Thank you for your interest in our Institute on Municipal Finance & Governance Report: The Municipal Role in Child Care Speakers Series webinar on October 9, 2024. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, OMSSA will postpone this session. 

In May 2024, the Institute on Municipal Finance & Governance at the University of Toronto released a report called "The Municipal Role in Child Care." This report is comprised of four key sections, each with separate authors outlining their vision for municipally-led child care. This session will bring together some of these authors to provide an overview of their analyses and an update on their work since the report was published. Their presentations will each focus on what they see as strengths and opportunities here in Ontario, including the unique role of municipal service system managers.

Drawing on the report, the speakers will provide analyses of international examples that Ontario can learn from, how different levels of government can better coordinate on implementing the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program, the advantages of municipally operated child care and its effects on staffing, and the municipal role in planning and building equitable and accessible child care. Additionally, the session will look at the future of municipally-led child care in Ontario, and will consider ways to move forward in light of the release of the province's new funding formula and the possibility of for-profit expansion in the system.

This session will be of interest to all members and partners working in municipal and not-for-profit child care, child care policy analysts, city planners, and more.

Please see our invited speakers and presenters.

Speakers:

• Moderator: Sonali Chakraborti, Manager of Programs and Research, Institute on Municipal Finance & Governance, University of Toronto
• Dr. Gordon Cleveland, Associate Professor Emeritus, Economics Department of Management, University of Toronto Scarborough, Member, National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care
• Sue Colley, Co-Founder and Chair, Building Blocks for Child Care
• Carolyn Ferns, Public Policy and Government Relations Coordinator, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
• Martha Friendly, Executive Director, Childcare Resource and Research Unit
• Carley Holt, Principal Planner, City of Edmonton

The annual Welfare in Canada report enumerates and examines the total welfare incomes of example households receiving social assistance in a given year and details some key features of social assistance programs, in all 13 provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada. As the only publicly available resource that compiles and analyses this data, Welfare in Canada is the primary source for evaluating Canada’s progress on fulfilling the human right to an adequate standard of living for households receiving social assistance.

Welfare in Canada was established by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy in 2012 to maintain and build on longitudinal data previously published by the National Council of Welfare in its Welfare Incomes reports. In 2018, Maytree assumed responsibility for updating the series and has added additional data and analysis over time.

Please note: the Welfare in Canada report is expected to be released at the end of July. This webinar offers a preview of the upcoming report.

Please see our invited speakers and presenters.

Speakers:

• Moderator: Stu Beumer, Director of Ontario Works, City of Hamilton
• Jennefer Laidley, Maytree Fellow
• Mohy Tabbara, Senior Policy Advisor

Resources and Recording:

• Welfare in Canada Report: https://maytree.com/changing-systems/data-measuring/welfare-in-canada/ 
• Webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXGVUKm83-Y 

Canada’s Federal Housing Advocate is a unique human rights accountability mechanism established to advance the right to adequate housing in Canada and monitor the National Housing Strategy. Located within the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Advocate works to amplify the voices of people experiencing inadequate housing and homelessness and hold governments to account on their human rights obligations. In this session, we will introduce the right to housing and the Advocate’s mandate. The Session will include a brief overview of the Advocate’s mandate and discuss the Advocate’s final report and recommendations resulting from her national review of encampments, which has been be released on February 13, 2024.

Please see our invited speakers and presenters.

Speakers:

• Moderator: Kelly Goz, Manager (A), Homelessness Special Projects, Housing Hub, City of Windsor
• Jessica Losier, Data Research Analyst, Office of the Federal Housing Advocate
• Ruby Bissett, Data Research Analyst, Office of the Federal Housing Advocate
• Ian Hamilton, Senior Advisor, Office of the Federal Housing Advocate
• Emily Paradis, Senior Advisor, Office of the Federal Housing Advocate
• Catherine McKenney, Special Advisor, Engagement, Office of the Federal Housing Advocate

Resources

• Upholding dignity and human rights: the Federal Housing Advocate's review of homeless encampments
• Webinar Presentation
• Financialization of Purpose-Built Rental Housing
• Federal Housing Advocate's Observational Report - British Columbia

Building on our conversation at OMSSA's 2023 Exchange Conference, four of this year's Local Municipal Champion award recipients will tell the story of the programs that were developed for their communities, with particular emphasis on the successes they have seen and the challenges they have overcome. They will also answer the many questions attendees had as part of the discussion. 

Please see our invited speakers and presenters.

Speakers:

• Moderator: Brian Marks, Chief Administrative Officer, Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board
• Kelly Goz, Coordinator, Housing Administration & Development, City of Windsor
• Kristine Haines-Chiarello, Manager (A), Employment and Social Services Central, Community and Social Services, City of Ottawa
• Ian Hanney, Supervisor, Homelessness Prevention and Social Planning, County of Lambton
• Whitney Kitchen, Coordinator, Housing Administration & Development, City of Windsor
• Jennifer Lible, Manager, Social Assistance Programs, District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board

This session will bring together OMSSA Members to discuss the initiatives they've designed to address the current challenges in housing and homelessness. We'll hear from a spectrum of Members on, but not limited to, the following issues:

• How has homelessness changed since the pandemic, as well as in the last year?
• How has the Waterloo encampment decision changed the approach to homelessness in your area?
• What work are you doing to connect housing and health?

Please see our invited speakers and presenters.

Speakers:

• Moderator: Al Fletcher, Manager, Investment in Affordable Housing/Neighbourhood Development at the City of Hamilton
• Abigail Bond, Executive Director of the Housing Secretariat, City of Toronto
• Nicole Cortese, Manager of Homelessness Operations, Regional Municipality of Niagara
• Lisa McIntosh, Director of Income Employment and Homelessness, Regional Municipality of Durham
• Tyler Venable, Manager, Housing Services, District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board

This webinar will explore the current implementation of the Canada-Wide Early Learning & Child Care Program (CWELCC). Attendees will hear our guest speakers share their insights on the implementation of CWELCC in Ontario. Please see our invited speakers and presenters.

Speakers:

• Moderator: Satinder Klair, Director, Children's Services, Regional Municipality of Niagara
• Dr. Gordon Cleveland, Consultant Economist, President of Cleveland Consulting: Early Childhood Education and Care Inc. 
• Beth Deazeley, LL.B., Registrar and CEO, College of Early Childhood Educators
• Kim Hiscott, RECE, Executive Director, Andrew Fleck Children's Services

Resources

• College of ECEs Data Presentation