Dear Stephen Abram,
I am writing to provide you with an update on the work of the Premier’s Advisory Group on Community Hubs.
I am pleased to report that since its release in August, we have received a very enthusiastic response to Community Hubs in Ontario: A Strategic Framework and Action Plan. The government indicated its full support and I am excited that we are moving forward with implementation.
Both inside and outside of government, people remain highly engaged around community hubs. In the spirit of breaking down silos, an implementation committee has been assembled within government, comprised of Deputy Ministers from several ministries. The role of the committee is to oversee the implementation of the recommendations in the report.
We’ve heard that community groups want to stay involved and that stakeholders are interested in realizing implementation quickly.
This level of interest is key as we can’t tackle this challenge on our own. While some recommendations aim to address complicated systemic challenges within government, others require relatively simple innovative solutions. Either way, internal and external partners will play an important role in the implementation and we are already making progress.
Specifically, ministries are currently leading initiatives related to key recommendations in the Framework and Action Plan:
- The Ministry of Education is reviewing and consulting on the regulation that deals with the disposition of school properties. For information or to submit comments, visit the consultation website.
- The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has completed stakeholder consultations on a new Community Health Capital Programs Policy. This new policy will be released in the near future.
- The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is hosting a number of Community Hubs forums across the Province to inform implementation of the recommendation to require integrated planning to ensure client-focused service delivery regardless of jurisdictional boundaries.
- Ministries are working towards integrated service delivery in several areas. For example, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services has been working with other ministries as well as community and policing partners on the development of the provincial approach to community safety and well-being. This includes improving information sharing and risk-based data collection across multi-sectoral agencies with the goal of providing immediate, coordinated and integrated responses to address situations facing individuals and families in crisis while gathering data to support local and provincial policy development.
- In line with the Province’s work to explore the use of schools as community hubs, the Ministry of Education is investing in the creation of approximately 2,900 new licensed child care spaces in 49 schools across the province, giving children the opportunity to transition from child care into full-day kindergarten at the same location. Providing more licensed child care spaces in schools aligns with the government’s commitment to support community hubs in offering client-focused, co-ordinated services such as child care, education, health care and social services.
- In addition, four other examples of community hub partnership projects are beginning development, including:
o London Catholic District School Board (DSB) and the City of London are partnering to create a community based family centre at St. Francis Elementary School
o Simcoe County DSB and the Township of Springwater are partnering to construct commercial kitchens that can be used for local events at Elmvale District High School
o Hamilton Wentworth DSB and the City of Hamilton are partnering to construct community kitchen space and a public library at Greensville Public School
o Algoma DSB and the City of Sault Saint Marie are partnering to include a public library into the newly renovated Alexander Henry Secondary School.
Since August, the Community Hubs Secretariat has also been engaging with a variety of partners and stakeholders. In addition to a number of speaking engagements at various conferences across the Province, we are also seeking input from the private sector and technology experts about the opportunities that virtual hubs could provide. We are also continuing to identify barriers to community hub development.
We will continue the dialogue with the objective of identifying opportunities for partnerships, collaboration and innovation in the implementation of the recommendations. If you would like to stay engaged, you are invited to e-mailCommunity.Hubs@Ontario.ca.
I would like to thank you for your engagement during the development and implementation of the Strategic Framework and Action Plan. We are all partners in making it easier to develop community hubs and providing client-focused services that better meet the needs of our communities.
Sincerely,
Karen Pitre
Premier’s Special Advisor on Community Hubs