The Ministry has now completed its review of your business case, and I am pleased to confirm that we have approved your plan with follow up direction in accordance with a total planning allocation of $4,475,031 for the fiscal year 2020-21. Ministry staff will be in contact with you in the coming days to discuss feedback on your business case.

I want to acknowledge that, in addition to the capital and operating plans being approved with this letter, many Service Managers have submitted as part of their business cases additional capital proposals (i.e., additional proposals where submitted in response to Question 12 in the business cases). Where applicable, the Province encourages Service Managers to consider submitting these additional capital proposals under the federal government’s Rapid Housing Initiative to maximize the potential benefits to Ontario’s housing as well as the good work done by Service Managers as part of this process.

As communicated to you in August 2020, to ensure SSRF Phase 2 funding is targeted to where it is needed most, the Ministry has held back a portion of the total SSRF Phase 2 funding from the initial planning allocations. Decisions on how to allocate this hold back will be determined over the coming weeks and months based on emerging public health needs and progress to date as indicated through required program reporting.

This will allow us to target these remaining investments where they are most required, as the public health situation continues to evolve. Service Managers will be notified when decisions are made to allocate this remaining funding.

SSRF Phase 2 Funding and Reporting

Now that your business case has been approved, we will provide an initial payment of up to 75 per cent of operating funding based on the projections made in your approved business case. This payment will be processed shortly.

Funding for capital projects will be dispersed based on project submissions and the funding schedule outlined in the Program Guidelines. For each capital project, you must complete and submit a Project Information Form through the Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) system for Ministry approval.

Please note that you are required to submit an interim report by December 15, 2020 on your use of SSRF Phase 2 funds and projected spending. A subsequent operating payment will be made following the submission and approval of this report and attestation.

As part of the quarterly reporting requirements, you will also be required to report actual expenditures for the previous financial quarter and revised projections for subsequent quarters by the relevant spending category by January 31, 2021. For your year-end reports, you will also be required to report on data collected on specific performance indicators.