Long-Term Care Modernization and Expansion, Asset Management Plan Timelines Extended, and Age-Friendly Community Planning

Ontario Investing to Modernize and Expand Long-Term Care

The Ontario government announced today an investment of $933 million in 80 new long-term care projects. This will result in additional new and upgraded long-term care spaces across the province.

The funding will add 7,510 new spaces and upgrade 4,197 spaces, including new spaces for Indigenous, Francophone, and other cultural community residents. It is all part of the government’s commitment to add 30,000 long-term care spaces over ten years.

The criteria for selecting the projects being announced today included:

• upgrading older homes in response to lessons learned around improved Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) measures, particularly the elimination of three and four-bedrooms;
• adding spaces to areas where there are high needs;
• addressing the growing needs of diverse groups, including Francophone and Indigenous communities; and/or,
• promoting campuses of care to better address the specialized care needs of residents.

As additional information becomes available, it will be shared with AMO members.

Asset Management Plan Timelines Extended

The Ministry of Infrastructure has filed regulations to extend asset management plan (AMP) timelines for municipalities. The new regulations extend the deadlines by one year for the plan criteria deadlines. Planning timelines are now:

• July 1, 2022 – plans are required for core municipal assets
• July 1, 2024 – plans are required for all municipal assets
• July 1, 2025 – plans are required to include service levels and their appropriateness; a lifecycle management and financial strategy; funding sources and needs; and other assumptions.

The timelines were extended to account for challenges to staff and planning work posed by the pandemic. AMO understands that the Ministry will be writing to municipal officials to formally advise them of these extensions.

Government Releases New Age-Friendly Community Planning Guide

The Creating a More Inclusive Ontario: Age-Friendly Community Planning Guide for Municipalities and Community Organizations is intended for those working to develop and support age-friendly communities in Ontario. Age-friendly communities help create more accessible environments for people of all ages and abilities across diverse communities in the province. These communities respond to the opportunities and challenges of an aging population and align with the Advancing Accessibility in Ontario framework.

Along with the Community Planning Guide, the Province has released three supporting documents to support the creation, implementation, and sustaining of local plans. These are the diverse populations addendum, age-friendly community planning toolkit, and age-friendly community remote events planning resource.

AMO’s COVID-19 Resources page is being updated continually so you can find critical information in one place.  Please send any of your municipally related pandemic questions to covid19@amo.on.ca.