Type of Intervention: Financial and Economic
Sectors Involved: Indigenous Peoples, Social Services
Intervention Categories: Finance policy and financial aid; Stimulus packages and financial support
Level of Jurisdiction: Ontario
Lead People/Agency: Premier Doug Ford and Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Jamie McGarvey, President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario
Overview: The Ontario government is offering an additional $150 million in funding for municipalities and urban Indigenous communities to improve homeless shelters and create opportunities for longer-term housing. This intends to protect vulnerable people from COVID-19 by providing financial support to local partners, helping to offset costs of addressing homelessness. This investment is part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19 and the province’s COVID-19 Action Plan to Protect Vulnerable Ontarians.
Full details here: https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2020/07/ontario-provides-additional-funding-to-support-municipalities-and-urban-indigenous-community-partner.html
Other links: 1 2
Type of Justification: Advice of INTERNAL government advisory committee or group, Providing support
Source of Evidence or Justification: Sub-national, government and public health officials
Evidence/Justification: It is explained that this investment of $150 million for municipalities and urban Indigenous communities is justified by the need to support and protect vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, including those who are homeless. By offering more financial support, the current funding distributed through the Social Services Relief Fund is more than doubled, providing increased resources to address homelessness, particularly in urban Indigenous populations. Additionally, this investment is part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19 and the COVID-19 Action Plan to Protect Vulnerable Ontarians, which were developed with guidance from numerous government and public health officials.