Bruce County council and staff are wondering what the next steps should be for their Housing & Homelessness plans after the province advised them to wait until a review is completed.
During Thursday’s meeting, it was shared that the Ministry is reviewing its current policy direction, which is meant to ensure that local plans align with government priorities.
Councillor Ken Craig says the call for a pause in work is disappointing, saying that it seemed as though the province was calling for any work on a housing and homelessness plan to come to a halt.
Director of Human Services for the county, Tina Metcalfe, says “[The government] is requesting that service managers not complete the review of their local plans, until they receive further communications from the ministry.”
She says that the ministry has also indicated that it needs to provide guidance in a timely manner, and that it intends to provide an update as soon as possible.
Metcalfe says county staff started their plans for a review late last year, with community engagement sessions already having been completed, and a draft plan was ready for review.
She says county staff will continue to wait for further instruction from the province, “But in the interim, staff will actively continue with council-approved priorities regarding our community-based planning, and the delivery of housing and homelessness services.”
Under the Housing Services Act (2011), Service Managers are required to review their local housing and homelessness plans at least once every five years and update them every 10 years.
