Item - 2019.EX4.3

The Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services recommends that:  

1.  City Council designate Long-Term Care Homes and Services as the seniors housing and services entity approved by 2018.EX34.2 and direct the City Manager to expand the mandate of Long-Term Care Homes and Services to include municipal service planning for seniors services and to rename the division Seniors Services and Long-Term Care.

2.  City Council, as sole shareholder, direct, pursuant to Section 108(2) of the Ontario Business Corporations Act, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Community Housing Corporation to cause Toronto Community Housing Corporation to transfer the uninhabitable houses according to the pricing structure detailed in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 27, 2019) from the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services.

3.  City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 27, 2019) from the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services remain confidential in its entirety as it pertains to the proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation.

4.  City Council direct the City Manager to expedite the transfers of Toronto Community Housing Corporation Agency, Rooming and Uninhabitable Houses by:

a.  inviting the current rooming house support provider to submit a proposal for the transfer of the rooming house portfolio consistent with the process adopted as directed in 2018.EX30.2;

b.  adding the following houses to the list of Agency Houses approved by Council in 2018.EX30.2 and listed in Appendix 1 to the report (January 9, 2018) from the Deputy City Manager, Cluster A of 2018.EX30.2: 127 Sackville Street, 987 Dundas Street West, 40 Trefann Street, 490 Huron Street, 289-291 Jarvis Street and 143 Stephenson Avenue;

c.  transferring 16 Redwood Avenue and 73 Sorauren Avenue, which are approved Agency houses, and have new operators, to the new operators consistent with the methodology as directed in 2018.EX30.2;

d.  adding 502 Parliament Street to the list of rooming houses approved in 2018.EX30.2 and listed in Appendix 1 to the report (January 9, 2018) from the Deputy City Manager, Cluster A of 2018.EX30.2; and

e.  inviting Sistering and Fred Victor to submit proposals for the transfer of up to 4 Toronto Community Housing Corporation uninhabitable houses, consistent with the process adopted as directed in 2018.EX30.2, as a response to the pressure faced by the two 24 hour drop-in programs as referenced in MM2.9.

5.  City Council direct the City Manager to incorporate the following into the key principles first identified in Tenants First - A Way Forward for Toronto Community Housing (2016.EX16.11) to guide future recommendations:

Poverty Reduction: Poverty reduction for the City's most vulnerable residents is a key City priority, and the work to improve the living conditions of Toronto Community Housing Corporation tenants should be a consideration in the solutions recommended through Tenants First.

6.  City Council direct the President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Community Housing Corporation to temporarily suspend the re-negotiation of current community leases that raise the current rent paid to Toronto Community Housing Corporation, in excess of Consumer Price Index as the City works to develop a Permanent Funding Model for Toronto Community Housing Corporation.

7.  City Council, as sole shareholder, direct the President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Community Housing Corporation to work in partnership with City staff to co-develop with Toronto Community Housing Corporation a comprehensive violence reduction plan funded by the $5 million allocated for violence prevention.   

The Executive Committee requested the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, in consultation with the President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Community Housing Corporation to report to the April 16 and 17, 2019 City Council meeting with a status report on the transfer of 165 Elm Ridge Drive, including criteria that has to be met to facilitate the transfer to the Reena Foundation

This report responds to a Member Motion (MM2.22) that requested a report to Executive Committee on:

a. accelerating the Tenants First Project;

b. synergies between Toronto Community Housing and City departments; and

c. any governance changes required to accomplish parts 1.a) and 1.b) above.

This report provides an update on the Tenants First Phase One Implementation Plan and outlines a timeframe for key decisions about the future governance and operation of the 58,500 social housing units currently owned and operated by Toronto Community Housing Corporation. This new timeframe will allow City Council to consider recommendations on the future of Toronto Community Housing Corporation in 2019 rather than 2020, as originally planned. The report recommends five actions to expedite the transfers of Toronto Community Housing Corporation Agency, Rooming and Uninhabitable Houses. 

This report also recommends that City Council approve the expansion of the mandate of the City's Long-Term Care Homes and Services division to include municipal system service planning for seniors. The division will be renamed Seniors Services and Long-Term Care to reflect a broadened scope of service planning and strategic integration of City services for seniors. This recommendation is the appropriate next step in addressing Council's direction to establish a seniors housing and services entity at the City.

The following key principles, first identified in Tenants First - A Way Forward for Toronto Community Housing (2016.EX16.11) will continue to guide future recommendations:

- Tenant-focused approach - It is essential that any transformations to Toronto Community Housing Corporation be examined through the lens of improved quality of life for tenants. Over 110,000 Torontonians live in Toronto Community Housing Corporation. It is essential that Torontonians living in Toronto Community Housing Corporation have the ability to actively participate in helping to shape the path forward.

- Real accountability - Accountability is central to effecting real change and must be built into all aspects of transformation.

- Sector-wide lens - A long-term sustainable plan for Toronto Community Housing Corporation must engage the social housing sector as a whole and be grounded in a strong role of City as Service Manager. A robust non-profit sector is one that is equipped and resourced to deliver a diverse range of services aimed at unique communities, neighbourhoods and individuals.

- Size and scale matter - A social housing provider's size and scale shape the way it delivers housing, its responsiveness to tenants, its ability to engage with stakeholders and community partners, and its capacity to meet its tenants' needs. Larger organizations may be able to take advantage of certain economies of scale while many smaller organizations may be able to provide enhanced customer service as a result of their proximity to service users.

- Innovation and competition - Real change requires that social housing providers, including Toronto Community Housing Corporation, seek out opportunities to enhance and innovate in respect of their service provision.