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.

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.

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.

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.

How do you create one outcomes framework for over 150 programs—each with different goals, services, and clients? In this session, we’ll take you behind the scenes of a major initiative led by the City of Toronto’s Social Development, Finance & Administration (SDFA) division to do exactly that. Using a practical approach rooted in Results-Based Accountability and logic models, we’ll walk through how we developed a shared framework that captures meaningful outcomes across diverse areas like community safety, youth development, poverty reduction, and more.

In March 2024, Niagara Region Council endorsed the Niagara Poverty Reduction Strategy. Recognizing that the Regional Municipality of Niagara and many local providers already deliver services to lift people out of poverty, this Strategy identifies best practice, uncovers gaps and leverages local knowledge to inform future action. Diverse perspectives and experiences shaped this community-owned Strategy. Over 1000 residents informed the Strategy including people living in poverty and over 200 Indigenous people. During this session, the presenters will review the collective impact approach used to engage community and collaborate with many sectors to create the Strategy. They will outline the Strategy’s areas of focus, recommendations and actions. The presenters will describe the evaluation plan designed to measure success and reflect on highlights from the first year of implementation, including how the Strategy informed a regional grant funding program. This presentation will be of interest for municipalities working to end poverty. Whether you're thinking of creating a poverty reduction strategy or looking for ways to enhance existing efforts, you’ll leave with insights and inspiration to engage community, monitor success and build collaborations that can work together to end poverty. Event Resources Presentation Slides View Recording Niagara Poverty Reduction Strategy Overview Strategy Report […]