On Wednesday December 16, 2020 the CIF Windup Plan was approved by the Resource Productivity & Recovery Authority (RPRA). The plan includes important details about the windup and operation of the CIF in coming years.
The CIF Windup Plan lays out a timeline to windup the CIF in accordance with the Minister’s directives. According to the timeline in the Windup Plan, the CIF will:
- cease provision of grants as of September 30, 2021;
- continue delivery of transitional and program support services with emphasis being placed on transitional support activities up until December 31, 2023;
- cease public operations on December 31, 2023 and initiate a windup of its operations in 2024 with an expectation that such activities will be completed by no later than June 30, 2024; or,
- give consideration to extending operations by one year, subject to the availability of sufficient funds to do so.
Important changes to the Windup Plan
RPRA requested CIF submit recommendations for the windup of its operations following direction from the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (the Minister or Ministry) to, amongst other things related to the windup of the Blue Box Program Plan (BBPP), end the CIF as soon as practical and prior to December 31, 2025. A draft of the CIF Windup Plan was first approved by CIF Committee on March 27, 2020 and detailed in the blog “Draft Final CIF Windup Plan released for consultation”. Since that time, the document was included as part of the consultation process for the windup of the BBPP by Stewardship Ontario (SO) and RPRA. Stakeholder feedback and changing circumstances due to the pandemic resulted in a number of minor but important changes to the draft.
Completion of project closures will take until year-end 2022
Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer CIF-funded projects closed in 2020 than expected. Given the ongoing situation, it is projected that CIF project closures will continue into late-2022, rather than the end of 2021, as originally thought. The final CIF Windup Plan was updated to reflect this reality. Provision of new grants to stakeholders will end in 2021 and be limited to projects where there is collective benefit and the work can be completed by year end 2022 to ensure the timely reconciliation of the CIF’s financial assets and disbursement of surplus funds prior to the windup of the CIF.
Final disbursements of surplus funds delayed until windup of CIF
The draft Windup Plan included a proposal for CIF to undertake disbursals of surplus funds to municipalities in 2021, year-end 2022 and upon windup of the operation of the CIF in 2023. With the delay in project closures, the CIF will undertake a financial reconciliation in 2023 and make the second disbursement at the end of 2023, instead of 2022. Any remaining surplus funds upon windup of the CIF will still be disbursed as planned.
Option to extend operations by one year
During the BBPP windup consultation, stakeholders expressed a desire to see the CIF continue operations during program transition. The draft Windup Plan proposed that the CIF would cease public operations on December 31, 2023. In light of the comments received, the final CIF Windup Plan gives consideration for extension of operations to the end of 2024, subject to availability of sufficient funds.
New CIF governance model to take effect upon gazetting of regulation
As the CIF prepares to windup its traditional grant-based operations, the organization’s governance model will be amended to meet its changing needs. This will take effect upon gazetting of the new blue box regulation.
The current CIF Committee will be replaced by a CIF Transition Services Committee (TSC) whose primary responsibility will be to develop an annual budget for CIF transitional and program support services and provide oversight over the delivery of those services.
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CIF Transition Services Committee (TSC)
- Chaired by one non-voting representative from RPRA
- One voting representative from AMO
- One voting representative from Toronto
- Two voting municipal representatives as selected by AMO in consultation with Toronto
- CIF Director (non-voting)
- Committee Secretary (non-voting)
A new committee, CIF Windup Committee or WUC, will have overall responsibility for ensuring compliance with the CIF Windup Plan. The WUC will have responsibility for reviewing the TSC’s annual operating budget to ensure compliance with the CIF WUP and recommending it to RPRA for final approval along with a WUC annual operating budget.
CIF Windup Committee (WUC)
- Chaired by one non-voting representative from RPRA
- One voting representative from AMO
- One voting representative from Toronto
- One voting representative from SO
- CIF Director (non-voting)
- Committee Secretary (non-voting)
For more information…
More detailed information about the windup of the CIF and its operations prior to the windup is included in the final “Windup Plan and Amendments to the CIF Strategic Plan (2019-2021)”. Thank you to all our stakeholders that provided feedback and participated in the consultation processes in 2020.