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

Ministry of Municpal Affairs and Housing
Housing Programs Branch
777 Bay Street, 14th Floor
Toronto ON M7A 2J3
email: dan.lawrence2@ontario.ca

August 3, 2022

Ms. Donna Stewart
Associate Chief Administration Officer (A)
Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board
210 Mead Boulevard
Espanola, ON P5E 1R9

Dear Ms. Stewart:

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

Thank you for executing the Transfer Payment Amending Agreement for the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) & Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) for 2022-23 and for submitting your Investment Plan for the current fiscal year. The ministry has completed its review, and I am pleased to approve the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSSAB’s Investment Plan.

Based on your Investment Plan, this letter confirms financial commitments for Year 4 (2022-23) for the following program components:

Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI)

Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI)

For Year 4 (2022-23) 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 Components: Service Managers/Indigenous Program Administrators have received 20  percent of the annual program funding in the first quarter of this fiscal year based on the repair budget identified in their Investment Plan. The remaining 80 percent will be paid through subsequent quarterly payments based on their projected disbursements in the Investment Plan.
• OPHI Ontario Renovates Components: 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 Component-Shared Delivery: Payments will be made directly to the eligible households by the Ministry of Finance.

Reporting 

Investment Plans must be updated on a quarterly basis. Updates will include the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSSAB’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 30, 2023 may be re-allocated.

COCHI Communications Requirement – NEW

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.

I appreciate your commitment to increasing the supply of much needed community housing in your service area and look forward to our continued partnership under the COCHI & OPHI housing program.

Sincerely,
 
Dan Lawrence
A/Director
Housing Programs Branch
Enclosure
c. Cindy Couillard, Team Lead, Regional Housing Services, MSO-North East Paul Prosperi, Account Manager, Housing Programs Branch