COUNTY OF SIMCOE
To:
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Section:
Human Services – Social Housing
Item Number:
CCW 16-108
Meeting Date:
March 22, 2016
Subject:
Green Investment Fund
Recommendation:
THAT Item CCW 16-108, regarding the Ontario Green Investment Fund, be received;
AND THAT, in the event the County of Simcoe’s expression of interest under the Ontario Green
Investment Fund program is successful, the Warden and Clerk be authorized to enter into a Transfer
Agreement, and any other associated documentation, with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing, as outlined in Item CCW 16-108;
AND THAT the Warden and Clerk also be authorized to enter into the necessary funding agreements
with service providers approved under the Ontario Green Investment Fund Program, as outlined in Item
CCW 16-108.
Executive Summary:
This Item is intended to provide information on the Provincial Green Investment Fund (GIF), as
announced on February 12, 2016, and to obtain Council approval to proceed with the signing of
required documents if social housing providers in the County of Simcoe are selected by the Province to
receive funding under the GIF. There are two components to the GIF that are applicable to social
housing:
 Social Housing Electricity Efficiency Program (SHEEP)
 Social Housing Apartment Retrofit Program (SHARP)
There are two social housing providers in the County of Simcoe that would be eligible for funding. Both
providers have submitted business cases to the County. The County will use this information as part of
the Expression of Interest which will be submitted to the Province by the deadline of March 11, 2016.
Should the Expression of Interest be approved by the Province a Transfer Payment Agreement will be
required between the County and the Province, in order that the funding can be directed to the
providers through the County, in its Service Manager role.
March 22, 2016
Committee of the Whole CCW 16-108
2
Background/Analysis/Options:
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) announced on February 12, 2016, that $92
million in new funding would be available to support green energy retrofits for social housing providers.
As part of this funding, $82 million will be dedicated to the SHARP. Funding under SHARP is aimed at
measures that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The program will fund selected retrofits and must
be able to demonstrate decreased greenhouse gas emissions and increased energy efficiency. This
program is targeted to older high-rise apartment buildings where there are 150 units or more.
Currently, there is one social housing provider with 217 units in one high-rise apartment building,
located in the City of Barrie, which could qualify under the Social Housing Apartment Retrofit Program
(SHARP) program guidelines. This provider could benefit from this funding for retrofits such as new air
make up units, LED lighting or other lighting upgrades, lighting controls and sensors.
Through the Social Housing Electricity Efficiency Program (SHEEP), $10 million will be dedicated to
support energy retrofits for scattered units where tenant units are entirely or substantially heated with
electricity, and tenants directly pay for the electricity costs. Funding under SHEEP is aimed at
measures that will increase electric energy efficiencies. This program will fund selected retrofits that
must be able to demonstrate increased energy efficiency. Under SHEEP program guidelines, there is
one provider with 76 townhomes located in the City of Orillia that could qualify for retrofits such as
programmable thermostats, installation of interior/exterior LED lighting, increased attic insulation (R50),
and new energy efficient doors.
The reasons that other social housing providers in the County were not eligible are that they are not of
a size or heating type that the Province is targeting under the new SHARP and SHEEP components, or
that they are governed by a federal operating agreement and can leave the social housing system once
they reach their End of Operating Agreement/Mortgage date. Both the components are targeted to
older social housing stock which exists predominantly in larger urban settings.
Upon receiving the Green Investment Fund (GIF) information from the Province, staff immediately
contacted both of the potentially eligible providers to inform them of program requirements and assist
with the preparation of a business case. The deadline for the County to submit to the Ministry an
Expression of Interest that will include the business case(s) from the provider is Friday, March 11,
2016. Funding allocations will be made by the Ministry based on the business cases it receives under
the Expression of Interest process. Due to the program budget the Ministry cannot guarantee funding
for all Expressions of Interest submitted by Service Managers. Service Managers selected to receive a
funding allocation will be notified by the Province through a Letter of Commitment by no later than
March 31, 2016.
Selected Service Managers must sign Transfer Payment Agreements with the Ministry of Municipal
Affairs and Housing (MMAH) (which will include, among other things, the terms for funding and
monitoring, energy audit and reporting requirements) prior to receiving funding. The anticipated date
that Transfer Payment Agreements would be executed is no later than June 30, 2016, and funded
retrofit activities would be completed by March 31, 2018.
If either or both of the County’s two eligible social housing providers are selected, the County will need
to develop and execute funding agreements with each provider, based upon the documents provided
by the Province. Legal counsel will be obtained regarding documentation for this program once the
Province has provided the documents and prior to any finalization of agreements. The County will be
expected to work with the Province to ensure overall program objectives are met, through the collection
March 22, 2016
Committee of the Whole CCW 16-108
3
of performance measurement data which may include demonstration of energy efficiencies. The
County will work with the housing providers to obtain the relevant data needed for program analysis.
Financial and Resource Implications:
There is no financial impact to the County for the submission of an Expression of Interest to the
Province pertaining to the Green Investment Fund (GIF). If the County is successful in securing
Provincial approval based on business cases from two housing providers, the Transfer Payment
Agreement will be reviewed through legal counsel. As only two housing providers are eligible to submit
business cases under the Green Investment Fund (GIF), it will be possible for existing staff levels to
assist with processing the program elements with the providers, using the County’s technical, financial,
and housing programs staff resources.
The GIF components are 100% funded by the Province.
Relationship to Corporate Strategies:
Item CCW 16-108 directly supports the County of Simcoe Strategic Plan, specifically:
Strengthen Social, Health and Educational Opportunities: Establish partnerships to identify
opportunities for strengthening human services and education to support improved health and wellbeing for our residents.
Item CCW 16-108 also directly supports Our Community 10-Year Affordable Housing and
Homelessness Prevention Strategy:
 Specifically, recommendation #3.2: Maintain and preserve existing housing assets and seize
opportunities to renovate and improve other housing stock for the purpose of affordable
housing
Reference Documents: There are no reference documents associated with this Item.
Attachments:
Schedule 1: Green Investment Fund – Social Housing Apartment Retrofit Program (SHARP)
Schedule 1
Schedule 2: Green Investment Fund – Social Housing Electricity Efficiency Program (SHEEP)
Schedule 2
Prepared By:
Maureen Taylor, Program Supervisor
Arfona Zwiers, Manager of Housing Programs
March 22, 2016
Committee of the Whole CCW 16-108
4
Approvals:
Date
Cathy Kytayko, Director, Social Housing
Greg Bishop, General Manager, Social and Community Services
Trevor Wilcox, General Manager, Corporate Performance
Mark Aitken, Chief Administrative Officer
March 7, 2016
March 8, 2016
March 12, 2016
March 14, 2016