Background:

  • In the 2007 Ontario Budget the Ontario provincial government announced $80 million for off-reserve Aboriginal housing units, to be allocated in partnership with Aboriginal communities
  • The $80 million is the province’s share of the Off-Reserve Aboriginal Housing Trust Fund (OAHT) that was transferred from the federal government to the province in September 2006 to address the short-term housing needs of Aboriginal people living off-reserve in Ontario. 
  • Of the $80 million, 25 percent ($20 million) was designated for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and 75 percent ($60 million) for the rest of the province.
  • The Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centre (OFIFC), Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) and the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) partnered to lead a provincial engagement process for the $60 million portion of the Off-Reserve Aboriginal Housing Trust (OAHT) Fund

The Engagement Process

  • The provincial OAHT engagement process gathered information on the specific housing needs, priorities and issues of Aboriginal people living off-reserve in urban and rural areas across the province in order to provide recommendations to MMAH on program design for the OAHT
  • The engagement process entailed seven one-day engagement sessions in six cities across three regional areas of the province, south, northeast and northwest, and three separate surveys to garner the participation of individual Aboriginal community members, as well as staff and representatives of Aboriginal housing and service providers
  • The engagement sessions brought together nearly 150 representatives from a diversity of Aboriginal housing providers, service providers, shelters, community organizations and provincial organizations that serve the needs of First Nation, Inuit and Métis people living off-reserve
  • Over 630 of the provincial OAHT surveys were completed by predominantly First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals across the province

Ontario Off-Reserve Aboriginal Housing Trust Report

  • In September 2008, OFIFC, MNO and ONWA presented the results of the Ontario provincial Off-Reserve Aboriginal Housing Trust (OAHT) engagement process, in the Ontario Off-Reserve Aboriginal Housing Trust Report
  • Among the recommendations in the report it suggested that the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Support Service Corporation (OAHSSC) be the delivery agent for the trust funds
  • Other key recommendations included that the program be comprised of three types of housing: affordable rental housing, supportive and transitional housing, and assisted homeownership, with the option to construct new housing stock or obtain and renovate existing stock for re-use as affordable housing and the target population for housing be Aboriginal individuals or families with low- to moderate-income or those in core need.

Next Steps

First Nations, Inuit and Métis Urban and Rural (FIMUR) Housing Program

The proposed program utilizing the OAHT funds, now referred to as the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Urban and Rural (FIMUR) Housing Program, was approved by the provincial Cabinet in December 2008.  As such, OAHSSC is the provincial Aboriginal delivery agent responsible for the design, delivery and administration of the FIMUR Housing Program.  OAHSSC is currently in the process of developing the details of the FIMUR Housing Program, and the OFIFC, MNO and ONWA are working closely with OAHSSC staff to ensure that the design, delivery and administration of the FIMUR Housing Program corresponds as closely as possible with the priorities, issues and needs that were identified by the broader off-reserve Aboriginal community in the provincial OAHT engagement process.

On April 16, 2009 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the provincial government and ONWA, OFIFC and MNO which officially announced OAHSSC as the delivery agent and will initiate the transfer of funds to OAHSSC for the FIMUR Housing program to begin.

For more information on the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Urban and Rural (FIMUR) Housing Program please contact:

Ontario Aboriginal Housing Support Services Corporation
500 Bay St.
Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1X5
Phone: 705.256.1876
Toll Free: 1.866.391.1061
Fax: 705.256.2671
Email: Info@oahssc.ca
http://www.oahssc.ca/