Approved Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) & Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) Investment Plan

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Housing Programs Branch
777 Bay Street, 14th Floor
Toronto ON M7A 2J3
 

October 9, 2024

Lori Clark
Director, Integrated Social Services
Manitoulin Sudbury District Services Board
210 Mead Boulevard,
Espanola, ON P5E 1R9

Dear Ms. Lori Clark:

Re: Approved Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) & Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) Investment Plan

Thank you for submitting your updated Investment Plan for the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) and the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) programs for 2024-25. The ministry has completed its review, and I am pleased to approve the Manitoulin Sudbury District Services Board’s Investment Plan.

Based on your updated Investment Plan, this letter confirms the planned financial commitments for the following program components:

Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI)
 

Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI)

This letter also commits the Rental Assistance funding for Year 6 (2024-25) for COCHI and OPHI.

For Year 6 (2024-25) financial commitments, transfer payments will be made as follows:

• COCHI New Build & OPHI Rental Housing Components: Project specific payments will be made based on achievement of development milestones as identified in the approved project funding schedule in the Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) system.
• COCHI Repair Component: Quarterly payments will be made to Service Managers/Indigenous Program Administrators based on the planned quarterly take up outlined in their Investment Plan as well as actual take-up as per project submissions in TPON.
• OPHI Ontario Renovates Component: Quarterly payments will be made to Service Managers/Indigenous Program Administrators based on the planned quarterly take up outlined in their Investment Plan as well as actual take-up as per project submissions in TPON.
• COCHI & OPHI Operating Components: Quarterly payments will be made based on quarterly projected disbursements identified in the Investment Plan.
• OPHI Operating-Shared Delivery Component: Payments will be made directly to the eligible households by the Ministry of Finance.

Reporting  

In light of the delayed start to the COCHI and OPHI programs, the next quarterly Investment Plan update will be due on November 8, 2024. Updates will include the Manitoulin Sudbury District Services Board’s actual spending against projected disbursements and a revised forecast.

The ministry will review Service Managers/Indigenous Program Administrators’ Investment Plan updates in the third quarter of each fiscal year to determine if annual funding targets will be met or if re-allocation is required. Any funding that is not committed by January 31, 2025, may be re-allocated.

COCHI Communications Requirement 

As per the Program Guidelines, Service Managers/Indigenous Program Administrators are required to inform the recipients of COCHI funding that the program is administered by the provincial government and is cost shared between the federal and municipal governments.
 
Operating Components

Communication to recipients participating in the COCHI operating components can be done through a letter to the recipient, such as an initial Eligibility Letter or a Subsidy Renewal Letter. Please ensure that the following wording is included in such a communication in order to meet this new requirement:

Your rent supplement subsidy is cost shared between the federal and municipal governments and is administered by the provincial government through the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) under the National Housing Strategy.

Capital Components

For projects funded through the COCHI capital components, this requirement can be met by ensuring that any signage on the project, either during construction or at completion, includes the following wording:

The project is funded through the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) administered by the provincial government under the National Housing Strategy and is cost shared between the federal and municipal governments.

Reporting  

A COCHI Communications Report confirming this activity is now required to be submitted by Service Managers and Indigenous Program Administrators at year-end, along with their year-end Investment Plan.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact your respective Municipal Services Office Housing Team Lead/Housing Programs Branch Account Manager.
I appreciate your commitment to increasing the supply of much needed community housing in your service area and look forward to our continued partnership in delivering the COCHI and OPHI housing programs.

Yours sincerely,
 
Tanisha Lewis
Director
Housing Programs Branch

c: Cindy Couillard, Team Lead, Regional Housing Services, MSO 
– Northeast Jennifer Dillon, Account Manager, Housing Programs Branch