OMSSA Policy Conference Program 2021

With the culmination of the fall Federal Election, a national child care program, and its promise of affordable early learning and child care, has come to the fore as way of rebuilding the post-pandemic Canadian economy. It will facilitate this recovery by making accessible and equitable several programs and services that have previously been unaffordable or unavailable to many.

In this session, panelists will present their vision for quality child care and early childhood education in Ontario. In particular, what will affordable child care and early childhood education look like and how do we ensure that programs and services are of high quality for everyone? Not to be overlooked, how do we ensure that early childhood educators are treated equitably and paid fairly? And finally, what does this program mean for Ontario municipalities?

Moderator: 

• Jacqueline Johnson, Director, Community Access, Regional Municipality of Peel

Panelists:

• Catherine Chambers, Equity and Economic Development Researcher and PhD Student

• Gordon Cleveland, Consultant Economist, President of Cleveland Consulting: Early Childhood Education and Care Inc. 

• Carolyn Ferns, Public Policy and Government Relations Coordinator, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care

• Jodie Kehl, Executive Director, Manitoba Child Care Association

Following up on OMSSA’s successful Defining Pathways to Reconciliation Forum, Isadore Day, CEO of Bimaadzwin, will present highlights of his report on the Forum. This report will be submitted to the OMSSA Board for its approval at our December Board meeting and included in the development of OMSSA’s next Strategic Plan.

Speaker:

• Isadore Day, CEO of Bimaadzwin 

Closing Remarks: 

• Cathy Cousins, OMSSA President and Director of Homelessness and Community Engagement, Community Services, Region of Niagara

This session will engage municipal service managers and our provincial partners to discuss health and human services integration that continues to put the individual at the centre of human services. The pandemic highlighted the need to communicate, work together and break down silos to promote life stabilization and an awareness of the social determinants of health in communities across Ontario.

This panel will bring together Ontario Health, MCCSS, MMAH, and SOLGEN for a discussion on how the work of Ontario Health Teams and programs dealing with mental health and addictions, life stabilization, homelessness and housing, child care, and discharge planning are all linked together and play a role in supporting vulnerable populations.

Moderator: 

• Dan McCormick, Chief Administrative Officer, Rainy River DSSAB 

Panelists:

• Karen Glass, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Division, Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

• Zahra Ismail, Senior Director, Primary Care and Social Determinants, Ontario Health

• Holly Moran, Assistant Deputy Minister, Early Years and Child Care, Ministry of Education

• Keith Palmer, Assistant Deputy Minister (Acting), Operational Support, Ministry of the Solicitor General

• Josh Paul, Assistant Deputy Minister, Housing Division, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Human services leaders have a role to play in building and supporting a culture of anti-racism in the workplace and in service delivery. In this keynote, diversity and equity expert Jean Samuel will provide practical insight into why equity leadership should be considered emotional work and why leaders need to focus on developing their E.I. (emotional intelligence) and not just their I.Q. Using this framework, Jean will guide attendees towards asking the right questions about equity in the human services, while also helping leaders dismantle their fears around conscious leadership.

Moderator: 

• Sutha Balasingham, Head, Strategic Initiatives, Community and Health Services, Regional Municipality of York

Speaker:

• Jean Samuel, Principal Arise International Consulting

Closing Remarks: 

• Doug Ball, OMSSA Executive Director

We hear a lot about building back better after the pandemic, but what does this actually mean? How can we fix inequities in human services, while avoiding a return to the status quo? We’re bringing back last year’s popular panel focusing on economic recovery. Moderated by TVO’s John Michael McGrath, hear from returning panelists Mitchell Davidson and Armine Yalnizyan, along with new panelists, Garima Talwar Kapoor and Marc Desormeaux, as they discuss what an equity-based economic recovery might look like. 

Moderator:

• John Michael McGrath, Staff Writer, TVO

Panelists:

• Mitchell Davidson, Executive Director, StrategyCorp Institute of Public Policy and Economy

• Marc Desormeaux, Senior Economist, Scotiabank Economics

• Garima Talwar Kapoor, Director, Policy and Research, Maytree Foundation

• Armine Yalnizyan, Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers

Housing instability and homelessness have been greatly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and exposed cracks in the system that were already there. As a result, there has been an increase in the need for supportive, transitional and community housing. How have housing organizations addressed this growing crisis? What obstacles have they encountered at the municipal and provincial level as they’ve done their work? For this panel, a group of housing partners will discuss both the challenges and successes of their work over the last few years. The panelists will also provide practical insights into what policy and non-policy changes can be made to ensure they can effectively meet the housing needs of those in precarious situations. The session will also focus on how service managers can best work with housing providers to address the most vulnerable in communities across Ontario.

Moderator: 

• Brian Marks, Chief Administrative Officer, Cochrane DSSAB 

Speaker: 

• Greg Fryer, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity Grey Bruce
• Helen Harris, Senior Manager, Centre for Housing Excellence, Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association
• Justin Marchand, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services
• Simone Swail, Manager, Government Relations, Co-Operative Housing Federation of Canada