8. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING
The province places a high degree of importance on accountability for its actions, decisions and policies with regard to the use of public funds for programs and services. The government has an obligation to demonstrate value for money and ensure that funds have been spent appropriately and in a timely manner. Accordingly, Service Managers must submit the following as accountability mechanisms for the COHB program:
- Transfer Payment Agreement with MMAH and MOF;
- Quarterly Claims; and
- French Language Services Reports.
Service Managers will submit quarterly claims and French Language Services Reports as described in the respective sections of the COHB Transfer Payment Agreement.
Service Managers are required to use the Transfer Payment Ontario System to submit COHB reports. For assistance or questions regarding the Transfer Payment Ontario System, please contact the Housing Service Desk at HousingServiceDesk@ontario.ca.
8.1 Memoranda of Understanding
Three memoranda of understanding govern the COHB program:
- MMAH and MOF Memorandum of Understanding: Sets out the responsibilities of the two ministries in relation to the COHB program;
- CRA and MOF Memorandum of Understanding: Enables MOF to obtain household level tax information from the CRA in order to perform Automated Income Verification during eligibility determination and benefit calculation;
- MMAH and ServiceOntario Memorandum of Understanding: Arranges for ServiceOntario to operate the Information Centre to respond to program enquiries from applicants and request required information, as appropriate.
8.2 Transfer Payment Agreements
Service Managers must enter into a Transfer Payment Agreement with MMAH and MOF for the COHB program. In accordance with the province's Transfer Payment Accountability Directive, the agreements will contain an accountability framework, outline the roles and responsibilities of the parties, and include the terms for funding and reporting requirements. The agreement will set out the role of Service Managers, MMAH and MOF in relation to the sharing of household personal information.
8.3 Quarterly Claims
Following the execution of Transfer Payment Agreements, Service Managers are required to submit quarterly claims to MMAH for administration costs and reimbursement of first and last month's rent paid to eligible households for the previous quarter. Service Managers will also provide additional information, data and reports as needed by the ministry to report on progress made towards achieving program outcomes.