Housing Program (RUIHP). RUIHP supports the preservation of existing Rural and Native Housing units and the creation of new units through regular maintenance, repair, renovation and portfolio realignment to continue to help households in need through rent-geared-to-income (RGI) and affordable housing assistance, including housing allowances.

Homelessness Prevention

Homelessness Prevention includes operating and capital funding under the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP), Indigenous Supportive Housing Program (ISHP), Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF), and affordability payments under the legacy Home for Good program. These programs support municipal service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators to help people who are homeless and at risk of homelessness become stably housed or avoid becoming homeless in the first place.

Service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators use funding under these programs to:

• Operate, build and repair supportive and transitional housing as well as emergency shelters
• Fund homelessness prevention services and supports such as rent supplements, emergency financial assistance and landlord outreach and mediation
• Provide other services and supports such as providing street outreach, coordinating case management, and maintaining By-Name Lists to provide real-time data about people experiencing homelessness in each community and their needs.

Actions previously taken can be found in the Part I Appendix (2021–22 Annual Report).

In 2022–23, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities in Homelessness Prevention:

• Continue to help service managers prevent and address homelessness in their communities through the delivery of key ministry programs, by:
  • Implementing the new Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP), which combines three previous housing programs — Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI); Home For Good (HFG) and the Strong Communities Rent Supplement Program (SCRSP) — into one simplified and streamlined initiative and includes an additional $24.7 million in annual funding. Through the HPP, service managers will have more flexibility to target funding where it is needed the most, including to capital expenses, to assist those experiencing, or at risk of homelessness.
  • Extending the Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF) by providing $127.5 million in additional investments that allow service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators to continue to add to rent banks, keep vulnerable Ontarians housed, and create long-term housing solutions in response to increased need for services during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
  • Enhancing the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program (ISHP) to $30 million per year in 2022–23. The ISHP is specifically designed to be administered by Indigenous organizations and helps Indigenous people experiencing homelessness to access housing assistance and supports to become stably housed. It includes $10 million in annual Mental Health and Addictions funding to provide Indigenous-led, culturally appropriate long-term housing solutions and support services to Indigenous people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, through the Roadmap to Wellness: A Plan to Build Ontario’s Mental Health and Addictions System.
• Implement new Ontario By-Name List requirements:
  • In 2021, MMAH introduced a requirement for service managers to implement By-Name Lists by December 31, 2021. By-Name Lists provide real-time data about people experiencing homelessness in their communities and their needs. By-Name Lists help to prioritize and connect people to housing services and supports in their area and provide a foundation for creating coordinated access to services and track local homelessness and changes over time.
  • Building on the current By-Name List requirements, the Homelessness Prevention Program guidelines indicate that service managers are to implement additional requirements by April 1, 2023.
  • The new Ontario By-Name List requirements include a robust set of data points, and broader coverage and comprehensiveness that will help communities better understand the needs of people experiencing homelessness to more effectively prioritize and connect people to services and supports. Having comprehensive and up-to-date information over the long-term will also provide valuable information about factors and root causes that contribute to homelessness in each community and will help track the impact of programs and services in addressing homelessness. It will also help to track progress and outcomes related to HPP of preventing, addressing, and reducing homelessness, including chronic homelessness.
  • MMAH is renewing its partnership with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), which began in 2021–22 to support service managers to implement By-Name Lists province-wide, to provide further services and supports in 2022–23 to help service managers implement the new Ontario By-Name List Requirements. CAEH will:
    • Provide service managers with technical training, coaching, and data systems support, as well as access to webinars, Community of Practice calls, and workshops focused on new By-Name List requirements.
    • Help service managers develop policies and procedures that will be required under the new By-Name List requirements.
    • Provide service managers with tools and access to an online portal to support By-Name List implementation.
  • Through the Multi-Ministry Supportive Housing Initiative, the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) and Health (MOH) will work together to make progress on the following initiatives to improve supportive housing in Ontario:
    1. Develop a common pre-screening approach to help people navigate towards the right housing and supports
    2. Establish local integrated supportive housing planning requirements to coordinate supportive housing across the housing, health and community services sectors. This would improve collaboration and better respond to clients’ complex needs
    3. Conduct a cost avoidance review of supportive housing to better understand how supportive housing can avoid the unnecessary use of high-cost provincial systems, such as hospitals and correctional facilities.

Market Housing

This program develops policies, programs and initiatives to support the availability of a wide mix of market rental and ownership housing. The Housing Lands — Sale, and Housing Lands — Lease transfer payment lines are used to record the difference between market values and the actual sale price or lease rate of provincial lands under the disposition of surplus lands. The ministry provides leadership and works across government to support the following:

• Development of evidence-based market housing policies and programs.
• Incorporation of housing outcomes into the disposition of surplus lands.
• Stakeholder engagement and strategic communications related to market rental and home ownership.

The ministry also sets the legislative and policy framework for both residential and commercial landlords and tenants through the:

• Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), which governs rental housing in Ontario and sets rules in areas such as rent, security of tenure and the adjudication of disputes. This includes supporting the ministry’s provision of investigation and enforcement services for alleged offences under the RTA through the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit.
• Commercial Tenancies Act (CTA), which sets out rules for commercial tenancies to enable businesses to operate effectively.

In 2022–23, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities in the Market Housing program:

• Lead and coordinate government-wide implementation of changes under the More Homes for Everyone Plan and the More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022 that includes a suite of legislative and non-legislative policies, tools and initiatives to help increase housing supply, cut red tape and protect homebuyers/owners and renters.
• Establish a Housing Supply Working Group to engage with the federal and municipal governments, partner ministries, industry and associations to monitor progress and support improvements and the implementation of the Housing Affordability Task Force’s recommendations through annual housing supply action plans over four years starting in 2022–2023.
• Supporting other areas of the ministry to seek input on ideas to address the housing needs for rural and northern Ontario municipalities, diversify housing choices in existing neighbourhoods and make it easier for not-for-profit housing providers to build and repair housing.
• In collaboration with partner ministries, Infrastructure Ontario and other stakeholders, lead policy and program development that leverages surplus provincial lands to enable the building of new affordable housing.
• Continue providing policy and legislative oversight of the RTA:
  • Calculate and publish the 2023 rent increase guideline
  • Facilitate public education about the RTA to promote awareness of rent rules, the adjudication process and tenant/landlord rights and obligations, as well as to enhance compliance and enforcement
  • Monitor rental market housing trends and issues
  • Provide advice, analysis and interpretation of the RTA
  • Work with the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to monitor the impacts of RTA changes made through the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, and impacts of COVID‑19 related changes, including the ongoing recovery of (LTB) operations and the 2021 rent freeze.
• Continue to work with other ministries and MMAH divisions to support strategic communications, including responding to public inquiries and maintaining public access to key information on legislative requirements and government commitments related to market housing.
• Provide leadership, work with other ministries and participate in working groups across and beyond the government to conduct housing market research and analysis, represent Ontario in federal/provincial/territorial (FPT) tables, and develop evidence-based market housing policies and programs.

2022–23 Strategic Plan

The ministry is delivering on an ambitious mandate that will promote economic development, create jobs and increase housing supply, while protecting Ontario’s natural environment. MMAH is protecting people’s health and supporting the province's most vulnerable through initiatives that help prevent homelessness and support longer-term housing solutions. MMAH will continue working with municipalities to ensure they have the tools and resources needed to lead economic recovery and build safe, strong and sustainable urban and rural communities.

Housing and Homelessness

The ministry is implementing More Homes for Everyone, which delivers both near-term solutions and long-term commitments to build more homes faster and put home ownership within reach for all Ontario families. This includes:

• Supporting municipalities with resources, tools and standards to provide timely review and adjudication processes by both extending legislated timelines for decisions while focusing the decision-making process. This builds on the province’s investment of up to $350 million through the Streamline Development Approval Fund, Municipal Modernization Program, and Audit and Accountability Fund to help municipalities implement efficiencies, including in their planning and development approval processes.
• Creating a new tool specifically designed to accelerate planning processes for municipalities. The Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator will help municipalities expedite approvals for housing and community infrastructure, like hospitals and community centres, with clear requirements for both consultation and public notice.

The government continues to collaborate with municipal and industry partners and has committed to delivering a housing supply action plan every year for the next four years.

MMAH is also collaborating with partner ministries to leverage the value of surplus provincial lands for priorities like affordable housing and long-term care facilities.

In addition, the ministry will continue to review the land use development approvals process to identify and propose streamlining improvements to help bring housing and business investments (for example, industrial and manufacturing) online faster.

The ministry is also implementing changes to Ontario’s Building Code to unlock housing and reduce barriers to using innovative construction materials and techniques.

Complementing the work to unlock more market housing, Ontario is making the community housing system more sustainable and efficient with a new regulatory framework under the Community Housing Renewal Strategy. It will encourage housing providers to stay in the system and ensure the province’s most vulnerable people remain housed.

The ministry also continues to help people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless find the right housing services and other supports. This includes investing an additional $25 million annually through the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP), bringing Ontario’s total yearly investment in the program to close to $464 million. The new program combines the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative, Home for Good and the Strong Communities Rent Supplement Program to simplify and streamline operations so municipal service managers can spend less time on paperwork and more time working with their clients. Access to this funding will be based on having in place a By-Name List that meets the provincial requirements and contains detailed, up-to-date information from individuals experiencing homelessness to help connect them to local supports.

The government is also investing an additional $6.7 million in the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program, bringing the total annual investment to $30 million.

The government has successfully negotiated an agreement with the federal government to provide a combined $127 million through a fifth round of the Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF) that will add to rent banks, keep vulnerable Ontarians housed, and create long-term housing solutions in response to increased need for services during the COVID‑19 pandemic. This brings Ontario’s total investment through SSRF to date to nearly $1.2 billion, one of the biggest investments made in supportive housing and homelessness supports in the province’s history.

Negotiating a one-year plan under the National Housing Strategy second action plan ensures service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators have certainty and stability in funding for their housing and homelessness services. The province continues to advocate for municipalities to receive their fair share of funding from the federal government, which is underfunding Ontario by approximately $490 million under the National Housing Strategy and Reaching Home program.

Growing the Greenbelt

Ontario’s Greenbelt is a broad band of protected land that currently includes over 800,000 hectares of land in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The government is committed to protecting it for future generations and will be exploring additional opportunities to grow the Greenbelt.

The goal is to protect more of the province's natural environment — including farmlands, forests, wetlands and watersheds — from future development.

Supporting Jobs and Strong Communities

Ontario's 444 municipalities are key partners in the province’s COVID‑19 recovery. The ministry will continue to monitor the impacts of COVID‑19 on municipalities and work in partnership with the sector to support recovery, economic growth, and ensure the continued delivery of important local services for Ontario’s residents and businesses. Municipalities have been clear that the province asks them for too many reports. MMAH will continue to lead government-wide efforts to reduce the municipal reporting burden and red tape.

MMAH is also leading strategic regional and province-wide growth management projects to further provincial goals, including economic development, affordable homeownership, infrastructure planning and job creation. Through A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Ontario is aligning infrastructure investments with the people and businesses they serve, and bringing more homes, jobs and business investment to the region. The ministry also updated the population and employment forecasts, which help municipalities manage their growth and plan for the right amount of land for employment and housing. The Provincial Policy Statement also creates a more competitive business environment by designating and protecting employment zones in the Greater Golden Horseshoe through the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and ensuring these lands can be leveraged to support economic development and recovery. The ministry will continue working with municipalities to ensure they have the information and tools they need to implement provincial growth management policies and programs.

Detailed Financial Information

Chart 1: Investment by Vote 2022–23 ($)

Note: Figures exclude consolidation adjustments.

Agencies, Boards and Commissions (ABCs)

There are five provincial agencies that currently report to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Building Code Commission

The Building Code Commission (BCC) is an adjudicative agency that resolves disputes on the technical requirements of Ontario’s Building Code. All administrative and technical support to the BCC is provided by ministry staff. The operating expenses for this commission are paid out of the Local Government and Planning Policy (Vote 1903).

Building Materials Evaluation Commission

The Building Materials Evaluation Commission (BMEC) is a regulatory agency that evaluates and authorizes innovative construction materials, systems or building designs where no criteria are set out in Ontario’s Building Code. All administrative and technical support to the BMEC is provided by ministry staff. The operating expenses for this commission are paid out of the Local Government and Planning Policy (Vote 1903).

Greenbelt Council

The Greenbelt Council is an advisory agency, established under the Greenbelt Act, and provides the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing with advice on land use planning matters within and adjacent to the area defined as the Greenbelt Area. This includes implementation of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, including performance measures, the 10-year review, land use planning and public education and outreach, in order to ensure the objectives of the Greenbelt Plan are met.

Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation

The Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation (the “Trust”) is a board-governed agency that manages the sale of houses and associated land leases of approximately 262 properties on provincially owned lands, and the maintenance and use of six community buildings for the benefit of the Toronto Islands residents and the public. The provincially owned lands are on Ward’s and Algonquin Islands (part of the Toronto Islands).

The Trust does not receive any funding from the province and is self-sustaining through revenue generated from an annual levy charged to each Island leaseholder, rental income on the community buildings and administrative fees. The Trust’s accounts are separate from those of the ministry and the province. The Trust is responsible for managing its own financial matters, including the completion of an annual financial audit. The audited financial statements are published with its annual report. The members of the Trust’s Board of Directors are not remunerated for their service to the Trust.

Provincial Land and Development Facilitator

The office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator is an advisory agency that is established under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act. The Provincial Land and Development Facilitator helps the province, municipalities, developers, businesses and community groups resolve issues related to growth management, land use and infrastructure planning, and environmental protection by providing impartial facilitation services or by acting as a negotiator on behalf of the province.

All administrative and technical support to the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator is provided by ministry staff. The operating expenses for this agency are paid out of the Municipal Services (Vote 1902).

Ministry organization chart

• Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing — Steve Clark
  • Parliamentary Assistant, Municipal Affairs and Housing — Kevin Holland
  • Associate Minister of Housing — Michael Parsa
  • List of Council, Commission and Corporations
    • Building Code Commission
    • Building Materials Evaluation Commission
    • Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation
    • Greenbelt Council
    • Provincial Land and Development Facilitator
  • Deputy Minister — Kate Manson-Smith
    • Executive Assistant — Mariam Rashidi (A)
    • Municipal Services Division — Hannah Evans, ADM
      • Municipal Services Office Central Region — Sharon Rew, Regional Director (A)
      • Municipal Services Office Central Region — Hayley Berlin, Priority Projects Director (A)
      • Municipal Services Office Western Region — Ian Kerr, Regional Director
      • Municipal Services Office Northern Region — Bridget Schulte-Hostedde, Regional Director
      • Municipal Services Office Eastern Region — Allan Scott, Regional Director
      • Municipal Programs and Analytics Branch — Helen Collins, Director (A)
    • Local Government Division — Caspar Hall, (ADM)
      • Municipal Finance Policy Branch — Ruchi Parkash, Director (A)
      • Intergovernmental Relations and Partnerships Branch — Laura Evangelista, Director (A)
      • Local Government Policy Branch — Laura Evangelista, Director (A)
    • Business Management Division — Joanne Davies, CAO/ADM
      • Corporate Services Branch — Alyssa Cates, Director (A)
      • Controllership and Financial Planning Branch — Amanda Lui, Director
      • Human Resources Strategies Branch — Suzana Ristich, Director
      • Community Services Audit Service Team — Gord Nowlan, Director (A)^{footnote 14[14]}
    • Housing Division — Joshua Paul, ADM
      • Community Housing Policy Branch — Peter Kiatipis, Director
      • Housing Programs Branch — Sebastian Franks, Director
      • Market Housing Policy Branch — Mavis Fung, Director
      • Finance, Analysis and Accountability Branch — Keley Katona, Director
    • Communications Branch — Burke Christian, Director^{footnote 15[15]}
    • Legal Services Branch — Mark Osbaldeston, Director^{footnote 16[16]}
      • Legal Services Branch — Stephen Lockwood, Deputy Director (A)
    • Planning and Growth Division — Sean Fraser, ADM (A)
      • Building and Development — Branch Mansoor Mahmood, Director
      • Planning Policy Branch — Ewa Downarowicz, Director (A)
      • Provincial Land Use Plans Branch — Anna MacDonald, Director
    • Community Services I&IT Cluster — Soussan Tabari, CIO/ADM^{footnote 17[17]}
      • Strategic Planning and Business Relationship Management — Aleli Gulak, Director (A)
      • Case and Grant Management Solutions — Sanaul Haque, Director
      • Data Collection and Decision Support Solutions — Carm Scarfo, Director
      • iACCESS Solutions — Farshad Mahlooji, Director

Appendix: 2021–22 Annual Report

Ministry’s Achievements in 2021–22

Municipal Finance and Governance

Strengthened Relationship with Municipalities

In 2021–22, the ministry continued to work closely with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the City of Toronto, which have been important partners in the response to the COVID‑19 pandemic. As per the joint Memorandum of Understanding, the ministry engages with AMO on initiatives that impact municipalities. In the past year of reporting, 13 formal meetings were held with AMO under the Memorandum of Understanding covering over 46 agenda items. The ministry also facilitated over 11 Provincial-Municipal Technical Working Group meetings on COVID‑19 emerging issues with AMO and the City of Toronto. During the virtual AMO Conference in 2021, the ministry coordinated approximately 435 delegations with Ministers and parliamentary assistants from 27 ministries. The ministry coordinated a further 313 municipal delegation meetings at the Rural Ontario Municipal Conference in January 2022. MMAH also facilitated more than 26 meetings between the province and the City of Toronto to discuss initiatives with potential impacts to the city under the Toronto-Ontario Cooperation and Consultation Agreement (TOCCA).

In 2021–22, the ministry also continued to implement two programs, the Audit and Accountability Fund and the Municipal Modernization Program, to help municipalities find efficiencies, reduce costs and improve services. A total of 46 projects were approved under Intake 3 of the Audit and Accountability Fund for a total investment of approximately $8 million targeted to digital modernization, streamlining development approvals and service integration. The ministry approved 271 projects funded under Intake 2 of the Municipal Modernization Program. The ministry also launched Intake 3 of the program under which more than $28 million was approved to support 322 projects that are set for completion in 2022–23. The ministry also launched the Streamline Development Approval Fund, making more than $45 million available to Ontario’s 39 largest municipalities to implement initiatives such as e-permitting systems, online application portals, additional staffing including interns to address backlogs, and other projects aimed at streamlining approvals and unlocking housing supply. Projects under the Streamline Development Approval Fund will be completed in 2022–23.

The ministry supported better, faster transit by making changes to the Development Charges Act to help York Region to fund its portion of the Yonge North Subway Extension. Other actions to support transit included extending the municipality’s special debt limit rules to enable it to deliver on its capital projects including the Yonge North Subway Extension.

The ministry also enabled Ontario municipalities to access financing from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to assist with capital projects, including the financing of zero-emission buses.

Further, in 2021–22, the ministry improved access to municipal financial data by enhancing the Financial Information Return (FIR) website. The FIR website hosts annual municipal financial data from 1977 onwards. Updates to the website included the addition of dashboards and increasing the ability of users to find downloadable data.

Supported Municipalities in Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic

In 2021–22, the ministry delivered $500 million in new provincial funding support announced in March 2021 to Ontario municipalities to assist with 2021 COVID‑19 municipal operating needs. This funding was provided to all 444 municipalities and was formula driven.

The government also continued and subsequently lifted measures that were made to temporarily limit local noise by-laws to help allow essential construction projects and services related to health care to proceed at any time of the day. These measures helped ensure that important health care related projects, like the expansion of hospitals, continued uninterrupted during the pandemic. The measures helped speed up the building of new facilities needed to provide health services. The changes will also support public health outcomes through social distancing by helping to enable staggered shifts which may reduce the number of workers on a site at any given time.

The government also made regulatory changes to provide municipalities with flexibility with respect to work redeployment and staffing, allowing them to help ensure frontline services can continue to be delivered during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The changes provided municipalities with the flexibility to deploy staff within their organization to assist the continuation of providing critical frontline services for Ontario residents and businesses. The ability to address staffing shortages quickly by redeploying staff was critical to the continuity of local operations and responding to unforeseen circumstances in the context of the COVID‑19 pandemic, and especially as municipalities and public health units play a key role in vaccinating Ontarians.

MMAH has supported the Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development in leading the implementation of an education, compliance, and enforcement initiative as part of the Ontario’s COVID‑19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open. MMAH has assessed the bylaw enforcement capacity of all municipalities and led communication with local bylaw enforcement and senior municipal staff on enforcement efforts and changes to Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and Reopening Ontario Act orders.

MMAH has collected and tracked detailed information related to municipal impacts from COVID to support policy and program development and provided consistent, timely information to all municipalities on COVID response and government decisions, policies, and programs. For example, the ministry provided information related to bill 197 at more than 30 ministry or stakeholder events reaching more than 1,300 municipal staff and council members.

Land Use Planning

Legislative and Policy Changes

A number of changes to the Planning Act and other legislation under the ministry’s jurisdiction were undertaken in 2021–22 to support government priorities.

• In response to municipal requests, an Emergency Order was filed on July 2, 2020, which created temporary exemptions to certain Planning Act requirements to allow municipalities to quickly pass by-laws authorizing new or expanded bar and restaurant patios. This order was extended but expired on April 27, 2022, to enable municipalities to support their local economies while facilitating appropriate physical distancing of restaurant and bar patrons.
• Through bill 276, the Supporting Recovery and Competitiveness Act, 2021, changes were made to the subdivision control provisions of the Planning Act to streamline the land division approval process. These changes took effect January 1, 2022.
• Through bill 257, the Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021, changes were made to Minister’s Zoning Orders and the Planning Act to help accelerate critical projects Ontarians rely on like transit-oriented communities, affordable housing and long-term care. Our government’s commitment to the Greenbelt has not changed: these changes do not apply to lands in the Greenbelt Area.
• Through bill 13, the Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021, changes were made related to the additional delegation of planning decisions. These changes help to streamline the planning system and, in some cases, help shorten approval timelines by providing municipal councils broader authority to allow more planning decisions to be made by committees of council or staff. Advancing the commitment to expand the size and enhance the quality of the Greenbelt signaled, in the 2020 and 2021 budgets, the ministry:
  • Launched a 61-day consultation (February 17, 2021) on growing the Greenbelt with a focus on a study area around the Paris Galt Moraine and the possibility of expanding existing and/or creating new Urban River Valleys. Virtual meetings were held with municipalities and stakeholders. As well, a separate Indigenous engagement was undertaken.
  • Launched an online 30-day, second phase of consultation on this initiative (March 24, 2022), seeking feedback on adding 13 new and expanded Urban River Valley areas to the Greenbelt and ideas for adding more Urban River Valleys to the Greenbelt, in the future. Indigenous meetings are being undertaken, upon request.

Land Use Planning — Operational

Throughout 2021–22, the ministry worked with inter-ministerial partners and municipalities to implement and uphold matters of provincial interest and provincial land use planning policy, including the Provincial Policy Statement and the four major provincial land use plans — the Greenbelt Plan, Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (A Place to Grow), the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan.

This past year, the ministry supported the making of 35 Minister’s Zoning Orders to accelerate critical priority projects that will enable more long-term care beds, increase the availability of affordable and seniors' housing, and facilitate municipal economic development opportunities such as manufacturing, retail complexes, and tourism-based development.

The ministry approved new official plans and official plan amendments for a number of upper-tier and single-tier municipalities across Ontario reflecting both local and provincial land-use planning priorities. These new official plans assist in facilitating strong communities, a range of housing options, a safe and healthy environment and economic growth.

In a continued effort to support local autonomy in land-use planning decision making, the ministry granted certain municipalities, at their request, additional local decision-making authority (authority to approve land division and exemption from the requirement for ministry approval of official plan amendments.

Growth Planning

Initiation of Data Strategy Development

The ministry began the development of a strategy to collect and monitor key growth planning data, including the acquisition of data and exploration of how the data could be used to support the implementation of the A Place to Grow and publicly communicate various growth planning policy concepts. The strategy will also support the ministry’s response to the Auditor General’s recommendations in the 2021 value-for-money audit on Land-Use Planning in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which would include:

• determining how the ministry will collect the information necessary to report on established performance indicators such as density targets for designated greenfield areas and long-term housing supply information
• obtaining and analyzing this information on an ongoing basis
• working with municipalities to establish a consistent basis for calculating municipalities’ progress toward targets set out in the Growth Plan.

Monitoring Municipal Conformity with a Place to Grow

The ministry has continued to monitor the status of municipal progress to conformity with A Place to Grow.

A Place to Grow is implemented through municipal official plans, which must be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement and conform with all applicable provincial plans. Municipalities are required to bring their official plans into conformity with A Place to Grow by July 1, 2022, via the development of a new Official Plan or Official Plan Amendment, or by phasing their Municipal Comprehensive Review and submitting a series of Official Plan Amendments.

Update of a Place to Grow Educational Materials

In 2021, the ministry updated public educational materials, “Understanding A Place to Grow” to reflect the updated population and employment forecasts to the plan’s horizon that was extended from 2041 to 2051.

Building Regulation

Harmonization of Construction Codes

The ministry continued to work with the National Research Council and other provinces and territories on the implementation of the Reconciliation Agreement on Construction Codes and the transformation of the national code development system, including developing governance model recommendations.

Transformation of the national code development system will occur in phases over the course of the current code cycle to ensure a seamless operational transition. MMAH, along with the other parties, are working to find more efficient streamlined procedures to make construction codes.

Next Edition of Ontario’s Building Code

Throughout the year, the ministry began drafting the next edition of Ontario’s Building Code. In addition, a multi-phase consultation was launched.

The first phase took place in Fall 2021 and focused on reducing existing variations with the National Construction Codes as well as updating some Ontario-specific provisions.

The second phase proposed Code changes that would align Ontario’s Building Code with the 2020 National Construction Codes. This phase was initiated in January 2022 and closed in March 2022.

In addition to receiving feedback through postings on the Regulatory Registry of Ontario and the Environmental Registry of Ontario, the ministry held engagement sessions with internal and external partners and stakeholders.

Building Code Amendments

On December 20, 2021, Ontario Regulation 867/21 was filed to amend the Building Code. The amending regulation:

• Created a two-permit system for tiny homes that are constructed in one municipality and are to be located and occupied in another municipality
• Clarified that building officials have discretion to use alternative inspection methods when conducting inspections on the construction of buildings such as remote inspections and other means
• Made four housekeeping amendments to update outdated references to other statutes in the list of applicable law.

Upcoming Building Code Amendments

The ministry is consulting on proposed Building Code changes to be made in Winter/Spring 2022 (if approved).

On February 9, 2022, the ministry launched a 30-day consultation period on a change that would generally exempt a person who constructs or assembles a shed that is up to 15 m² (161.5 ft²) in building area from needing to obtain a building permit and to comply with the Building Code.

On February 11, 2022, the ministry launched another 30-day consultation period on proposed interim changes to the 2012 Building Code related to:

• Phased occupancy of super-tall buildings
• Modular construction of larger buildings including multi-unit residential
• Establishing a truss and lightweight construction notification program for firefighter safety.

Engagement sessions for each of these proposals were also held to seek feedback from stakeholders and partners.

Guidance

To support the implementation and delivery of the government’s Housing Supply Action Plan (HSAP), the ministry developed a Laneway Housing Guide and a Modular Housing Guide. The guides provide information on these innovative housing options and are intended to help increase housing and support Ontario’s economic recovery.

The ministry also updated the following existing guides to support the building industry and construction sector:

• 2020 Code and Guide for Sewage Systems (CGSS)
• 2020 Code and Guide for Plumbing (CGP)
• 2020 Ontario Code and Construction Guide for Housing (CCGH)

Responding to COVID‑19 and Supporting the Construction Industry

Throughout the second year of the COVID‑19 pandemic, MMAH maintained its service level commitments to provide technical support to the construction sector.

The ministry has monitored the status of the Temporary Facilities Emergency Order that allows health facilities and temporary shelters to be established and requires that they be inspected to help to ensure that they are safe. The Order has consistently been renewed on a monthly basis and was revoked in April 2022. The ministry is preparing to amend the Building Code to continue to support the health care sector and shelters once the Order is terminated.

The BCC and BMEC maintained their operations and continued to allow for virtual hearings and meetings and accepting digital application submissions.

Building Services Transformation Engagement and Follow-up Actions

The ministry engaged stakeholders in December 2021 to gather further feedback on potential service improvements that support implementation and enforcement of Ontario’s Building Code. This session, held in December 2021, focused on qualification, training and building official recruitment. Following this session, the ministry engaged with building officials (Ontario Building Officials Association, Large Municipal Chief Building Officials and City of Toronto building department) to develop a potential Code amendment that supports the recruitment of building officials; a matter of pressing concern given the large number of retirees and the subsequent impact on expertise available within the profession to enforce the Building Code and ensure building safety in the province.

The ministry issued an Invitation to Quote (ITQ) in March 2022 to procure a third-party vendor to review and provide recommendations on potential improvements to the Qualification Program for building practitioners. Following the Vendor’s research and analysis, this project could result in recommendations related to exams, training, and continuous professional development. As per feedback received by the ministry following the stakeholder engagement session convened in December 2021, building industry stakeholders are seeking changes to the current qualification program that a program review led by a third-party vendor could support.

Digital Building Code

The ministry developed a digital version of the Building Code Compendium which was made available upon request as of March 4, 2022. Previously, the Compendium was only available in hard-copy format for a fee through Publications Ontario. The digital Compendium is comprised of both Volume 1 (technical requirements) and Volume 2 (appendix notes, supplementary standards). Volume 2 provides information considered critical to understanding and applying the technical requirements in the Building Code and has never before been made available on a free-of-charge basis. A digital Building Code Compendium also offers an additional format for accessing code materials that may be more convenient for some users, including on a portable electronic device to conduct inspections of new houses and buildings on a construction site. The ministry will be proceeding with plans to develop a fully accessible and translated digital version of the Compendium to align with the next edition of the Building Code expected to be released in early 2024.

Office of the Auditor General of Ontario Recommendations

In February 2022, the ministry convened a focus group comprised of building official associations and ministry staff to develop a survey designed to address several Building Code compliance related recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario (OAGO) from the following audits:

• Value for Money Audit: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Use in Buildings (2020):
  • Energy efficiency requirements in the Building Code, for example, compliance verification practices, knowledge support gaps and post-construction performance of houses and buildings.
• Special Audit of the Tarion Warranty Corporation (2019):
  • Tarion and Building Code compliance, for example, consistent inspection standards and establishing a process for reporting significant instances of non-compliance.

The survey is currently under development and will be distributed in Winter 2022 to solicit broader feedback from the Building Code enforcement community as part of the ministry’s response to the OAGO recommendations. The survey materials are designed to help identify compliance verification policies and practices currently being used to enforce the Building Code’s requirements.

QuARTS Registry Improvements

The ministry incorporated a number of high-priority improvements to the Qualification Activity and Registration Tracking System (QuARTS), the IT system used by building practitioners (building officials, designers and septic installers) to register their qualifications and ongoing availability to practice with the ministry. These improvements included the following:

• Preventing approval of applications without payment
• Closing expired registrations
• Additional reminders for expiring registrations
• Correcting inaccurate error messages
• Linking paper-based applications with QuARTS’s case management system for future online registrations

These improvements promote internal efficiencies within the system (help reduce unforeseen system shutdowns), support public safety by more accurately reflecting a building practitioner’s registration status and enhance the user experience.

Disaster Recovery Financial Assistance

Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians Program

The Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program helps homeowners, tenants, small owner-operated businesses and farms, and not-for-profit organizations get back on their feet after a natural disaster. The program helps eligible applicants cover emergency expenses, return their homes to a safe and habitable condition and get small businesses up and running again.

In 2021–22, the ministry administered applications from 13 disaster events. In total, the ministry issued over 130 decisions to applicants, including interim payments, final payments and decline notices; made payments totalling over $2.4 million to eligible applicants; and closed over 50 applications. There were four new activations of the program in 2021–22.

Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance Program

The Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program provides financial assistance to municipalities affected by natural disasters for emergency response and repair or replacement of damaged municipal infrastructure. The program was activated twice in 2021–22:

1. Fort Erie (October 2019 flood/windstorm) — provincial funding up to $7,415,300
2. Red Lake (July 2021 Forest fire) — provincial funding up to $226,600

The ministry continued to administer 26 claims activated for 2019 Spring flooding. and made final payments for 18 of these. Payments totalling $4.28 million under the MDRA program were made in 2021–22.

National Disaster Mitigation Program

The National Disaster Mitigation Program is a federal program that offers funding for flood mapping and flood mitigation projects. The ministry administers the program in Ontario and flows federal funding for projects through to municipalities, conservation authorities and other eligible recipients.

In 2021–22, 46 new flood mitigation projects were approved for federal funding of $8.3 million and the ministry engaged successfully with the federal government on behalf of project proponents to enable NDMP cost-sharing to continue for outstanding project work after March 31, 2022. Since 2016, there have been 238 NDMP projects approved in Ontario for a total of $48.9 million in federal funding.

Wheatley Residents Assistance Program

In 2021–22, the ministry designed a special Wheatley Residents Assistance Program to help people who were evacuated from their homes in the community of Wheatley in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent following a subsurface gas explosion. The program is supporting evacuated residents with housing costs and other emergency expenses.

Ministry Emergency Management Program

Under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, all ministries are required to maintain an emergency management program to ensure the Ontario government is ready to respond when emergencies and disasters occur. The ministry maintains a strong program focused on the ministry’s Order-in-Council responsibility to plan for emergencies that require coordination of extraordinary provincial expenditures, including provision of disaster financial assistance.

In 2021–22, the Ministry Action Group continued to direct the ministry’s response to the COVID‑19 pandemic and the ministry updated its Ministry Emergency Response Plan to reflect lessons learned from the pandemic as well as forest fires. The ministry completed all legislated requirements for the 2021 calendar year and expects its program to be assessed as fully compliant.

Community Housing

New Regulatory Framework for Community Housing

In July of 2020, the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act received Royal Assent.

The Act contained amendments to the Housing Services Act that were part of the government’s Community Housing Renewal Strategy — a multi-year strategy to stabilize and grow Ontario’s community housing sector.

The amendments to the Housing Services Act were broad and enabling and were intended to provide the regulation making authority required to establish a new regulatory framework for community housing to stabilize and grow the community housing system, improve access and modernize accountability.

The ministry worked extensively with the community housing sector over the past year in the development of the new framework for community housing, including holding 30+ engagements with service managers, Housing Providers and Indigenous Housing Providers. In addition, the ministry posted the proposed scope of the framework on the Regulatory Registry for comment. The ministry received a total of 150 submissions through the regulatory registry process.

On March 30, 2022, government announced the new regulatory framework for community housing. The new framework will stabilize the community housing system for those who live and work in it by:

• Encouraging housing providers to remain in the system by signing service agreements. This will protect critical community housing supply and encourage housing providers to continue to offer deeply affordable rents for tens of thousands of Ontario households.
• Requiring service managers to set local income and asset limits and continuing to prioritize survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking for rent-geared-to-income assistance.
• Improving efficiency and updating accountability rules to encourage new programs that meet local housing needs.

These changes will begin to come into effect on July 1, 2022, with full implementation by July 1, 2023. MMAH plans to work with sector partners on guidance material to support implementation, negotiation of service agreements, and dispute resolution processes.

Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit

The ministry signed an addendum to the bilateral agreement with the federal government on the National Housing Strategy that includes the mutually agreed-upon program design parameters for the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) program.

The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit is a joint federal-provincial housing allowance program that gives people more choice in where they live.

In 2021–22, the ministry worked with service managers to implement new flexible processes that allow municipal staff to more safely and efficiently enroll households in need in the program and provide them with financial assistance faster.

As of March 2022, over 9,000 households have been approved for monthly housing benefits under the COHB program since April 1, 2020. The ministry expects over 45,000 households will be assisted by 2027–28 under the COHB.

Investments provided to Service Managers and Indigenous Housing Providers

In 2021–22, the ministry provided approximately $295.7 million in capital and operating investments to community housing through service managers and Indigenous housing providers under the Canada-Ontario Social Housing Agreement, the Strong Communities Rent Supplement Program, and ongoing affordability payments under the Affordable Housing Program.

The ministry also provided approximately $260.2 million in capital and operating funding to service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators under the National Housing Strategy programs.

Homelessness

These programs provide a flexible array of services and supports to help the homeless — and those at risk of homelessness — to become stably housed or avoid becoming homeless in the first place. It works across government to address the causes of homelessness.

Social Services Relief Fund

At the outset of the COVID‑19 pandemic, the provincial government took immediate action to help improve housing and homeless shelter solutions, and support vulnerable people, with the creation of the Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF). The SSRF helps to give service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators the flexibility to respond to local needs such as solutions to provide social distancing in shelters and congregate care settings, personal protective equipment for service providers, and assist people with rent arrears, contributing to containing the spread of COVID‑19 and saving lives.

The objectives of the SSRF are to:

1. Mitigate ongoing risks for vulnerable people, especially in congregate care settings
2. Encourage longer-term housing-based solutions to homelessness post-COVID‑19
3. Enhance rent assistance provided to households in rent arrears due to COVID‑19.

In 2021–22, an additional $295 million was made available under the SSRF, bringing the total investment to over $1 billion. This additional funding was used to protect homeless shelter staff and residents, add to rent banks, create long-term housing solutions, and support plans to prepare for potential future outbreaks and/or emergencies. Similar to the SSRF funding released in 2020–21, the $295 million was provided to service managers through the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative transfer payment agreement, and to Indigenous Program Administrators through the existing Indigenous Supportive Housing Program agreement. This was done to ensure that the investment was delivered as quickly as possible, and to provide maximum flexibility to respond to varying local needs across the province.

Multi-Ministry Supportive Housing Initiative

In the 2019 provincial budget, the government committed to reviewing Ontario’s supportive housing programs to identify opportunities to streamline and improve coordination so that people get the help they need.

The ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Children, Community and Social Services, and Health completed an engagement process to support this review, and on November 22, 2021 released a summary of the feedback received from stakeholders on Ontario.ca (Improving Ontario’s supportive housing programs 2020–2021 | ontario.ca).

In this document, MMAH, MOH and MCCSS committed to working together on the following initiatives to improve supportive housing in Ontario:

• Developing a common pre-screening approach across sectors to navigate people towards the right housing and supports.
• Establishing local integrated supportive housing planning requirements to coordinate local service planning and delivery of supportive housing across the housing, health and community services sectors. This would improve collaboration, and better respond to clients’ complex needs.
• Conducting a cost avoidance review of supportive housing to better understand how supportive housing can avoid unnecessary use of high-cost provincial systems (for example, hospitals).

MMAH engaged with municipal service managers in Fall 2020 to gather feedback on the relevance, design and delivery of the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) and Home For Good (HFG) programs, as part of the multi-ministry review of supportive housing programs. This work contributed to the development of the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP), including the consolidation of CHPI, HFG and the Strong Communities Rent Supplement Program (SCRSP) programs.

Supportive Housing Investments

Service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators have made significant investments in supportive housing through the Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF). A total of almost 1,200 units of supportive housing are being created through investments under this program, creating long-term solutions that will transition people out of homelessness.

Home For Good provided provincial housing assistance and support services to help people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Priority populations served include youth, Indigenous people, people experiencing chronic homelessness, and those transitioning from provincial institutions such as correctional facilities and hospitals. In 2021–22, $50 million in operating funding was made available to 21 service managers.

The Indigenous Supportive Housing Program is specifically designed to be administered by Indigenous organizations. This program helps Indigenous people experiencing homelessness to access housing assistance and supports to become stably housed. In 2021–22, $13.3 million in operating funding was made available to the two Indigenous Program Administrators.

Mental Health and Addictions Support for Indigenous People

In 2021–22 the government invested $10 million in new annual funding to provide Indigenous-led, culturally appropriate long-term housing solutions and support services to Indigenous people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, which was implemented through an enhancement to the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.

This new funding can be used for longer-term housing solutions such as supportive housing, transitional housing, rent supplements and housing allowances, and help to avoid emergency-based responses like shelters. It will provide a secure, predictable source of funding for Indigenous housing providers to deliver culturally appropriate supportive housing services to support the health and well-being of Indigenous people in their communities.

Outbreak Management Planning

Since the onset of the pandemic, MMAH has been focused on protecting the health and safety of vulnerable Ontarians. Outbreak management planning initiatives have been an important part of this focus. Initiatives completed in 2021–22 include the following:

• Continuing to support service managers and Indigenous Program Administrators with the acquisition of critically-needed personal protective equipment, through provincial supply channels overseen by the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and Ontario Health.
• Working with the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to implement a Focused Inspection Initiative (FII) of emergency shelters and supportive housing facilities with a high-risk of transmitting COVID.
• Facilitating service managers’ participation in the Ministry of Health’s Provincial Antigen Screening Program (PASP).
• Working with the Ministry of Health to distribute information to service managers regarding COVID guidance for congregate care settings; the availability of mobile vaccination clinics; and a vaccination resource toolkit focused on vulnerable populations experiencing vaccine hesitancy.
• Meeting frequently with a service manager/Indigenous Program Administrator COVID Response Group table, to discuss front-line pandemic experiences, and areas where more provincial support is needed.

COVID‑19 Surveys

Since April 2020, MMAH has collected information about ministry-funded emergency shelters and supportive housing facilities from service managers, through a bi-weekly survey.

Data is collected by facility regarding the following: facility capacity, clients served, outbreaks at facilities and vaccination status. Data is also collected on COVID‑19 cases, recoveries and deaths for clients and staff.

By-Name List Implementation

In March 2020, MMAH communicated to service managers and sector organizations its intention to introduce By-Name Lists across Ontario in 2021. A By-Name List is a real-time list of people experiencing homelessness in a community that includes information about individuals’ needs to connect people to a range of housing options and supports and improve service coordination.

MMAH engaged with homelessness experts and service managers to develop a provincial approach. On March 19, 2021, MMAH announced the requirement for service managers to begin developing a By-Name List in April 2021, with full implementation by December 31, 2021.

Recognizing that the By-Name List approach is a major shift for many service managers, MMAH partnered with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) to support service managers during By-Name List implementation. CAEH delivered training, workshops, intensive coaching, community of practice meetings and developed a best practice guide to help service managers develop and implement effective By-Name Lists.

As of January 2022, all 47 service managers confirmed having a By-Name List in place that meets the provincial requirements.

Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI)

Originally implemented in January 2013, the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) was a 100% provincially funded outcomes-based program that aims to prevent and end homelessness by improving access to adequate, suitable, and affordable housing and homelessness services for people experiencing homelessness and for people at-risk of homelessness. In 2021–22, over $338.7 million was made available to service managers through CHPI.

Market Housing

Introducing More Homes for Everyone

On March 30, 2022, the ministry launched the More Homes for Everyone plan and introduced bill 109 — the More Homes for Everyone Act. This includes proposed changes to the Planning Act, Development Charges Act, The City of Toronto Act, the New Home Construction Licensing Act and the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act as well as associated regulations.

The initiatives included in the plan are grouped under the following categories:

1. less red tape, more homes
2. make it easier to build community housing
3. protect home buyers, homeowners and renters

Development of the plan involved the close collaboration between MMAH and various ministries including Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of the Attorney General. The extensive legislative and regulatory changes under the proposed More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022 are complemented by partner ministry initiatives to address speculation through tax policy, implement transit-oriented communities, make better use of surplus lands and address backlogs at the Ontario Land Tribunal and Landlord and Tenant Board.

As part of the More Homes for Everyone Plan, the ministry is working to provide a surplus government site in Vaughan to a non-profit organization to support affordable housing. This work will continue in 2022–23.

Housing Affordability Task Force and Three-Part Consultation on Housing Affordability

More Homes for Everyone builds upon the three-part consultation on housing affordability where the ministry sought advice from industry experts, municipalities and the public on ways to increase housing supply and affordability.

1. Housing Affordability Task Force — The ministry led the creation of a nine-member Housing Affordability Task Force, which was appointed by the Minister of MMAH. The ministry supported the work of the Task Force between December 2021 and February 2022. This included providing guidance throughout the appointments process, organizing 16 separate consultations with over 140 individuals representing 102 organizations as well as acting as the secretariat for each consultation. The culmination of this work resulted in the Task Force providing a final report to the minister containing expert recommendations for additional measures to increase the supply of market housing to address the housing crisis. This report was published by the ministry on February 8, 2022.
2. Municipal Engagement — Other elements of this consultation included organizing and hosting a Provincial-Municipal Housing Affordability Summit with Ontario’s Big City Mayors and Regional Chairs, and a Rural Housing Affordability Roundtable at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference both held in January 2022. The Summit and Roundtable provided an opportunity to share successes across jurisdictions and identify further opportunities for collaboration as the province and municipalities continue to address housing affordability. Work completed by the branch included strategic planning for the summit, creating presentation materials, stakeholder management as well as ongoing issues management.
3. Online Public Consultation — The ministry held an online public consultation on housing affordability, which asked Ontarians, community groups and other stakeholders to share their input. This consultation ran from December 13, 2021, to January 13, 2022, with over 2,000 responses having been received. The consultation was used to inform development of the More Homes for Everyone Plan and related policy development going forward.

Continuing to Implement and Assess Ontario’s 2019 Housing Supply Action Plan

The government’s More Homes for Everyone Plan builds off of the government’s More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan (HSAP) and the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019. While the HSAP was first released in May 2019, a number of initiatives under the HSAP have rolled out in subsequent years. In 2021–22, ongoing activities related to the HSAP led by this ministry’s program area included:

• The release of guides on innovative housing options (for example, shared equity arrangements, laneway housing and modular/prefabricated homes)
• Working with Infrastructure Ontario and partner ministries to proactively examine opportunities to leverage surplus provincial lands for priority housing outcomes, such as to build more new affordable housing units.
• Continuing to lead the implementation of significant amendments made to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) through bill 184, the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, which was passed on July 21, 2020, with staggered proclamation dates. The amendments were informed by HSAP consultations and are intended to support a more balanced and accessible adjudication of tenancy disputes, streamline processes at the Landlord and Tenant Board, and increase protections for tenants. The ministry has been supporting the Landlord and Tenant Board to operationalize the amendments, as well as bringing all remaining amendments into force on September 1, 2021, and January 1, 2022 and supporting the Province in responding to legal challenges.

COVID‑19 Supports for Renters

The ministry led the implementation of significant supports for both residential and commercial tenants through:

• bill 204, Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, which froze residential rents in 2021 at 2020 levels in order to stabilize rents for the vast majority of Ontario’s 1.5 million rental households given the impacts of the pandemic.
• Implementing a temporary emergency order pausing the enforcement of residential evictions. In 2021–22, an emergency order came into effect that temporarily paused the enforcement of residential evictions (O. Reg. 266/21) to protect the health and safety of Ontarians in response to COVID‑19. Working with the Ministry of the Solicitor General, the ministry led the development of the emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to ensure people were not forced to leave their homes while a provincial stay-at-home order was in force.
• Implementing a temporary commercial eviction ban tied to the federal government’s Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) to protect businesses from eviction while they sought financial relief through CERS.
• Ongoing monitoring of the impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic and correlating government measures on residential and commercial rental markets to inform evaluation and current/future policy and program development.

Providing Public Awareness and Tenant and Landlord Guidance

The ministry provided ongoing public education and raised public awareness about key topics such as landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities under the RTA and the CTA, including recent amendments, and temporary changes to rental processes and rules during the COVID‑19 pandemic. This was achieved through:

• Responding to a significantly higher than usual volume of correspondence and calls from landlords and tenants for assistance (for example, the Market Housing Policy Branch responded to over 1,600 inquiries related to residential and commercial tenancies in 2021–22).
• Making timely updates to websites that inform tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities (with over 1 million visits to these ministry’s webpages in 2021–22).
• Publishing an updated Standard Form of Lease and multilingual guide to reflect amendments to the RTA and further clarify rent rules and tenant rights.
• Providing information sessions and webinars upon request by stakeholders and the public.
• The Rental Housing Enforcement Unit’s focused efforts to mitigate potential unlawful evictions and other RTA offences during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Enhancing use of Housing and Homelessness Data and Evidence

The development of the Housing and Homelessness Business Intelligence (HHBI) Data Portal has been one of the ministry’s key I&IT infrastructure projects since 2016-17, crucial to the success of building an evidence-based housing system. The data portal addresses the sector’s long-standing need for an integrated data warehouse that links housing and socio-economic datasets in one online platform, enabling ready access to data. A suite of interactive dashboards is available in the HHBI Portal with data on Ontario’s housing markets, housing supply, and various socio-economic variables including core housing need. In 2021-22, the HHBI has undergone enhancements to the data and improvements to functionality and the user experience.

2021–22 Results