Item - 2020.EC12.2

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council delegate authority to the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in accordance with a City Council-approved Shelter, Support and Housing Administration Service Plan, to:

a.  submit applications to any government or agency for funding related to housing and homelessness services;

b.  enter into agreements with other levels of government and government agencies for the purposes of receiving funding for housing and homelessness services in Toronto; and

c.  enter into agreements with other entities, including City divisions, federal or provincial agencies, community organizations, private entities, or individuals, to spend federal and provincial funding in accordance with the federal and provincial program requirements and guidelines;

and that the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 169, Officials, City, be amended accordingly.

City Council authority is required for the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA), to receive funding and enter into funding agreements with other levels of government for housing and homelessness programs and to spend that funding in accordance with the agreements and program guidelines.

This report seeks to update the authority of the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA), under the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 169, Officials, City, Article 6, to enter into agreements with other levels of government for the purposes of receiving funding for housing and homelessness programs in Toronto; and to enter into agreements with community agencies to spend federal and provincial grant funding, in accordance with the City Council-approved SSHA Service Plan and federal and provincial program requirements and guidelines.

Municipal Code Chapter 169, Article 6, currently gives the General Manager, SSHA, authority to receive and spend only Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative (SCPI) funding. This authority was granted in 2001 and is out-of-date, as SCPI has been replaced by Reaching Home and does not include the new provincial Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative and Home for Good programs.