MINISTER MCMEEKIN INTRODUCES LONG-AWAITED REGULATIONS

(This story was sent only to subscribers in ON.)  CHF Canada is very pleased to see the Ontario government introducing new Housing Services Act (HSA) regulations which will allow for a review of service manager decisions.

Since 2011, Ontario Region has asked the Province to follow through on developing a system to review service manager decisions. Although Section 157 of the HSA allows for reviews in theory, there were no regulations in place to make it possible. The update to Ontario�s Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy (LTAHS) provided an opportunity to advocate for this change; starting with our LTAHS submission (Recommendation 11) in July, 2015, Ontario Region has made the importance of this issue known to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, The Honourable Ted McMeekin. �We are thrilled to see the Minister moving forward on this,� said Managing Director Harvey Cooper. �It�s an important protection for our HSA co‑ops.�

As recommended by CHF Canada, the review procedure will be limited to important service manager decisions which have sometimes left co‑ops no choice but to resort to legal action. The regulation does not go into effect until January 1, 2017. We will produce a fact sheet for our members once more details have emerged. For more information, please contact Keith Moyer at our Ontario Region office: 1 (800) 268-2537, ext. 224.

MINISTER MCMEEKIN SPEAKS AT NEXT WEEK�S AGM

(This story was sent only to subscribers in ON.)  With this new announcement fresh in our minds, we are excited to be welcoming Minister McMeekin to the Ontario Region meeting at the AGM in Hamilton next week!

In the last few months, we�ve seen progress on some key issues with the Province including:

• inclusionary zoning to help build new affordable housing
• new energy-efficiency programs for social housing
• modernization of the social housing framework, which may simplify some reporting requirements for HSA co‑ops

And now -

• creating regulations to review service manager decisions

We know Ontario delegates and staff at the Friday June 10 annual meeting will give Minister McMeekin a warm round of applause when he steps up to speak!

PROVINCE ANNOUNCES $900 MILLION INVESTMENT IN RESIDENTIAL ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS

(This story was sent only to subscribers in ON.)  Ontario is committing $900 million over four years in programs for social and private rental housing to reduce the province�s carbon footprint. The programs are part of the government�s Climate Change Action Plan

It's a positive sign that the province is investing over several years. The money breaks down as follows:

• $500 million for social housing providers (HSA co‑ops will be eligible for this program);
• $400 million for private multi-unit rental housing.

The programs are in the early stages of development. We will update our members when new information becomes available.

UPDATE ON SHEEP/SHARP PROGRAMS:

In February we alerted you to the new Green Investment Fund programs with $92 million in funding for 2016. Service managers have now been allocated funds for energy-efficient retrofits. A small number of co‑ops both meet eligibility requirements and are in a funded region.

Check to see if your service manager received funding. Has your co‑op applied? We�d like to know. If your co‑op has or is planning to, please contact Peter Gesiarz at the Ontario Region office: 1 (800) 268-2537.

We are sending this eALERT to the e-mail address that we have on record for all Ontario co-ops that are CHF Canada members. If you prefer to receive eALERT in French, or if you do not want to receive future issues, please send us an e-mail. For further information, please contact Moira Dunphy.