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The following is the most recent consolidated Quarterly Report that the DSB will be sending to member municipalities and posting on the public website. Expect Quarterly Reports in February, May, September, and November of each year.
The program statistics are provided separately and updated monthly. They are available on the website by clicking the following link: Monthly Program Statistics
The DSB 2025 Third Quarter (Unaudited) Financial Report was presented to the Board and projects a year-end municipal surplus of $740,724. Ontario Works and Children’s Services are forecasted to be on budget. Community Housing is forecasted to be over budget by $341,549. Paramedic Services is forecasted to be under budget by $7,807. Interest revenue on non-reserve accounts is forecasted to be $391,368 more than budgeted.
The DSB quarterly financial reports are available on the DSB website by clicking the following link: Quarterly Financial Reports
Recruitment and Retention
Paramedic Services has continued to engage colleges to provide students with their final residency with Service Educators. The current complement of students includes one Cambrian College student and six CTS students, with residences running from early August through late October. The design continues to include conditional offers of employment provided the students meet a variety of requirements.
In early September, Paramedic Services onboarded the first Advanced Care Paramedic into a Ful-time position providing coverage on Manitoulin Island. This evolution is an exciting milestone in the growth of Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB’s prehospital care program.
Staffing Challenges
Staffing absences remain challenging for Paramedic Services with absences resulting from a number of issues, including parental leaves. With 18 staff absent in the 3rd quarter, there was a significant reliance on overtime scheduling to ensure deployment of resources during this extremely high time off period of the year. Staff retention has stabilized in 2025 with only one departure in the 3rd quarter and a total of three Full-time staff departures in 2025.
Fleet
Paramedic Services has started to receive backordered ambulances. In the 3rd quarter, 3 ambulances were received, bringing the 2024 and 2025 fleet orders in line with expectations. The 2026 orders will arrive in January, helping to resolve ongoing mechanical issues and eliminating the need to extend fleet well beyond their end of life. In September, staff met with the vehicle manufacturers to discuss a number of issues including delivery cycles, costing and design opportunities.
Non-Urgent Patient Transportation Service (NUPTS)
The PTS system for transportation of nonurgent clients continues to operate in collaboration with the Emergency Health Services Branch of the MOH and both Espanola Regional Hospital and Manitoulin Health Centre. The PTS Program continues to allow shedding of nonurgent calls from the 9-1-1 system. The funding partners have met on multiple occasions to explore how to better finance the program, specifically working to have the Ministry take on the full funding of the Program to more closely mirror other communities.
Community Paramedicine
The Community Paramedicine Program continues to expand across the districts with staff deployed on Manitoulin Island and in Sudbury East. In the 3rd quarter, the Ministry of Long Term Care made CP funding permanent. Staff continue to advocate for additional dollars to expand into the Sudbury North area and to increase capacity across the rest of the districts.
The Espanola Regional Hospital staff member assigned to work with the DSB as a Service Navigator has proven to be extremely beneficial as the two-year pilot project continues. The DSB received pilot funding from the province to trial a similar position on Manitoulin Island. This position will be an Integrated Human Services position, working out of Mindemoya.
OAPC Annual General Meeting
The 2025 Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs conference took place in London during the 3rd quarter. The conference focused on leveraging AI and technology to improve program efficiencies. The Governor General Exemplary Service Medals were also presented during this conference and 5 Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB staff were recipients of this medal.
Response Time Standards
The Province of Ontario requires that the next year Response Times Standards (RTS) plan targets be Board approved and published by the end of October. The Issue Report on this matter set out the targets for 2026.
Response Time targets capture the time from when Paramedics are notified to respond to a call until Paramedics arrive at the scene. The Response Time targets also separate out each call by its severity using the Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS), from CTAS 1 as the most severe, to CTAS 5 as the least severe. Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) calls are tracked separately in the plan.
The target time for Sudden Cardiac Arrest calls is provincially set at six (6) minutes. The target time for CTAS 1 calls is provincially set at 8 minutes. The Response Time Plan must post what percentage of calls will meet the provincially established time. The target times and percentage compliance for CTAS 2 through 5 are set by the DSB.
Staff proposed that the 2025 response time target be held in place for 2026 as follows:
• CTAS 1 8 mins 30% of the time
• CTAS 2 15 mins 65% of the time
• CTAS 3 20 mins 75% of the time
• CTAS 4 25 mins 85% of the time
• CTAS 5 25 mins 85% of the time
• SCA 6 mins 30% of the time
The Manitoulin-Sudbury District continues to operate 21 licensed child care locations, including 14 school-based centres, 1 community-based site, and 6 licensed home child care providers. As of Q3 2025, 612 children were enrolled—511 paying full fees and 101 receiving subsidies, reflecting a 2% decrease from Q2 and 14.5% increase compared to Q3 2024. Staffing shortages remain a limiting factor for expansion and full utilization at several sites.
The child care waitlist grew slightly from 602 in Q2 to 616 in Q3 (up 2%), with the highest demand in Sudbury East and on Manitoulin Island. These patterns continue to guide space creation priorities and workforce planning efforts.
Special Needs Resourcing supported an average of 61 children, from infants to school-age, reflecting a slight decrease of 3% from Q2 and 4.5% from the previous year. These minimal changes underscore the ongoing demand for inclusive support and demonstrate the effectiveness of cross-agency partnerships in identifying and addressing developmental needs early.
EarlyON programs recorded 3,551 visits from parents, caregivers, and children—a 10% quarterly decrease, reflecting the typical summer dip, and 54% growth over Q3 2024. Programs remain accessible through mobile, virtual, indoor, and outdoor options tailored to rural communities. Engagement continues to strengthen as families return to in-person participation supported by targeted outreach and diverse programming.
System Development and Community Engagement
The DSB advanced several initiatives under the 2025–2030 Early Years and Child Care Service System Plan, with a focus on access, inclusion, workforce stability, quality, and effective administration.
Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) Reporting and Innovation Fund
On July 3, 2025, the Ministry of Education released a memo and Omnibus Report-Back package outlining reporting requirements, timelines, and next steps for the CWELCC Agreement and the Innovation Fund. In response, the DSB finalized and submitted several reports, including the Start-Up Grant Funding, Cost-Based Funding, Directed Growth, Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Infrastructure Fund, and Innovation Fund Proposal.
Data and Strategic Planning
The regional child care needs assessment, launched in Q2, progressed to analysis in Q3. Preliminary findings confirm uneven access to spaces across regions, with staffing shortages continuing to limit operational capacity despite available licensed spaces. These insights are being integrated into the Directed Growth Plan, scheduled for Board review in Q4.
2025 Funding Updates
In September 2025, the Ministry of Education confirmed an increase to EarlyON funding allocations for the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB to support enhanced program delivery.
The $1.5M ELCC Infrastructure Fund, announced earlier in 2025, remains dedicated to creating new child care spaces between 2024–2026. Planning continues with non-profit partners, prioritizing Sudbury East and Manitoulin, where waitlist pressures and access challenges remain most significant.
In the third quarter of 2025, the Ontario Works/Temporary Care Caseload average was 470. Compared to last year at this time, the caseload has decreased by 0.64%.
Centralized Intake
The Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB received 131 applications in the third quarter of 2025. Of the 131 applications received, 68 were auto-granted by the Ontario Works Intake Unit (OWIU), formally Intake and Benefits Administration Unit (IBAU), 4 were referred by the OWIU to the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB for processing, 28 were transfers from another Ontario Works office, 27 were for Emergency Assistance which is completed online and sent to the local office for processing, and 4 applications were processed at the local office rather than being referred to the OWIU as certain applications are not being processed through the Intake Unit.
The initial goal of Centralized Intake was to have 70% of applications completed by the OWIU. During the third quarter, the OWIU completed 52% of the applications.
2026 Ontario Works Program Delivery Funding
On August 26th, staff received verification of the 2026 Ontario Works Program Delivery Funding (PDF) planning allocations from Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS). The 2026 funding was reduced to account for the transfers related to the Employment Services Transformation (EST), resulting in a $73,500 reduction to Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB funding, this reduction will be reflected in the 2026 budget.
Employment Ontario
The third quarter of 2025 marks our second complete quarter under the new Integrated Employment Services Model. The Employment Services (ES) programs continue to be promoted and delivered by staff from the Chapleau office. In the third quarter of 2025, we had 16 Case Managed Clients.
During the second quarter of 2025, the Quality Assurance (QA) Coordinator for the Child Care and Ontario Works programs focused on developing a Professional Learning proposal for Children’s Services. This initiative aims to support a more reflective practice model that integrates leadership and pedagogy into daily work more effectively.
The professional learning initiative, titled Growing Our Capacity as Leaders and Learners, will launch in mid-fall 2025 and will continue through the winter months. Follow-up sessions for educators and staff will occur in the spring and fall of 2026.
Throughout the quarter, the QA Coordinator also concentrated on collecting necessary documentation for the current state assessment aligned with the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Project (IDEA), in partnership with Gallagher. Staff received the assessment’s recommendations and are currently planning for the implementation phase. The next step involves identifying training opportunities with Gallagher to support this work.
Additionally, the QA Coordinator continues to support the Early Years IT Modernization Project, with a current focus on the rollout of the new platform to EarlyON Centres, scheduled for fall 2026.
During this reporting period, the Quality Assurance (QA) Coordinator for Housing and Homelessness continued to prioritize collaboration with community organizations to strengthen supports for future tenants of Cornerstone Homes.
In September, a soft opening of Cornerstone Homes, our new supportive housing build, was held for community partners and neighbours. The event included tours of the facility, the creation of welcome cards for future tenants, and the sharing of testimonials from individuals with lived experience. Prior to the event, the QA Coordinator and Housing Case Manager for Cornerstone conducted a door-to-door outreach initiative to personally invite neighbours, introduce themselves and answer questions regarding the new development.
The Housing and Homelessness team established a selection process for Cornerstone Homes. To support tenant selection, staff considered assessed levels of risk and required supports, utilizing data from both the By-Name List and the Centralized Housing Waitlist. Tenant move-ins are will be phased in beginning September 29, 2025.
As of September 30, 2025, a total of 76 households (106 individuals) were on the By-Name List. Of these, 31 households identified as Indigenous. With 34 households in the Lacloche area, 31 households on Manitoulin Island, the remaining 11 households are in Sudbury East and Sudbury North. The increase in the number of identified individuals reflects strengthened collaboration with community partners in the referral and tracking process, as well as enhanced internal capacity to complete intakes based on homelessness indicators observed through housing waitlist applications.
It is important to note that this data collection occurred during the summer months. Of the 76 households experiencing homelessness, 17 identified as unsheltered, representing a 70% increase compared to the previous quarter.
In addition to these activities, the QA Coordinator conducted a media interview with CBC to highlight the unique challenges and barriers associated with rural homelessness.
The QA Coordinator also assumed the role of Co-Chair of the Espanola and Area Community of Care Planning Network Mental Health and Substance Use Committee, taking an active leadership role in planning initiatives and addressing service delivery gaps across the district. Furthermore, the QA Coordinator has been collaborating with Building and Bylaw Services in Sudbury East to establish a coordinated and supportive approach for individuals residing in unsuitable accommodations.
Finally, the QA Coordinator, in collaboration with other members of the Quality Assurance team, has been developing a standardized training model to support the onboarding of new hires. This initiative includes the creation of a comprehensive onboarding guide, informed by one-on-one consultations with front-line staff, to ensure a consistent and effective orientation process for all new employees.
There were 835 active applications at the end of the 3rd quarter. The applicant breakdown is as follows:
1 Bedroom 620 2 Bedroom 95
3 Bedroom 68 4 bedroom 52
Staff continue to identify and complete the application process with eligible applicants for the Direct Shelter Subsidy (DSS) program. All applicants receiving the benefit are deemed housed. As of the end of this quarter there were 200 active DSS recipients. At the end of Q2 there were 210 recipients and at this time last year there were 225.
Per DSB Policy, every effort is being made where the waitlist allows us to mix the Community Housing Buildings with RGI, Affordable and Market Rent Tenants. As of September 30th, 2025, we have successfully housed 24 market rent tenants and 139 affordable rent tenants. This represents 8% and 47% of our portfolio respectively and shows a decrease of 2 Market rent and an increase of 1 affordable rent from the last quarter. Comparably, at this time last year, we reported 27 market rent tenants (9%) and 134 affordable (45%)
As of the end of the 3rd quarter of 2025, 226/295 of the portfolio’s units are designated as Smoke-free. This represents 76% of the full portfolio currently. Units are designated as turnover occurs or should the current resident choose.
Housing and Homelessness Progress report
The Housing and Homelessness Progress Report was approved by the Board in September and was submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing as an update on the final year of our 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan for the 2024 calendar year.
The ministry has directed service managers to move ahead with the creation of new 10-year plans. In the coming months the DSB will be working towards creating a new plan that addresses local priorities and reaches provincial targets.
Housing Needs Assessment and Supply Study
The Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB has identified the need to undertake a housing needs assessment. The focus of this new work will be to identify and understand housing needs across the districts; to both identify district-wide trends (i.e. demographic changes), and the specific housing needs that exist at the municipal level, where data exists.
Housing Service Corporation will conduct this work, and they will be reviewing data available through Statistics Canada from the 2021 census. In addition to this statistical data, the DSB wants to understand the housing situation that is taking place at the local municipal level. Staff will be reaching out to municipalities later this fall to gather this information through a survey.
The outcomes for this project will be to have data that will support future decision making about where the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB will invest in new builds; where additional housing should exist, what types of housing meets community need and for whom. This will allow the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB to be ready to take advantage of any future funding announcements and to advocate for access to funding based on data.
Homelessness Prevention Program
In July the DSB received confirmation from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing that our Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP) allocation would be provided as expected for the 25-26 year. Our annual HPP allocation is $2,537,600. HPP is administered under a service agreement between the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and each service manager. In September, the Board reviewed and approved an issue report outlining our HPP investment plan.
The purpose of HPP is to address chronic homelessness across the province with the flexibility to support a wide range of initiatives.
Capital Projects with Housing Services Corporation
Electrical Switchgear replacement projects in Gore Bay and Mindemoya will go to tender early next quarter. There were delays with the windows in Mindemoya, extending this project by a few weeks, which in turn extends the Little Current window project however, both projects are set for completion by the end of the year. All building condition assessment information has been gathered and is in the process of being entered into the database. Tenders are out to engineers for the Make Up Air project for all our Sudbury East locations (Noelville, Warren, St. Charles), replacements will take place mid-next year.
Work Orders
During the third quarter of 2025, a total of 281 work orders were generated across departments: 206 for Community Housing; 15 for Administration Offices, and 60 for Paramedic Services. Of these, 169 Work Orders were closed or resolved. (A work order is considered closed once the work is completed in-house or upon payment of the invoice if completed by an external contractor). There were also 14 work orders issued for unit turnovers, varying between 1 bedroom and family units.
Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative and Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (COCHI)
The Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board received correspondence from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on July 18th, 2025, confirming our COCHI and OPHI funding allocations for 2025–26, along with planned allocations for 2026–28.
In September, the Board approved the 2025-2028 COCHI-OPHI Issue Report which provided an overview of the 2025-2028 COCHI-OPHI Investment Plan. The investment plan proposes using the COCHI and OPHI funding to support the current portfolio by offsetting costs for large repairs. In addition, we will be supporting the Native People of Sudbury Development Corporation with roof, siding, and intercom replacements in Espanola.
Donna Stewart
Chief Administrative Officer
Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board
Phone: 705-222-0499
E mail: donna.stewart@msdsb.net
website: www.msdsb.net
