July 8, 2020 – Ontario provides additional funding of $150M to support municipalities to develop long-term, innovative housing solutions.
July 8, 2020
Ontario provides additional funding to support municipalities
to develop long-term, innovative housing solutions
Wednesday, July 8, 2020 — The Ontario government is providing municipalities with an additional $150 million to continue to protect vulnerable people from COVID-19 by improving homeless shelters and creating opportunities for longer-term housing. This investment more than doubles the funding currently flowing to local municipal service managers and urban Indigenous program administrators through the Social Services Relief Fund.
“This is welcome news for our local municipalities and social service organizations struggling with the burden of homelessness made worse by Covid-19,” said MPP Daryl Kramp. “Our government continues to show it is listening to its municipal partners and local MPPs.”
“We are standing shoulder to shoulder with our municipal and Indigenous community partners to ensure our most vulnerable citizens are protected during these difficult times,” said Premier Ford. “Today’s investment builds on our collective efforts to help people get back on their feet quickly and recover from this global crisis. We will continue to be a champion for our municipal partners with the federal government to ensure a strong recovery for communities across the province.”
Municipalities and urban Indigenous community partners will be able to use this funding for long-term, innovative housing solutions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. They can renovate shelters or purchase new facilities that will help with physical distancing in the short term and support longer-term, more sustainable solutions to homelessness. In addition, this funding could also be used to provide vulnerable people with food, shelter and supplies.
The funding is another way Ontario is coming to the table to support municipalities as it continues to work with provincial partners and the federal government on municipal supports through the federal government’s proposed Safe Restart Framework.
“We know that municipal and Indigenous partners are facing extraordinary challenges due to this global pandemic,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “That’s why we continue to step up to provide financial support and other measures to help our local partners. This investment is another step our government is taking to protect our most vulnerable, but we know more needs to be done. We continue to work closely with our federal and municipal partners to ensure communities across Ontario have the support they need.”
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Media Contact:
Daryl Kramp, MPP 1-855-229-6676