Heritage Tax Refunds And Park Renaming - Committee - Community Services Agenda Preview

2 CALL FOR ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

No substantive content or newsworthy details were present in the provided text.

2 CALL FOR ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

CALL FOR ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

No substantive content or newsworthy details were present in the provided text.

3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

4 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 4.a

Confirmation of minutes for agenda item 4.

4 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 4.a

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
4.a

4.a Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on May 20, 2026

The Committee reviewed proposals for revitalizing Kelso Beach playgrounds with EASE grant funding and rubberized surfacing, alongside public art installations on utility boxes in the River District.

Attachment: 2026-05-20 Community Services Committee Meeting Minutes.pdf
Source: https://pub-owensound.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=52934

Minutes
Community Services Committee

May 20, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
City Hall - 808 2nd Avenue East - Council Chambers

MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Melanie Middlebro'
Vice Chair Marion Koepke
Member Aly Bousfield-Bastedo
Member Connie Ede
Councillor Suneet Kukreja
Member Royden Thomson
Member Lance Thurston

MEMBERS
ABSENT/REGRETS: Councillor Travis Dodd
Member Morgan Kemick

STAFF PRESENT: Pam Coulter, Director of Community Services
Ryan Gowan, Manager of Arena Operations
Eckhard Pastrik, Manager of Parks and Open Space
Sabine Robart, Manager of Planning and Heritage
Viveca Gravel, River District Coordinator
Jacklyn Iezzi, Senior Planner
Christina McLean, Committee and Executive Support
Coordinator
_____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Middlebro' called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
2. CALL FOR ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
There was no additional business.
3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
4.a Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on April 21, 2026
1
CS-260520-001
Moved by Member Bousfield-Bastedo

"THAT the Community Services Committee approves the minutes of the
meeting held on April 21, 2026."
Carried.
5. DEPUTATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
5.a Deputation from Joan Harris Re: Harrison Park Senior Centre
No discussion occurred on the topic as the deputation did not take place.
5.b Deputation from Dollee Meigs Re: Owen Sound Ice Hawks U22 Elite Team

Dollee Meigs, Owen Ferguson, and Heather Harvey provided a PowerPoint
presentation on the Owen Sound Ice Hawks U22 Elite Team.
In response to a question from Committee, the Director of Community Services
clarified that the ice time request is for the 2027/2028 hockey season and is
consistent with the ice allocation policy as the team is under the Owen Sound Ice
Hawks, an existing minor sports organization.
In response to a question from Committee, Ms. Coulter noted that the possibility
of a designated dressing room would need to be further investigated by staff as
there is limited dressing room space available at the arena.

CS-260520-002
Moved by Member Ede

"THAT in consideration of a deputation made at the May 20, 2026
Community Services Committee meeting respecting the Owen Sound Ice
Hawks U22 Elite Team, the Community Services Committee recommends
that City Council direct staff to provide the Owen Sound Ice Hawks with a
letter of municipal endorsement for the U22 application."
Carried.
6. PUBLIC FORUM
There were no questions or comments from the public.
7. CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED FOR WHICH DIRECTION IS REQUIRED
There were no correspondence items presented for consideration.
8. REPORTS OF CITY STAFF
8.a Parks and Open Space
8.a.1 Report CS-26-036 from the Manager of Parks & Open Spaces Re: Kelso
Beach at Nawash Park Playground Replacement and Splash Pad
Revitalization
2
The Manager of Parks and Open Space introduced Tim McCormick of C.F.
Crozier and Associates Inc.

Mr. McCormick provided a PowerPoint presentation on the Kelso Beach at
Nawash Park Playground Replacement and Splash Pad Revitalization
Project.
In response to a question from Committee, Mr. Pastrik clarified that, if
successful, the Enhancing Access to Spaces for Everyone (EASE) grant
funding would be utilized to fund the installation of rubberized surfacing in
certain high traffic areas of the playground.

In response to a question from Committee, Mr. Pastrik noted that if the
City does not receive the EASE grant funding, engineered wood fiber
would be used for the ground covering throughout the playground as it
meets accessibility requirements.

In response to a question from Committee, Mr. Pastrik noted that staff met
on-site with representatives from Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environment
Office and added that the playground area may be thematically linked to
the broader context of the park and the adjacent Gichi-Name Wiikwedong
Reconciliation Garden.

CS-260520-003
Moved by Councillor Kukreja

"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-036 respecting the
Kelso Beach at Nawash Park Playground Replacement and Splash
Pad Revitalization, the Community Services Committee recommends
that City Council:

1. Direct staff to bring forward a report to the June 2026
Community Services Committee meeting with the final
playground and splash pad designs; and

2. Increase the budget allocation for the project to cover the cost
of contract administration and construction oversight in the
amount of $69,200 and an additional $35,000 for construction
(total $104,200), funded from the Parks Capital Reserve."
Carried.
8.b Tourism, Culture and Events

8.b.1 Report CS-26-041 from the River District Coordinator Re: River District
Public Art Installation by Artcures Grey Bruce
The River District Coordinator provided a PowerPoint presentation
respecting the River District Public Art Installations by ArtCures Grey
Bruce.

3
In response to a question from Committee, Ms. Gravel noted that the utility
boxes that are proposed to be painted are often repainted every few years
due to graffiti or general wear, and added that once the boxes get to this
point of wear, a report would be brought back to determine if they would
either get repainted to their current state or repainted with artwork.

In response to a question from Committee, Ms. Gravel clarified that the six
boxes that have been identified to be painted are owned by the City.

CS-260520-004
Moved by Member Thurston

"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-041 respecting the
River District Public Art Installations by ArtCures Grey Bruce, the
Community Services Committee recommends that City Council
approve the:

1. River District Art Installations by ArtCures Grey Bruce for the
Peace Ribbons, under the Public Art Policy, in the area in front
of City Hall and in Percy England Parkette, subject to the
conditions outlined in Attachment 2; and

2. Proposed public art murals by ArtCures Grey Bruce on Public
Utility Boxes in principle, with the final design, details and
conditions of approval to be brought forward to a future
Committee meeting."
Carried.
8.c Planning and Heritage

8.c.1 Report CS-26-042 from the Senior Planner Re: Facade and Landscaping
Improvement Grant - 1199 1st Avenue East
The Senior Planner provided an overview of the report.

In response to a question from Committee, Ms. Iezzi noted that this
property is adjacent to the property at 1177 1st Avenue East, which has a
site plan listed on this meeting's agenda. She added that the property at
1177 1st Avenue East has a building that is to be demolished and that the
property owners are required to ensure there is no negative impact to
adjacent properties during the demolition.

In response to a question from Committee, Ms. Iezzi noted that the
quotation received for the brick repointing work was provided by a mason,
which ensures the work is completed by a professional with prior
experience. She added that staff will inspect the property upon completion
of the works to ensure that the mortar matches and other conditions are
met, noting that a standard condition of the agreement includes the use of
lime-based mortar.
4
In response to a question from Committee, Ms. Iezzi noted that properties
that are not designated under the Ontario Heritage Act or listed on the
City’s heritage register are eligible for Facade and Landscaping
Improvement Grants, however priority is given to designated or listed
heritage properties.

CS-260520-005
Moved by Vice Chair Koepke

"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-042, respecting a
Façade and Structural Improvement Grant and Landscaping and
Property Grant Program for 1199 1st Avenue East, the Community
Services Committee recommends that City Council:

1. Approve the Façade and Structural Improvement Grant in the
amount of 50% of eligible costs, to a maximum of $7,500,
subject to the conditions outlined in Schedule ‘D’;

2. Approve the Landscaping and Property Improvement Grant in
the amount of 50% of eligible costs, to a maximum of $10,000,
subject to the conditions outlined in Schedule ‘D’; and

3. Direct staff to bring forward a by-law to authorize the Mayor
and Clerk to execute a Financial Incentive Program Agreement
between the property owner and the City for completion of the
works."
Carried.
8.d Facility Bookings and Community Programs

8.d.1 Report CS-26-035 from the Facilities Booking Coordinator Re: Bring-Your-
Own (BYO) Events
The Manager of Arena Operations provided an overview of the report.

In response to a question from Committee, the Director of Community
Services noted that if an event wished to allow the Bring-Your-Own
provisions, the municipality would have to designate it as a community or
cultural event and then the organizers could apply to the AGCO for their
liquor license which would allow for the Bring-Your-Own provisions.

In response to a question from Committee, Ms. Coulter clarified that in
order to allow these types of events the City would have to pass a by-law
to permit them, and possible application fees could be considered at that
time.

5
CS-260520-006
Moved by Member Bousfield-Bastedo

"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-035 respecting Bring-
Your-Own (BYO) Events, the Community Services Committee
recommends that City Council direct staff to continue to monitor the
implementation of Bring Your Own (BYO) events Provincially and in
other communities."
Carried.
8.e Arena Operations

8.e.1 Report CS-26-039 from the Manager of Arena Operations Re: Bayshore
Upper Concourse Use
The Manager of Arena Operations provided an overview of the report.

CS-260520-007
Moved by Member Thomson

"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-039 respecting usage
of the Bayshore Upper Concourse, the Community Services
Committee recommends that City Council receive the report for
information purposes."
Carried.
8.e.2 Report CS-26-026 from the Manager of Arena Operations Re: Facility
Space Request from the Owen Sound Attack Hockey Club
The Manager of Arena Operations provided an overview of the report.
In response to a question from Committee, Mr. Gowan noted that the
vacant office space that will be used by building and facilities staff was
previously used by staff positions that no longer exist.

In response to a question from Committee, Mr. Gowan noted that the
relocation of the Zamboni parking and refilling space would cause no
impact to the operations of the facility.

In response to a question from Committee, Mr. Gowan noted that the
proposed additional Attack space does have an exit door directly to
outside that could be used as a fire and emergency exit.

CS-260520-008
Moved by Vice Chair Koepke
"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-026 respecting a
request from the Owen Sound Attack Hockey Club, the Community
Services Committee recommends that City Council approve the
request for additional space at the Bayshore Community Centre
6
(approximately 726 square feet) for player space, subject to the
following:

1. Producing construction drawings for the renovations and
alterations, including engineered stamped drawings as
required by the Ontario Building Code;
2. Obtaining necessary permits from the City for this work;

3. Coordinating with the City on the timing of the work such that
it has a minimal impact on City staff operations;
4. Contracting with a qualified contractor to undertake the work
with the required insurance; and

5. The Attack assuming 100% responsibility for all costs
associated with the contract, drawings, permitting and
construction for both the Attack space and the City space."
Carried.
8.f Building
None.
8.g Community and Business Development
None.
9. MATTERS POSTPONED
There were no matters postponed.
10. MOTIONS FOR WHICH NOTICE WAS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN
There were no motions for which notice was previously given.
11. CORRESPONDENCE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION
11.a Memorandum from the Chief Building Official and Manager of Planning and
Heritage Re: Development Update

The Manager of Planning and Heritage provided an overview of the April
Development Update, highlighting work underway at the SkyDev and Harbour
West sites, as well as approvals of landscaping and property improvement
grants.

In response to a question from Committee, Ms. Robart noted that there haven't
been any updates on Flato at this time and that the conditions on draft approval
are being completed.
11.b Site Plan DA-26-001 - 767 2nd Avenue East - Barry's Construction
11.c Site Plan DA-26-002 - 1177 1st Avenue East - Rexel Westburne

7
11.d Site Plan DA-26-003 - 2753 15th Street East - BGCDSB
11.e Site Plan DA-26-004 - 2795 East Bayshore Road - Troy Life and Fire Safety

CS-260520-009
Moved by Councillor Kukreja

"THAT in consideration of correspondence provided for information
purposes listed on the May 20, 2026 Community Services Committee
agenda, the Community Services Committee recommends that City Council
receive Items 11.a to 11.e for information purposes."
Carried.
12. DISCUSSION OF ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
There was no additional business.
13. NOTICES OF MOTION
There were no notices of motion.
14. ADJOURNMENT

The business contained on the agenda having been completed, Chair Middlebro'
adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m.

8

5 Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on May 20,

Presentations by Cassondra Dillman on Age-Friendly Action Plan, Megan Myles on Green Development Programme Update, and the Art Gallery Director regarding a Tourism Update.

5 Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on May 20,

Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on May 20,
DEPUTATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
5.a
Presentation from Cassondra Dillman, Intermediate Planner at Grey
County Re: Age-Friendly Action Plan
5.b
Presentation from Megan Myles, Sustainability Planning Program
Coordinator at Grey County Re: Green Development Program Update
5.c
Presentation from the Art Gallery Director and Chief Curator Re: Tourism
Update

5.a Presentation from Cassondra Dillman, Intermediate Planner at Grey County Re: Age-Friendly Action Plan

Grey County faces a demographic shift where residents over 65 are projected to exceed one-third by 2035, creating urgent needs for housing and transport. The proposed Age-Friendly Action Plan addresses rural isolation through coordinated planning while acknowledging current challenges: staffing gaps, limited resources, and the absence of a dedicated community coordinator complicating progress tracking. Past successes include resurfacing trails, installing cycling infrastructure, investing millions in housing, expanding home visitation services, supporting student placements at long-term care facilities, and creating an age-friendly logo for 10 municipalities. Looking ahead, implementation continues with refinements to improve delivery efficiency by consolidating or retiring certain action items and shifting leadership roles where appropriate. A critical upcoming focus is strengthening partnerships to better trace outcomes amidst the realities that exposed a digital divide and increased social isolation risks during recent global events. The strategy aims for continuous improvement while managing expectations regarding available data for performance indicators.

Page 11 of 116

1

Presentation Overview
Overview

Age-Friendly Community Planning
Protect Timeline

Age-Friendly Action Plan
Progress

What we’ve learned
Project Success

Next Steps
2026-06-24

Page 12 of 116

2

What is an Age-Friendly Community?

An Age-Friendly Community is
designed so everyone—
children, youth, adults, and
older residents—can live, work,
and play in safe, accessible,
and welcoming spaces.

2026-06-24

Page 13 of 116

3

Why Age-Friendly Planning Matters

Demographic Shift
By 2035, more than 1 in 3 residents are projected to be 65+, reshaping
needs for housing, transportation, healthcare, and services.
Rural Living Challenges
Distance and limited options can isolate older adults—coordinated
planning improves access to transport, care, and community life.

Benefits Everyone
Walkability, inclusion, supporting vitality, reduce downstream costs, and
help communities stay sustainable for all ages.

2026-06-24

Page 14 of 116

4

Project Timeline

2022 – Adopt
Age-Friendly
Action Plan &
joined WHO’s
Age-Friendly
World network

2021 – County
received $60K
Inclusive
Community
Grant

2021 – Assess
Local Needs &
Develop AgeFriendly
Strategy

2026-06-24

2026 – Grey
County
recognized as
an Age-Friendly
Community by
Province

Plan
Implementation

2023 –
Establish AgeFriendly
Communities
Committee

2025 – Begin
Progress
Review

Page 15 of 116

5

The Action Plan
At a Glance:
• 100+ Action Items
• Each has an action
lead, partner &
performance indicator
• 25+ Items have the
Age-Friendly
Coordinator Lead
• 30+ Items have a
Community Partner
Lead
• 700+ residents shaped
the Plan
• 20+ community partners
2026-06-24

The Vision:
Grey County and its
communities will create
inclusive opportunities for
people of all ages to
actively participate in all
stages of life, and to thrive
physically and
economically, with dignity
and independence.

Page 16 of 116

6

Total
Action Items

2026-06-24

119
Total
Initiated

60
Total
Opportunities

Progress So Far

59

Page 17 of 116

7

What have we learned?

2026-06-24

The importance
of partnerships

The COVID-19
pandemic

Staffing
Resources

• Partnerships
are essential
for addressing
complex
societal issues,
such as mental
health,
addictions,
health care and
homelessness.
• These issues
are beyond the
capacity of one
organization
alone.

• The pandemic
changed how
residents
participate,
communicate,
and engage
with their
communities
• Exposed the
digital divide,
disrupted
volunteer
networks, and
increased risk
of social
isolation among
older adults.

• The absence of
a dedicated
Age-Friendly
Community
Coordinator
has added
some
complexity to
managing the
plan and
coordinating
partners.

Evaluation
• Data for
indicators was
not easily
available
• Some
indicators did
not always
reflect
meaningful
outcomes
• Some leads are
no longer
suitable

Page 18 of 116

8

Our Successes
320 new cycling
signs installed + 140
km of paved
shoulders for cyclists

The CP Rail Trail
was resurfaced to
increase accessibility

$5.8M invested
through the County
Housing Fund since
2021

A Virtual Courtroom
was created to
improve access for
all ages
2026-06-24

The Community
Paramedicine Home
Visitation Program
continues to expand

An Age-Friendly logo
created for County +
9 member
municipalities

370+ student
placements
supported at LTC
Homes since 2023
Page 19 of 116

9

Next Steps
Strong progress, with work ahead
• 4 years of progress
• Progress review highlights opportunities to strengthen
partnerships, outcome tracing and resourcing
• Continuous improvement

Practical refinements to improve delivery
• Consolidate, Divide, Retire some items for tracking efficiency
(13 items total)
• Shift some items to a more appropriate lead.

Continue Plan Implementation

2026-06-24

Page 20 of 116

10

Thank You
Staff contact for additional

information or questions:
Cassondra Dillman
County of Grey Planning Department
595 9th Avenue East
Owen Sound, ON, N4K 3E3

cassondra.dillman@grey.ca
548-877-0853
2026-06-24

Page 21 of 116

11

Green Development Program
Community Services Committee
City of Owen Sound
June 24, 2026

6 PUBLIC FORUM

The public forum segment allows for open community input.

6 PUBLIC FORUM

PUBLIC FORUM

7 CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED FOR WHICH DIRECTION IS REQUIRED There are no correspondence items being presented for consideration.

No correspondence items were presented.

7 CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED FOR WHICH DIRECTION IS REQUIRED There are no correspondence items being presented for consideration.

CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED FOR WHICH DIRECTION IS REQUIRED
There are no correspondence items being presented for consideration.

8 REPORTS OF CITY STAFF

The city staff report covers external relations and investment attraction.

8 REPORTS OF CITY STAFF

REPORTS OF CITY STAFF
8.a
External Relations and Investment Attraction

8.a.1 Report CM-26-023 from the Senior Advisor, External Relations and Investment Attraction Re: Agreement to Pilot aCommunity Impact Lab

The City of Owen Sound partners with Georgian College and Grey County to pilot the Community Impact Lab™ at Sydenham Campus starting September 1, 2026, utilising existing resources without new funding requirements beyond a $5,000 cash commitment. The initiative establishes an 18-month agreement for social infrastructure development aligned with Vision 2050 priorities, featuring a Social Innovator in Residence to facilitate programmes like the Community Impact Scan Club and MicroCert training open to all residents. Staff propose Council select an initial focus topic among housing/food security or health care access while engaging priority groups including youth and Indigenous communities through co-design consultation hours.

THAT in consideration of Staff Report CM-26-023 respecting the Agreement
to Pilot a Community Impact Lab™, the Community Services Committee
recommends that City Council:
1.

Direct staff to bring forward a by-law to authorize the Mayor and
Clerk to execute an Agreement to Pilot a Community Impact Lab™
in collaboration with Georgian College and the County of Grey; and

2.

Provide direction on the initial subject matter for a 6-week Scan
Club to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities as part of the
proposed scope of work for a Social Innovator in Residence Pilot.

Highlights:




The City is collaborating with Georgian College’s Department of
Social Innovation and Grey County Economic Development on an
18-month pilot initiative for a Community Impact Lab™.
Activation of the Owen Sound lab will be supported by a Social
Innovator in Residence who will be engaged to provide dedicated
facilitation, programming, and group coaching services.
This pilot initiative is supported by in-kind contributions and a
$5,000 contribution by the City of Owen Sound from the Vision
2050 implementation reserve fund. The City and Georgian College
have also jointly applied for a federal research grant.
Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 1 of 8

Page 34 of 116

Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: The recommendation contributes to core service
delivery or a corporate initiative that enables service delivery for one or more
strategic priorities.
This project will develop necessary social infrastructure to support the Vision
2050 strategic plan priorities by fostering an ecosystem of innovation,
strengthening relationships with community partners, and enhancing safety
and wellbeing through collaborative approaches to complex social issues.

Previous Report/Authority:
Presentation Re: Updates on Economic Development Initiatives
Report CM-26-002 Re: Community Impact Lab Opportunity in Collaboration
with Georgian College and Grey County
Report CM-25-026 Re: External Relations and Investment Attraction Plan
Report CM-25-027 from the City Manager Re: Update Following the July 28
Community Stakeholder Discussion to Foster a Vibrant River District

Background:
In 2025, the City of Owen Sound initiated a collaboration with Georgian
College’s Department of Social Innovation and Grey County Economic
Development to establish a Community Impact Lab™ within the Sydenham
Campus regional innovation hub, and to formally partner with Georgian
College to apply for federal funding to develop a community-led social
innovation ecosystem following a model piloted in Simcoe-Muskoka.
In February 2026, the City and Georgian College jointly applied to the
National Science and Engineering Research Council’s College and Community
Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) with a research proposal supported by 14
letters from national, regional, and local partners demonstrating strong
cross-sector support (Attachment 1). If successful, the grant would provide
$360,000 over three years and enable the use of applied research and expert
facilitation to develop social infrastructure to support Owen Sound’s Vision
2050 priorities.
In April 2026, Georgian College Social Innovation matched the City’s $5,000
cash commitment with an in-kind contribution of furniture, equipment, and
resources to set up the Owen Sound Community Impact Lab™ at Sydenham
Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 2 of 8

Page 35 of 116

Campus in a leased space provided in-kind by Grey County, valued at
$11,600 annually.
The Senior Advisor supported informational tours of the proposed lab at the
Grey Bruce Healthy Communities Conference on April 27-28, Owen Sound
Innovates on May 12, and Grey County Warden’s Economic Development
Leadership Luncheon on May 29.

Analysis and Options:
The importance of investing in capacity-enabling social infrastructure
The proposed initiative is in alignment with research-backed best practices to
develop capacity-enabling social infrastructure and promote rural social
innovation (Attachment 2), as well as the “quadruple helix of innovation”
proposed by Social Innovation Canada (Attachment 3).
This collaboration also aligns with the City’s commitment to promote local
innovation and capacity-building initiatives, as per the External Relations and
Investment Attraction Action Plan, 2025-2027.
Phased approach to pilot and develop a regional innovation network
The process to establish the Owen Sound Community Impact Lab™ and an
associated Community Innovation Network will take place in two phases:




Phase One: Agreement to Pilot a Lab Space (12-18 months):
The initial agreement establishes the terms for the collaborators to
co-pilot a Community Impact Lab™ for a period of 12-18 months.
Phase Two: Future Network Agreement (3-5 years):
Upon a successful pilot, the collaborators intend to enter into a
separate agreement for the Lab to join or form a regional
Community Innovation Network, for a term of 3-5 years.

The proposed agreement will take effect September 1, 2026, and end on
March 1, 2028, (18 months) and outlines the responsibilities for each of the
core partners to provide resources, space, and outreach support.
No new funding is required at this time beyond the City’s current contribution
of $5,000 and 80 hours of staff time allocated within the Senior Advisor,
External Relations and Investment Attraction’s annual work plan.
With the matching contribution by Georgian College’s Department of Social
Innovation to furnish and resource the lab space provided by Grey County,

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 3 of 8

Page 36 of 116

the City’s contribution will directly support lab activation and co-design of the
innovation ecosystem and social infrastructure.
Proposed scope of work for local Social Innovator in Residence
The City and Georgian College’s Department of Social Innovation are
collaborating on a pilot initiative for community access to facilitation,
programming, and training services provided by a Social Innovation Fellow.
The initial scope of work for the Social Innovator in Residence Pilot at the
Owen Sound Community Impact Lab™ will be for approximately 60 hours,
allocated as follows:


MicroCert Group Coaching Support (12 hours)
o



Community Impact Scan Club and Trend Day (18 hours)
o



The Social Innovator in Residence will establish in-person office
hours to support a cohort of local community members
participating in the Social Innovation for Community Impact
MicroCert, a three-phase micro-certificate program offered by
Georgian College’s Department of Social Innovation.
Open to all residents, this 6-week Scan Club will include virtual
weekly meetings and an in-person Trend Day with the Social
Innovator in Residence to prepare a follow-up report that
includes a deck of community-generated trends.

Community Consultation Hours & Co-Design (30 hours)
o

As part of the pilot, a select number of community partners will
be allocated approximately 5-15 hours of dedicated project
consultation with the Social Innovator in Residence in
exchange for contributing to the co-design of the Owen Sound
lab’s ecosystem and shared innovation repository.

Next steps and opportunities for increased collaboration
Staff recommend entering an 18-month Agreement to Pilot a Community Lab
in collaboration with Georgian College and Grey County beginning September
1, 2026 and ending March 1, 2028. As part of the agreement, the City will
designate the Senior Advisor as a Lab Steward.
The initial activation of the Owen Sound lab will be supported by a dedicated
Social Innovator in Residence. As part of the scope of work, Staff are
requesting input from Council to propose a topic for the initial Community
Impact Scan Club:
Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 4 of 8

Page 37 of 116





Option 1—Future of Housing & Food Security
Option 2—Future of Health Care Access & Recruitment
Option 3—Future of… [A topic proposed by Council]

Staff will coordinate with Georgian College’s Department of Social Innovation
to finalize a proposed scope of work and review candidates for the Social
Innovator in Residence Pilot. Staff will review project proposals submitted by
non-profit community partners to access consultation hours in exchange for
co-design contribution, with selection based on anticipated project outcomes,
incorporation of priority groups (youth, Indigenous, newcomer residents,
etc.), and alignment with Vision 2050 strategic priorities.
Evaluation of this pilot initiative will be used to inform the co-design and
development of the Owen Sound lab’s resources and community use policies.
A follow-up report will be prepared for Council.

Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
No new funding is required. This initiative is allocated $5,000 from the Vision
2050 implementation reserve fund. Georgian College, through their
Department of Social Innovation, has made a matching in-kind contribution
of $5,000 in lab infrastructure and grant writing support. Grey County has
contributed a dedicated space at Sydenham Campus valued at $11,600
annually.
The City and Georgian College jointly submitted a CCSIF application for up to
$360,000 over three years to support a local initiative following the researchtested Future of Belonging framework. The results of that grant application
are expected by the end of June.

Human Resources
This initiative is included within the Senior Advisor, External Relations and
Investment Attraction’s annual work plan. 80 hours have been allocated
annually as part of the City’s in-kind contribution.
Additional support will be provided by the Communications Team to prepare
a joint announcement and official opening in collaboration with Georgian
College and County of Grey.

Time and Scheduling

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 5 of 8

Page 38 of 116

June-July 2026—Agreement to Pilot a Community Impact Lab is drafted,
reviewed and signed by all parties. Initial activation projects are identified
and a scope of work prepared for a Social Innovator in Residence Pilot.
September 1, 2026—Formal launch of the 18-month Agreement to Pilot. This
is a potential target date to schedule an official opening event.
November 10, 2026—Opportunity to observe the development of a proposed
Community Innovation Council that would provide collective foresight to the
labs and regional innovation network in Simcoe-Muskoka.
March 1, 2028—Formal end of the Agreement to Pilot a Community Impact
Lab, at which time the collaborators may enter into a new agreement to join
or form a regional Community Innovation Network for a term of three to five
years.

Technology and Infrastructure
N/A.

Climate and Environmental Impacts:
The recommendation supports the City's Corporate Climate Change
Adaptation Plan.
This initiative will promote the City’s vision to have a sustainable, practical
and innovative approach in building resiliency to the changing climate by
developing social infrastructure in collaboration with community partners.
Up to 20 hours of facilitation time will be allocated to the Youth Climate
Action Conference in exchange for contributions to the co-design of the Owen
Sound Community Impact Lab.

Communication and Engagement:
This initiative has been communicated to the public through reports posted
to the City’s website in January and June 2026, a verbal report to the April
Community Services Committee, and as part of the quarterly economic
development newsletter. The initiative was also shared during the Grey
County Planning and Economic Development Advisory Committee in May.
Community partners were engaged in early 2026 via direct outreach to
request letters of support for the CCSIF grant. Public tours of the proposed

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 6 of 8

Page 39 of 116

lab space were offered on April 27, May 12, May 29, and by request.
Approximately 80-100 individuals were engaged through these tours.
A post-event survey of participants from the Healthy Communities
conference indicated that 82 per cent found the Rural Innovation Activity
developed by Georgian College to be valuable. The Community Impact Lab™
and Community Innovation Network model was cited positively in many
responses about key takeaways and actions planned within six months:











“Social innovation lab processes; connections with potential and
new partners.”
“Using the Innovation Hub to strategize and create action plans.”
“Using community impact lab to advance capacity building.”
“Promoting co-design approach, bringing every voice to the table.”
“Explore the community impact hub for an informal group.”
“More opportunities to collaborate across sectors.”
“Utilizing the community innovation network
“May use the innovation lab at the college or take the course.”
“Consider use of Community Impact Lab model.”
“Explore the community impact hub for an informal group.”

Source: 2026 Healthy Communities Conference Survey Results
Media releases and communications materials about the initiative will be
developed in coordination with Georgian College and County of Grey. A
dedicated webpage will be added to the City’s website in alignment with the
Community Impact Lab™ brand design standards.
An official opening ceremony will be held at a future date pending
authorization of the Agreement to Pilot and the outcome of the CCSIF grant
application.

Report Developed in Consultation With:
Nicole Norris, Georgian College Social Innovation
Linnea Catalan, Grey County Economic Development
Carly McArthur, City of Owen Sound Communications

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 7 of 8

Page 40 of 116

Attachments:
1.

Attachment 1 - Owen Sound-Georgian College CCSIF Letters of
Support Summary

2.

Attachment 2 - Georgian College Rural Social Innovation Discussion
Paper, 2025

3.

Attachment 3 - Social Innovation Canada—Pathway to Prosperity:
Building an innovation system to solve Canada’s hardest problems
together, 2026

Reviewed by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Rebecca Ellerdiem,
Senior Advisor, External Relations and Investment Attraction at
rellerdiem@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440 x1254.

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 8 of 8

Page 41 of 116

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Page 43 of 116

A Discussion Paper:

Canadian Colleges and Polytechnics
– the Pracademia – Key actors in unlocking
transformative rural social innovation in
Canadian Communities.
Nicole Norris, MDes., PhD(c).

Department of Social Innovation

Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Georgian College
Nicole.Norris@GeorgianCollege.ca

Heather Simpson, MBA

S4G - Strategies for Good
heather@s4g.ca

November 10, 2025

Page 44 of 116

Overview
Canada is at a pivotal moment in its history.
As a country we are grappling with an
increasingly complex and uncertain future.
Emerging technologies, shifting global
economic and trade relationships and
evolving geopolitical tensions are placing
new demands on national policy – particularly
in the areas of economic resilience and
defense. These challenges are also
undermining our shared prosperity, and our
ability to advance initiatives aimed at
combating climate change, advancing
reconciliation with Indigenous communities,
and addressing ongoing social issues such as
the housing affordability crisis, rising income
inequality, surging hate and polarization, and
ever growing pressures on our health care
system.
The Government of Canada has set out clear
economic, defense, and research agendas.
However, the corresponding social and
community infrastructure agendas have
largely been ignored—despite the fact that it
is widely understood that economic, defense,
and research goals cannot be achieved
without strong, healthy communities. In short,
Canada’s lack of focus on our social
infrastructure is leaving Canada vulnerable.

Photo 1 - Actor Mapping Workshop - 2023
Decision makers and front line staff from diverse social
and community service agencies working to map
current ecosystem actors in relationship to knowledge
verses inﬂuence on critical community priorities

Page 45 of 116

This vulnerability is particularly acute in rural

sounding distress signals about the need to

Canada. The Government of Canada has

invest and value the social beneﬁt sector

recognized that rural Canada plays a vital role

since the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same

in advancing Canada’s nation building

time, organizations such as provincial

agenda, particularly as providers of much of

Chambers of Commerce, Colleges and

the raw materials (e.g., natural resources,

Institutes Canada (CiCan), and Universities

agriculture) that support the upstream

Canada are advocating for new forms of

production upon which urban economies

cross-sector collaboration to strengthen

rely. However, the growing erosion of rural

community resiliency—though few yet

social, and community place-based

recognize the community and nonproﬁt

infrastructures highlights a looming gap in

sectors as vital collaborators in advancing

Canada’s economic value chain. The lack of

economic resilience. Social innovation offers

investment in community service-based

a path forward - a way to align economic and

assets is compounding the increasingly

social systems - through the development of

complex social challenges faced by rural and

place-based ecosystems for social innovation

small urban regions. The ripple effect is

that work in partnership with industrial and

already being felt: the health, wellbeing, and

entrepreneurial ecosystems.

security of the workforce Canada needs to
achieve its nation-building goals are at risk.

While some countries have made strong

Canada needs a comprehensive agenda that,

investments in social innovation (the

alongside economic and defense goals,

European Union, for example, has committed

builds more equitable and structurally

€3.16 billion to social innovation between

inclusive communities capable of planning

2021 and 2027), Canada has not. Canada

for the challenges that all Canadian

unfortunately, does not appear to

communities—both rural and urban—will face

understand the value of social innovation the

in the future.

way other countries have. While Canada has
allocated $755 million to the Social Finance

United Way Centraide Canada, Imagine

Fund and funds some research through

Canada, and provincial networks such as the

programs within the Tri-Agencies with

Ontario Nonproﬁt Network have been

programs like the College and Colleges and

2
Page 46 of 116

programs are essential for stability, but they
are not designed to generate systemic
learning or adaptation. Funding social
innovation, therefore, is not about
expanding social spending—it is about
investing in the capability of our systems to
learn and evolve. Social innovation creates
Photo 2 - Collective Foresight Workshop - 2025
Community and Georgian College students working
together using community data to co-develop trends
related to belonging

the conditions for communities,
governments, and institutions to prototype
new governance models, relationships, and
service pathways that can move beyond

Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF),

crisis response towards long-term

the number of federal programs dedicated

transformation. In this sense, social

to social innovation pales in comparison to

programs maintain the social fabric; social

the more than 130 federal programs

innovation rewires it to be more resilient,

supporting technological and business

equitable, and future-ready. Canada needs

innovation. Canada urgently needs to invest

both—but without deliberate investment in

in building its social innovation ecosystem.

the latter and new future-ﬁt models to
handle multiple, reinforcing crises, our

Part of the challenge lies in the nascent

well-intentioned social (and economic)

understanding of social innovation as

spending risks reinforcing the very systems

distinct from social infrastructure or social

that we are struggling to adapt.

services. Social innovation is also not always
synonymous with health innovation or public

Investing in social innovation is also a

health infrastructure. While Canada has long

matter of economic strategy. Economies

invested in social programs that address

thrive when their social systems are

immediate needs—housing, healthcare,

adaptive, equitable, and capable of

employment, and education—these

learning in real time. A community that can

investments primarily sustain existing

co-design housing solutions, innovate

systems rather than transform them. Social

real-time in care systems, or anticipate

3
Page 47 of 116

labour market shifts becomes a more
productive and resilient economic actor.
From a systemic-design perspective, social
innovation builds the enabling
infrastructure of productivity—trust,
collaboration, and shared intelligence
across sectors. These are the conditions
that allow technological and business
innovation to scale sustainably. In other
words, social innovation is the invisible
infrastructure of competitiveness: it keeps
the human, environmental and institutional
systems that underpin the economy
capable of renewal. Without deliberate
investment in this adaptive capacity,
Canada risks spending more on

This paper argues that Canada is at a crucial

remediation than regeneration.

moment to harness social innovation to drive
progress across its economic, defense, and
reconciliation agendas, and lays out an
applied model for rural social innovation –
currently in proof-of-concept stage - that
leverages the role of Canada’s public colleges,
institutes, polytechnics and CEGEPs (referred
to collectively in this paper as colleges) as
convenors, weavers, and capacity builders to
catalyze this model.

The following funding supported the model outlined in this paper:

4
Page 48 of 116

Deﬁnitions
Collective Foresight is a community led process that is committed to imaging and shaping long-term,
life-afﬁrming, futures together. Similar to Collective impact which seeks alignment to address speciﬁc issues
in the short and near-term, Collective Foresight brings diverse actors together to explore emergent,

Collective
Foresight

speculative and systemic futures - especially those that centre equity, care and collective ﬂourishing.
Collective Foresight supports collective sense-making, surfaces hidden assumptions, and opens space for
new ways of knowing and relating by drawing on storytelling, deep listening, qualitative data and the
exploration of diverse perspectives. It helps communities learn from the past, act in the present, and work
together to strategize for more equitable and inclusive futures.

There are many ways to deﬁne rural. In this paper a broad deﬁnition is used, which includes communities

Rural

Social
Innovation

with low population density, small population sizes or those located at a signiﬁcant distance from major
urban centers and affected by the complexities of rural/remote geographies and infrastructures.

Social innovations are changes in the cultural, normative or regulative structures of society which
enhance its collective power resources and improve its economic and social performance (Heiskala,
2007)

Applied Social Innovation is both a way of asking systemic questions (inquiry) and taking systemic action
(intervention). Building on Heiskala’s view of society as interconnected economic, political, cultural, and
communicative layers, it focuses on reorganizing these layers through place-based, collaborative spaces

Applied
Social
Innovation

where lived experience and research come together to co-design solutions that strengthen community
wellbeing.
This deﬁnition ﬁts the context of colleges and polytechnics, aligning with their strengths in working directly
with communities to identify local challenges, test solutions, and share learning in open and accessible
ways. It integrates applied research, experiential learning, and skills-based training to achieve place-led
social innovation.

A Social Innovation Practitioner is a pracademic—a professional who bridges practice and scholarship to

Social
Innovation
Practitioner

design, test, and scale solutions that transform complex social systems. Grounded in community realities
yet informed by research and theory, social innovation practitioners operate within the “living systems” of
community life—where policy, economy, culture, and human wellbeing intersect. Their work moves beyond
program delivery to prototype new models of governance, partnership, and value creation that foster
systemic learning, equity, and resilience. In essence, the social innovation practitioner is both a designer
and a steward of change, translating insights from practice into evidence for policy and pathways for
transformation.

Page 49 of 116

Rural-Speciﬁc Social
Innovation Ecosystems
are Vital to the Future
of Canada

compared to urban centres. Without the
infrastructure that urban centres take for
granted, and with smaller tax bases to draw
from, rural communities are struggling to
keep up. These gaps make it even harder to
attract and keep workers and investment,

Rural Canada is vital to the Canadian

further entrenching cycles of disadvantage

economy. Rural communities contribute

and weakening the ability of rural

nearly 30% of Canada’s GDP, and are home

communities to respond to and plan for

to one in ﬁve Canadians. The role of rural

increasingly complex futures.

communities in current efforts to boost
interprovincial trade, boost Canadian

Social innovation offers a path to addressing

productivity and safeguard our territorial

many of these issues, however, Canada

sovereignty, cannot be understated.

would need to increase its investment in

However, rural Canada’s ability to meet these

social innovation ecosystems for this to

expectations is challenged by mounting

happen. Additionally, these ecosystems

structural, demographic and social

need to be designed to engage in collective

pressures.

foresight planning, moving away from just
looking to solve present problems to look at

Across Canada, rural communities are aging,

future projections and identify and build

labour shortages are intensifying, and

solutions for future problems.

demographic diversity is rising. Rural
Canada is dealing with pressures around

At a time when the Government of Canada is

lack of affordable housing, rising income

looking to spend less and achieve greater

inequality, increased polarization and

efﬁciencies in program delivery and public

climate related threats. Additionally,

investment, it is essential to recognize that

essential infrastructure and services –

integrating social innovation within existing

including transportation, broadband

entrepreneurship, industry and economic

connectivity, health care, child care and

innovation ecosystems would be a costly

education - remain underdeveloped

mistake. Traditional entrepreneurship,

6
Page 50 of 116

economic or industry innovation models are
typically designed to tackle singular, well-deﬁned
challenges with a single product or within a single
organization and prioritize commercialization
agendas. In contrast, social innovation must
address complex, interrelated, and often poorly
deﬁned issues that require collaboration across
multiple sectors. The skill sets and structures
needed for social innovation are different from
more traditional innovation models. While it is vital
that they work together, housing rural social
innovation ecosystems within more traditional
economic innovation ecosystems has proved to
result in marginalization, placing social innovation
opportunities to build more resilient, inclusive and
sustainable rural communities across Canada.
Rural social innovation requires a unique approach
as well – one that prioritizes cross-sector
collaboration, systems thinking and long-term
community engagement. To be successful, rural
social innovation ecosystems need to be
place-based and purpose-built to recognize the
complexity and interconnectedness of rural
challenges, and to leverage the unique strengths
of rural communities themselves. Urban models
and ecosystems for social innovation simply do not
reﬂect the realities of rural communities, unique
place-based models are needed.

Page 51 of 116

The Role of Colleges in
Rural Social Innovation
Ecosystems

colleges are key regional employers.
Additionally, colleges contribute vital
infrastructure to the communities in which
they operate, they provide mental health
services to students, serve as technology
and digital access hubs, support small

Canada’s colleges have an important role to

businesses and entrepreneurs, provide

play in advancing rural social innovation

space for community events, engage in

ecosystems. Established in the 1960s, the

research to support local planning, and

Canadian college system has a pragmatic,

serve as the employment centres in the

place-based mission to respond to local

communities in which they operate.

community and industry needs by expanding
access to skills-based learning through

Colleges are present in communities

applied and experiential pathways. Colleges

across Canada. Colleges and Institutes

have always played an important role in

Canada (CICan) counts 128 members

addressing Canada’s most urgent challenges.

from coast to coast to coast (see Figure 1).

They provide their local communities with

In fact, 95% of Canadians live within 50km

trained, ready workforces and provide

of a college campus or access centre.

applied education in response to community
needs, labour market gaps and changes in
technology. Colleges innovate and
implement quickly and are direct and
important contributors to to Canada’s
economic and community wellbeing
mandates.
The importance of rural colleges is often
overlooked, particularly by those with a more
urban lens. Beyond their role as educational
and advanced skills training institutes,

Fig 1 - CICan College Members

SOURCE - CICan 2024/25 Impact Report

8
Page 52 of 116

Colleges are well suited to play a key role in

move from academic theory to proven

supporting the development of rural social

application.

innovation ecosystems, for two key reasons,
that often go overlooked:

Colleges are grounded in community. The
applied nature of the education they

Colleges were designed to do the applied

provide means that Canadian colleges

work and provide the applied education

have strong relationships with local

that enables place-based innovation.

employers and community organizations.
Colleges are increasingly being recognized

From the very beginning Colleges were

within the academic community for their

designed to be responsive to local needs.

deep connections to local communities,

Colleges have a long history of working

which helps them to be nimble with

closely with local industry partners through

research engagement and knowledge

Program Advisory Committees to engage in

translation strategies.

rapid program innovation based on direct
input from industry in response to changing
needs. Today, Canada’s widening skills gap is
a source of signiﬁcant concern for our
national economic health, and Colleges
provide opportunities to learn through
real-life experimentation and application.
This approach, combined with a nimbleness
acquired through a need to constantly adapt
to community needs, accelerates the
processes to both narrow the skills gap and

Over 95% of
Canadians live
within 50 km of
a college or
institute.
SOURCE:
CICan Impact Report 2024/25

9
Page 53 of 116

Additionally, Colleges have an established
track record for supporting place-based
innovation and the creation of rural
technological and business innovation
ecosystems. The Technology Access Centres

role as neutral convenors as well as a
disproportionately critical role in nurturing
all eight community capitals (see Figure 2).
Colleges are truly at the centre of rural
social innovation ecosystems.

(TACs) are National Sciences and

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ta

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P

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technical services (connecting small and

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foster industry-college partnership, offer

I T I CA

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Canadian colleges. TACs were designed to

OL

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Engineering Research Council of Canada

logy &

medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access

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students in applied research to build talent

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testing and commercialization), and engage

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support product development, prototyping,

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college expertise, facilities and technology to

ic capa

pipelines. TACs have proven to be valuable

Colleges to play a unique, and important,

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o

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HU N

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il

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tu

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and provincial governments positions

C I AL

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well as their relationships with local, regional

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understanding of place-based innovation, as

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connection to community and their

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research facilities and expertise.

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underserved areas have access to advanced

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that even businesses in remote or

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investments and expansions and ensuring

SO

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addressing challenges through strategic

TUR A
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a

lt

to Canada’s innovation ecosystem,

& he

Fig 2 - Eight Community Capitals
(Nogueira, Ashton, Teixeira 2019)

10
Page 54 of 116

Foresight Lens: The urgent need to
address the underfunding of
Canadian Colleges.

The Canadian college system is
underfunded, particularly, in Ontario - the

The Georgian Model
for an Applied
Place-Based Social
Innovation Ecosystem

least publicly funded post-secondary system

Georgian College is currently in the

in Canada. The resulting erosion of applied

proof-of-concept stage of an emergent

education infrastructure as a result of this
underfunding poses a structural threat to
national progress. Without intervention,

applied place-based social innovation
ecosystem model within Simcoe County and

federal ambitions around economic and

the Region of Muskoka in Ontario. The

technical innovation, climate transition and

model was built with community - and puts

rural regeneration will be undermined due
to issues such as lack of skilled workforce,
decreased applied research capacity

the best academic and thought leadership
theory into practice. The model leverages

(particularly around technological

the important role the college plays in the

adaptation), and overall weaker

community and is working at the local level

communities.
The state of colleges in Ontario is something

to support place-based impact driven by
collective foresight, at the regional level to

that other provinces and the Federal

build and systematically steward community

Government should be looking at as a sign

wealth and will work at the provincial level

of things to come without renewed
investment in the college system.
The call to properly fund Canadian colleges
is intertwined with a need to re-align and
modernize the funding models, to better
align for the future, and build a system that is
less politically entangled. The how of this is
beyond the scope of this paper, but the need

to scale impacts and at the national level to
affect policy change.

The Origin of the Georgian Model:
The Future of Belonging
The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka approached

for social innovation on this issue is clear.

Georgian College in 2023 for help. As an

The current state of the Canadian college

organization they had found themselves at a

system is a national vulnerability that
demands collective foresight and action.

strategic crossroads. They were seeing
disconnection between their discussion and

11
Page 55 of 116

action, they were ﬁnding that they had limited

how equity-owed groups are

capacity to manage complex future visions in a

disproportionately affected by

way that integrated the growing diversity of

intersectional issues, and to surface the

lived experience in the region, and they were

futures that those same equity-owed

not ﬁnding much in the way of infrastructure to

groups envision for community safety,

support social and community service

wellbeing and belonging.

innovation. YMCA Simcoe/Muskoka was

The Future of Belonging leveraged past

interested in reassessing their mission-driven

relevance and seeking innovative approaches

Georgian College to develop

beyond traditional collective impact models

participatory design tools for rural social

with the goal of building a culture of

innovation and a network of Social Labs

transformative innovation at the YMCA. The

for multi-sector engagement. As the work

goal was ambitious.

progressed it became clear that YMCA
Simcoe/Muskoka was not alone in
wanting to build capacity for social
innovation, and collective strategic
planning. It also became clear that
Georgian and YMCA Simcoe/Muskoka
could not achieve their goals in isolation
from a broader network of community
actors (e.g. Chamber of Commerce,

Photo 3 - Press Announcement of Community Innovation
Network RISE Symposium, Georgian College.
L-R) Kevin Weaver, President and CEO Georgian College,
Jill Tettman - President and CEO YMCA Simcoe Muskoka,
Nicole Norris - Director Social Innovation Georgian College,
Dr. Mira Ray - Executive Director, Research, Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Georgian College

Together with Georgian College, the YMCA
Simcoe/Muskoka launched the Future of
Belonging project – a community-driven
foresight initiative, aimed at understanding

Industry partners, other community
organizations). As the YMCA
Simcoe/Muskoka and Georgian looked at
what the YMCA was looking to achieve, it
was clear that success would depend on
the ability to have deeper community-led
stewardship of community capital, and a
prototype model for an applied social
innovation ecosystem was built.

12
Page 56 of 116

Overview of The Georgian Model
The Applied Social Innovation Ecosystem

A Community Innovation Network (CIN):

Model (see Fig 4) incorporates a multi-level

A network of Community Impact Labs

perspective of community, economic and

connected via digital infrastructure that

political systems. The model is designed for

holds community-designed innovations in

place-based implementation, taking into

trust (see Innovation Trust below).

account local resources and realities.
Community engagement is central to the

Innovation Trust: A digital community

model, as it is through the engagement of

innovation repository, that holds in trust the

diverse groups, agencies and individuals that

community-designed innovations that

it is determined what resources are required

emerge from projects, convenings and

to make the change they need to see

collaborations done throughout lab spaces

happen. The key components of the model

across the CIN.

include:
A Community Innovation Council (CIC):
Community Impact Projects (CIP):

A collaborative stewardship that brings

future-focused projects that are identiﬁed by

together regional Networks of Networks

and rooted in community.

under the framework of collective
foresight. The CIC plays a critical role in

Community Impact Labs (CIL): Accessible

dismantling barriers and fostering a

spaces with tools & resources to support the

systemic approach to funding ﬂows and

development of Community Impact Projects

future-ﬁt socio-culturally informed funding

and Innovation Journey Tools.

design. The CIC’s mission is to catalyze the
communities’ diverse place-based Social

A Community Innovation Institute (CII): A

Good innovations.

collaborative that supports experiential
learning and training to increase the capacity
of social innovation practitioners to support
community engagement in the CIL spaces
and through Innovation Journey Tools
13
Page 57 of 116

NEIGHBOURHOOD
(hyper-local)

Training
and Field Building

Georgian College’s Applied Social
Innovation Ecosystem Model is showing
early promise and has attracted attention
from funders (the proof-of-concept,

Chambers
Communty Centres

currently underway, is being partially

Institutions

funded through an NSERC grant), as well
as key social sector players (the national
network of YMCAs) and social innovation

Libraries

forms

supports

leaders. Social Innovation (SI) Canada is a
partner in the proof-of-concept project,
they see promise in the model, recognise
its unique approach, and appreciate the

COMMUNITY LEVEL

Digital Repository /
Innovation Trust

applied approach, particularly as there
has historically been limited working
models for rural social innovation.
Uncommon
Collaborations

Collective
Foresight

supports

REGIONAL LEVEL

informs

Community
Wealth Building

Fig 3 - Applied Social Innovation Ecosystem Model
How it works across the structural systems

14
Page 58 of 116

Fig 4. Applied Social Innovation Ecosystem Map
Infrastructures across different system structure levels

ty Wealth Building
muni
Com
acy & Policy Design
voc
Ad

ight & Collectiv
ores
eS
eF
tra
tiv
te
c
gi
Knowledge M
ll e
&
h
o
c
o
bil
ar
e
iza
etworks
N
es
g
of
in
Ne
en
nv

Anchor Research
& Innovation
Insitution

Co

Co
Ca mmu
Fra pital nity
me s Im
wo pa
ct
rk

g
nin
an
Pl

(e.g College)

Stewardship Group:

ed
nd
Ble ance
Fin dels
Mo

Cultural & Arts

n
tio
ks
or
tw

R

c

C

REGIONAL LEVEL
(Networks > Structures)

Community Service
Agency (e.g YMCA)

Participatory
Governance

Chamber of Commerce
Trusted Funder

(e.g Community Foundations)

Community
Safety

Business &
Industry

Youth Education

(e.g School Board)

Coalitions &
Citizen Action Groups
unity Impact
omm
Pro
wC
jec
Ne
ts
&
g
E
n
i
n
gag
m
em
ram
g
en
o
Pr
t
red Learnin
Sha
g

l
y
ita nit
Dig mmu
Co

Inn
Tru ovat
ion
st

COMMUNITY LEVEL
(Groups > Networks)

Elder

Uncommon
Collaborations

edge & Data Tran
owl
sla
Kn
tio
n
y
p
t
i
o
n
t
g
Pro

NEIGHBOURHOOD
(Individual > Groups)

d
an s
ols ce
To sour
Re

Tra
Fie ining
ld
Bu and
ild
ing

Ideation

COMMUNITY
IMPACT
PROJECT

In-Community
& Digital Spaces

Chambers
Communty Centres
Institutions

15
Page 59 of 116

Central to the Georgian Model is the

the college within the CIC is to serve as the

Community Innovation Council (CIC), which

backbone institution that enables the

will seek to mobilize ﬁnancial capital

convening, weaving and mobilizing of other

through social ﬁnance and grant-based

intermediary organizations, assets and

funding, support the creation of new

capitals in collaboration and participation

projects and programs by connecting and

with the other members of the CIC. Colleges

encouraging uncommon collaborations

will lend their infrastructure (procurement,

across sectors, and build the rural social

facilities, alumni, students, faculty, digital

innovation ﬁeld through support for

systems, ﬁnancial reporting), and host and

knowledge mobilization. The CIC will work

maintain accessible Community Impact Lab

in symmetry with, but independently from,

spaces. Colleges will leverage their

the aforementioned TACs and other

administrative infrastructure and integrity to

economic and industry models. It is vital

manage complex, long-term, ﬂow through

that the CIC remains grounded in the

funding initiatives vital for the functioning of

community and prioritizes the needs of

an Applied Social Innovation Ecosystem.

equity-owed groups.

CIC, the College is the anchor institution
within a decentralized network of networks

Co
Ca mmu
Fra pital nity
me s Im
wo pa
ct
rk

systemic approaches. As such, within the

ed
nd
Ble ance
Fin dels
Mo

governance structure that supports more

s
rk

purpose built for social innovation, with a

Fo
r

national coordinating body), but is

Re
se
ar
c
Co
nv
e

decision making and action within a

Ad
vo

some similarities (such as local level

Co
m

learned from the TAC model and shares

Coll
ect
ive

The structure of the CIC leverages lessons

ing
uild
B
lth
ea
sign
W
y De
ty
c
i
i
l
Po
un
&
m
y
tive Strategic
c
ollec
Pla
ca
C
nn
t&
in
h
g
ig
ge Mobiliz
d
e
s
l
w
a
e
o
tio
n
K
n
&
etworks of Net
h
N
wo
ng
ni

Participatory
Governance

(as opposed to the central hub, in the hub
and spoke model of the TAC). The role of
Page 60 of 116

Calls to Action
The path to a national rural social
innovation ecosystem model will not be
linear. Our understanding of what is
needed and what can be achieved is
going to grow as community capital
resource ﬂows are unlocked, as layered
relationships–rooted in place–develop,
and as networks connect with each
other across regions and provinces.
To move forward there are seven calls
to action under four key areas:
1. Invest in the Proof-of-Concept
2. Recognize the Role of Colleges
3. Fund, Support and Engage in
National Dialogue on the role of
colleges in, and the importance of,
rural social innovation
4. Do not forget the social sector

1

Invest in the Proof-of-Concept

The proof-of-concept for the model requires
investment in two key ways. First, the
Georgian Model is looking to establish the
“Social Good Reserve” – which will work to
foster new forms of multi-capital ﬂows for
place-based innovations – within the
Community Innovation Council to provide
social ﬁnance and grant-based funding to
projects and initiatives that will advance the
Rural Social Innovation ecosystem in
Simcoe/Muskoka. Second, there is a need to
demonstrate that the Georgian model can be
replicated and that the model can achieve
ACTIONS

Provide the ﬂow-through
capital needed for the Social
Good Reserve to invest in

WHO
Government
Foundations
Impact Investors

community
Provide funding for
replication of the Georgian
model in other communities
and regions

Government
Foundations
Impact investors

Support social innovation
departments in carving out
unique space to apply the
model

Colleges
Community

17
Page 61 of 116

2

Recognize the Role of Colleges

3

Fund, Support and Engage

Colleges need to be seen (and need to

Fund, Support and Engage in National

position themselves) as unique players in the

Dialogue on the role of colleges in, and the

rural social innovation ecosystem. Too often

importance of, rural social innovation

colleges have been overlooked and

Both colleges and rural communities have

excluded from national level dialogue about

been overlooked in Canada’s dialogue

social innovation. Colleges bring an

around social innovation. There is a need for

important perspective and understanding

Colleges, government, as well as the social,

through their ability to bridge multiple

private, philanthropic and community beneﬁt

sectors and deep community knowledge

sectors to come together in national dialogue

and connection in rural communities. Rural

to build an understanding of the important

social innovation will not advance without

role that colleges can play as well as the

colleges.

importance of developing a unique strategy
for rural social innovation.

ACTIONS

WHO

ACTIONS

WHO

Actively engage colleges in

Social Innovation
Actors

Provide funding to support

Government
Foundations

social innovation
ecosystem planning and
discussions

national dialogue and
convening
Engage in national dialogue
around the role of colleges
and the importance of rural
social innovation

Government
Foundations
Colleges
Social sector
Private sector
Philanthropic sector
Community beneﬁt
sector

18
Page 62 of 116

4

Do Not Forget The Social Sector

Canada is juggling multiple crises at the
moment, and with economic and national
sovereignty concerns at the forefront of
national discussions it might be tempting for
political leaders to put social sector priorities
on the back burner. This would be a mistake.
Canada’s economic and security agendas
cannot be fully achieved if the social

7 Calls To Action:
Provide the ﬂow-through capital
needed for the Social Good
Reserve to invest in community
Provide funding for replication
of the Georgian model in other
communities and regions
Support social innovation
departments in carving out
unique space to apply the
model

infrastructure collapses.

Actively engage colleges in
social innovation ecosystem
planning and discussions
ACTIONS

WHO

Recognize the vital role that

Government
Private sector

the social sector plays in
Canadian communities and
ensure that the sector has the
funding needed to carry out
this role

Provide funding to support
national dialogue and
convening
Engage in national dialogue
around the role of colleges and
the importance of rural social
innovation
Recognize the vital role that the
social sector plays in Canadian
communities and ensure that
the sector has the funding
needed to carry out this role

19
Page 63 of 116

Why This Model — And
Why Now
Canada’s next economic chapter will require
more than investment capital and technological
ambition—it demands deep, community-rooted
infrastructure that can carry these transitions
equitably and inclusively. The applied social
innovation ecosystem model presented in this
paper, was developed in partnership with rural
communities, and provides a pragmatic and
scalable approach designed to meet this
challenge. The Georgian model recognizes the
limits of other models and goes beyond
centering the lived experience of
equity-deserving communities, and building
from local assets, to creating an ecosystem that
embraces these values as core, while at the
same time looking to engage and bring
together community actors from all sectors
(government, industry, social and
philanthropic), to plan for the future and
integrate social innovation directly into the
systems that shape people’s daily
lives—education, housing, health, workforce
development, and belonging.
This model will work because in application it is

“Community services are not “nice to

haves” – they are essential infrastructure
embedded in our communities that
provide care, build vital social

connections, address affordability
challenges and enable equitable

economic participation. The sector

delivers on core government priorities,

including employment and upskilling for
workers; housing construction and

homelessness prevention; childcare and
services for youth, seniors and people
with disabilities; mental health and

counselling; and support for survivors of

gender-based violence. Increasingly, the
sector is on the front lines of

emergencies like wildﬁres, playing a
critical role in community resilience,

response, and recovery from disasters
that too many of us are now familiar
with.”

Dan Clement,

President and CEO

United Way Centraide Canada
The Hill Times (August 7, 2025)

built from the ground up, not parachuted in. It
can be replicated but not imposed. It leverages
20
Page 64 of 116

colleges, not as central actors, but as anchor

weakest link in our social innovation

institutions—enablers of local stewardship,

ecosystem. Rural communities will be

distributed governance, and collective

particularly hard hit. National climate,

foresight – and leveraging their infrastructure.

economic, and reconciliation agendas will

It weaves together economic, cultural, and

falter if rural communities continue to be left

social capital through networks of

behind, their institutions underfunded, and

Community Impact Labs, digital knowledge

their innovations unsupported. Now is the

repositories, and cross-sector

time to recognize rural social innovation not

collaboration—creating a future-ﬁt foundation

as a peripheral experiment—but as essential

for community resilience.

infrastructure for a thriving, just, and
sustainable Canada.

The model assumes that the college will be
there to serve as the anchor – to play a
unique role for which there are few
substitutes. The model provides a strong
argument for the need for federal and
provincial governments to invest in Colleges.
While Social Innovation has not historically
been appropriately funded in Canada, and
while not everyone may be familiar with
using the term social innovation, there is
general acknowledgment of the need for
systems change, to do things differently, to
strengthen the social fabric of our
communities.
Ontario, in particular, needs urgent

Photo 4 - Uncommon Collaborations Workshop - 2024
Community members who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+,
working together to explore how different community
organizations can collaborate in new and uncommon ways.

reinvestment in its college system. Without
this, Ontario—and by extension Canada—risks
allowing our largest province to become the

21
Page 65 of 116

References
Colleges and Institutes Canada. (n.d.). About the impact report. Retrieved November 9, 2025, from
https://impactreport.collegesinstitutes.ca/about/
Canadian Forum for Social Innovation. (2024). Building networks for systemic impact: A national strategy for
social innovation. Social Innovation Canada.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities. (2017). Rural challenges, national opportunity: Shaping the future of
rural Canada.
https://fcm.ca/sites/default/ﬁles/documents/resources/report/rural-challenges-national-opportunities.pdf
Fraser, T. (2023). The art of scaling deep: Research in summary. The Systems Sanctuary.
Future of Social Labs. (2024). The evolution of social labs: Strategies for long-term sustainability. Social
Innovation Lab Network.
Geobey, S. (2022). Reckoning with reality: Reﬂections on a place-based social innovation lab. Sustainability,
14(3958). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073958
Georgian College Centre for Social Innovation. (2023). The Future of Belonging: Year 1 insights report.
Georgian College. https://futureofbelonging.ca/learn
Heiskala, R. (2007). In T. J. Hämäläinen & R. Heiskala (Eds.), Social innovations, institutional change and
economic performance (pp. 52–79). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Nicholls, J., Lawlor, E., Neitzert, E., & Goodspeed, T. (2012). A guide to social return on investment. The SROI
Network.
Nogueira, A., Ashton, W. S., & Teixeira, C. (2019). Expanding perceptions of the circular economy through
design: Eight capitals as innovation lenses. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 149, 566–576.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). Enhancing rural innovation in Canada.
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/enhancing-rural-innovation-in-canada_a9919c66-en.html
Strandberg, C. (2017). Maximizing the capacities of advanced education institutions to build social
infrastructure for Canadian communities. J.W. McConnell Family Foundation’s RECODE Initiative & Simon
Fraser University.

22
Page 66 of 116

Pathway
to
Prosperity
Building an innovation system
to solve Canada’s hardest
problems together
1

Page 67 of 116

Executive Summary
Canada is navigating a pivotal moment.
Housing unaffordability, climate disruption,
rising costs of living, deepening inequities,
and growing polarization are shaping the
everyday lives of millions and collectively threatening the foundations of shared
prosperity. These challenges are deeply
interconnected, crossing sectors and jurisdictions in ways that compound their impact. Addressing them requires more than
incremental reform, single-issue responses,
or technological breakthroughs. It requires
a new approach to problem solving: purpose-driven, people-centred, and built for
complexity. This is social innovation.
Canada’s current innovation system was largely
designed to support industrial competitiveness and
technological commercialization. It performs well
in key areas — research output, educational attainment, public investment in science — but struggles
to translate those strengths into widespread social
and economic benefit. The system is fragmented,
slow-moving, and misaligned to the nature of the
challenges we face today. As the federal government’s 2018 Social Innovation and Social Finance
Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group identified,
Canada does not lack innovative actors or promising
ideas. It lacks the coordinated architecture to support them at scale.
This report makes the case that solving Canada’s
most complex challenges requires national investment in three reinforcing capacities that are currently
underdeveloped in our innovation system:

•

Participation builds the shared ground and legitimacy that make coordination possible. When the
full range of affected actors — including communities with lived experience — are involved
in defining problems and shaping solutions, the
result is greater buy-in, broader adoption, and
more equitable outcomes.

•

Learning and experimentation enable institutions and communities to test solutions in real-world conditions, generate credible evidence,
and adapt before committing to full-scale implementation. Structured experimentation reduces
risk, surfaces hidden barriers, and accelerates
the adoption of effective approaches across
regions and sectors.

•

Alignment ensures that successful innovations
are supported by the policies, incentives, and
capital flows they need to scale and endure.
Aligning these enablers around shared goals
is what turns promising pilots into coordinated
national efforts.

Social innovation is the mechanism through which
these capacities are built. It is not a separate system,
but a set of capabilities that strengthen the broader
innovation system by enabling communities and
institutions to work together more effectively.
Canada has the talent, the institutional foundations,
and the collaborative spirit to build a future-ready
innovation system — one that routinely links local
experimentation with national policy, aligns capital
with community priorities, and embeds equity and
resilience into design from the start. Realizing this
potential starts with recognizing participation, learning, and alignment as foundational infrastructure for
a prosperous Canada.

Page 68 of 116

Table of contents

Acknowledgments

1

Introduction

2

The current innovation system: strengths and constraints

3

How it should work: unlocking the impact of the ecosystem

5

1. Participation

5

2. Learning and experimentation

7

3. Alignment

10

Building a future-ready innovation system

12

3

Page 69 of 116

Acknowledgments
This report draws on the longstanding leadership of many individuals and organizations
working toward a more just, equitable and sustainable future.
Special thanks to the following individuals for their contributions and support:
Alex Ryan
Amanuel Melles
Ben Weinlick
Celina Chavannes
Danya Pastuszek
David Waters
Diane Rousin
Geraldine Cahill
Gwen Joy

Ilse Treurnicht
Kirsten Wright
Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed
Marilyn Struthers
Nicole Norris
Patrick Dubé
Tim Draimin
Victor Beausoleil

Authors:
Andrea Nemtin
Ann-Elisabeth Samson

1

Page 70 of 116

Introduction
Canada has committed to creating greater prosperity
for all Canadians — building “Canada Strong” — by
investing in infrastructure, research, industrial strategy, and economic capacity. These investments are
essential, but they will not deliver prosperity on their
own. Building a strong Canada means investing not
only in infrastructure, but also in people and communities.
Canada has set ambitious goals: achieving inclusive
prosperity, preserving a healthy climate, advancing
reconciliation, and ensuring safety and security for all
Canadians. These goals are not isolated challenges.
They are deeply interconnected and foundational to
the country’s long-term economic and social stability.
They are being pursued in a time of increasing social, economic, and environmental turmoil. Increasing
polarization is being intensified by climate change,
instability in our historical trade relationships, and exponential technological change, which are impacting
how we live and work.1
Solving these challenges will require a new kind of
innovation — one that is purpose-driven, people-centred, and uniquely Canadian.

Social innovation connects community knowledge
with the resources and capabilities of public, private,
and philanthropic actors. It is an equity-centred approach that applies the discipline of innovation (experimentation, iteration, and scaling) to the systems
we all depend on.
This is not theoretical. Across Canada, community
innovators are advancing affordable housing solutions, accelerating clean-tech ventures, and supporting Indigenous-led development. What remains is
strengthening the conditions that allow these efforts
to connect, scale, and endure.

What do we mean by purpose-driven?
Purpose-driven approaches organize policy, investment, innovation, and collaboration around
common societal goals such as housing affordability, climate resilience, reconciliation, or
inclusive prosperity. They help diverse actors
work together to address complex challenges
in ways that generate shared public benefit.

Social innovation turns purpose-driven goals into
action by enabling experimentation, iteration, and
scaling alongside communities. It creates greater social cohesion through increased participation, faster
and more efficient development of solutions through
learning and experimentation, and the alignment
required for effective implementation and scaling
of solutions. It is an approach that moves us from
fragmented programs, pilot projects, and ineffective
top-down initiatives to coordinated national impact.

1 Further reading: Edelman Trust Institute, 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, 2026.

2

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The current innovation system:
strengths and constraints
Canada’s innovation system reflects a stark contrast
between its world-class inputs and its persistent
difficulty translating those into widespread economic
and social prosperity. The system itself was largely
designed to support industrial competitiveness and
technological commercialization, rather than the
cross-sector coordination required to address complex social challenges.
Canada performs well in some areas, including
research output, educational attainment, and public
investment in science. However, these strengths
have not translated into strong productivity growth or
widespread adoption of innovation across the economy.
Critics argue that the current innovation system is
uncoordinated, fragmented, and misaligned to our
present day needs.
Canada faces an “adoption gap.” Businesses underinvest in research and development and are slow to
adopt new technologies, while promising firms often
struggle to scale. The Council of Canadian Academies notes that while Canada has numerous programs and actors supporting innovation — including
over 130 federal programs — the system is lacking in
coordination and diffusion mechanisms, which widens this adoption gap.2 3

Canadian political scientist Dan Breznitz has suggested that this is in part because we have conflated
invention with innovation, prioritizing the creation of
new ideas while underinvesting in their adoption and
diffusion across firms, sectors, and regions.
Public policy has historically focused on firm-level
commercialization and venture-backed growth, while
community-based and civic innovation actors receive
far less system support.4
This limits the development of the broader civic
economy — the institutions and intermediaries that
generate public value alongside market growth.
Strengthening Canada’s innovation system, therefore, requires investing not only in new technologies,
but in the capacities that enable institutions to work
together effectively. The challenge is not only to generate innovation, but to organize the system so innovation can contribute to widespread public benefit.
This is where the role of social innovation becomes
critical. Social innovation operates as a bridging layer
within the system, enabling faster-moving experimentation and community-led solutions to inform
and influence slower-moving institutional, policy, and
capital systems.

2 Council of Canadian Academies, Competing in a Global Innovation Economy: The Current State of R&D in Canada, 2018.
3 Council of Canadian Academies, The State of Science, Technology and Innovation in Canada 2025, 2025.
4 David Watters, Innovation for a Public Purpose, The Hill Times, 2025.

3

Page 72 of 116

Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy (2018): groundwork and
unfinished agenda
The 2018 Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group identified
ecosystem fragmentation, limited access to patient capital, weak intermediary capacity, and insufficient coordination across departments as structural barriers to scaling social innovation in Canada.
The federal government subsequently launched measures, including the Social Finance Fund and
community investment supports. However, several structural recommendations — procurement
reform, improved data infrastructure, coordinated capacity building, and deeper interdepartmental
alignment — remain partially implemented.
The Strategy established that Canada does not lack innovative actors. It lacks coordinated architecture to support them at scale.
Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Inclusive Innovation: New Ideas and New Partnerships for
Stronger Communities: Recommendations of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering
Group, 2018

4

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How it should work: unlocking the
impact of the ecosystem
In an era of existential threats to Canada, public
policy is increasingly embracing a whole-of-society approach. This builds on earlier shifts toward
whole-of-government models, recognizing that
siloed approaches are insufficient for addressing
complex and interdependent challenges.
Historically, Canada’s innovation paradigm has
been structured around the triple helix of government, business, and academia. Today, this model is
evolving toward a quadruple helix that includes civil
society as a critical partner in shaping and delivering
solutions.

At its core, social innovation contributes three critical
capacities to the innovation system: participation,
learning, and alignment. Together, they enable institutions and communities to define complex problems
collaboratively, test solutions in real-world conditions, and embed successful approaches into policy,
incentives, and capital flows so they can scale and
endure.
Participation defines the problem. Learning unlocks
innovation and reveals what works. Alignment
embeds solutions into the system. Together, these
elements allow innovation systems to move from
fragmented experimentation to coordinated social
impact.

The Quadruple Helix of Innovation

1. Participation
Building shared ground and legitimacy
Complex social challenges require collaboration
across sectors, jurisdictions, and communities. For
innovation to advance the public good, a wider
range of actors must participate in defining problems
and shaping solutions.
Participation is central to establishing the legitimacy
for adoption. Research on policy implementation
shows that reforms lacking stakeholder inclusion
face lower adoption and greater resistance.5 In complex systems, relationships are not peripheral — they
are a condition for change.
When actors have a greater awareness of each
other’s perspectives, a shared understanding of
5 Johan Schot et al., Transformative Investment in Sustainability: An Investment Philosophy for the Second Deep Transition, 2022.

5

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the problems, and a common vision for the future,
coordination becomes easier. This understanding
shifts attention from competing outputs to shared
outcomes, lowering coordination costs and strengthening collaboration.
Examples across Canada illustrate how this work
unfolds in practice. The Winnipeg Boldness Project
demonstrates how shared problem definition and
community participation can improve outcomes for
families while strengthening alignment across
institutions. Similarly, Georgian College’s community
innovation model shows how trusted anchor institutions can convene municipalities, businesses, and
community organizations to build shared priorities
and coordinate action around local challenges.

Winnipeg Boldness Project: building
shared ground through relational
coordination
Launched in 2014 in the Point Douglas neighbourhood of Winnipeg, the Boldness Project
focused on improving early childhood outcomes
by starting with community-defined priorities
rather than externally imposed program models.
Families, service providers, funders, and governments worked together to redefine the problem, identify barriers, and test community-driven
responses. The approach emphasized continuous feedback loops, shared decision-making,
and relational trust.
Rather than treating service delivery as the
solution, the project treated relationship-building as a precondition for change. Over time,
this relational approach improved institutional
responsiveness and strengthened alignment
across agencies serving the same families. The
Boldness Project demonstrates that legitimacy
and adoption depend on who defines the problem and how actors align — not simply on the
technical quality of a proposed solution.
Source: Winnipeg Boldness Project, A New Approach.

Georgian College Community
Innovation Network: anchor institution
as connector
Georgian College’s community innovation model positions the college as an anchor institution
linking local challenges to broader provincial
and national priorities. This includes holding
community-led innovation in trust, allowing time
for slower-moving policy or funding cycles to
match the speed of community change.
Through community innovation councils and
place-based collaboration processes, the college convenes municipalities, businesses, social
purpose organizations, and residents to identify
shared challenges and co-design responses.
By embedding innovation capacity within a
trusted local institution, the model connects
place-based experimentation with broader
system objectives. It strengthens cross-sector
relationships, builds shared problem definitions,
and creates pathways for solutions to move
from community testing to broader adoption.
This approach demonstrates how anchor institutions can serve as connectors between national
purpose-driven goals and local implementation
capacity — reducing fragmentation and increasing coherence across the innovation system.
Source: Georgian College community innovation materials

Community catalysts — such as the Tamarack Institute, Social Economy through Social Inclusion
(SETSI), the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CEDNET), member organizations,
non-profits and social service organizations — are
the connectors who hold the relationships required
for broad participation to be realized. Expanding
participation improves the relevance, legitimacy, and
adoption of innovation, while ensuring that the benefits are more widely distributed.

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Community catalysts: Tamarack
Institute and SETSI
Across Canada, organizations are already
working to strengthen the connective tissue of
the social innovation ecosystem. Institutions
such as the Tamarack Institute and SETSI play
a catalytic role in building the relational infrastructure needed for systems change.
Tamarack has spent more than two decades
supporting communities across Canada to
address complex challenges such as poverty
reduction, community climate action, and inclusive local economic development. Through
learning networks, collaborative leadership
training, and place-based initiatives, Tamarack
helps communities build the shared ground
required for cross-sector collaboration and
collective problem-solving.
Similarly, the SETSI initiative has focused on
strengthening the social enterprise ecosystem
by supporting partnerships among community
organizations, intermediaries, governments,
and investors. By connecting practitioners,
mobilizing knowledge, and strengthening
institutional capacity, SETSI has helped create
pathways for social enterprises to scale their
impact while contributing to broader economic
and community development goals. These organizations demonstrate the role of community
catalysts in a functioning innovation system.
Rather than delivering solutions themselves,
they build the conditions that allow communities, institutions, and innovators to work
together more effectively. In doing so, they
strengthen the relational infrastructure required
for participation, learning, and alignment across
the system.

2. Learning and
experimentation
Structured experimentation to solve
complex challenges
Many of Canada’s most pressing challenges are systemic in nature, shaped by the interaction of policies,
markets, human behaviour, and social conditions.
Their root causes are rarely visible at the outset,
and their impacts are not evenly distributed. Housing insecurity, climate vulnerability, mental health
outcomes, and economic precarity are entangled
and affect certain communities more intensely than
others.
This challenge is compounded by the fact that actors
are distributed across arenas — community, institutional, and policy — and operate at different speeds
of change. Community-based initiatives can adapt
quickly to emerging needs, while policy, regulatory,
and capital systems often move more slowly due to
complexity, risk, and accountability requirements.
These “pace layers” are interdependent but rarely
well aligned.
Because these systems are nonlinear and adaptive,
effective solutions cannot be fully designed in advance. Instead, we must learn our way toward better
responses through structured experimentation.
Structured experimentation reduces implementation
risk. By testing approaches in real-world conditions
before scaling, institutions avoid over-specifying too
early, uncover regulatory friction in advance, and
generate the evidence required for durable change.
Rather than slowing action, disciplined learning
accelerates progress because policies and capital
flows move more confidently when uncertainty has
been reduced.

Source: Tamarack Institute, SETSI program materials

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Learning and experimentation
infrastructure: the Future of Labs
project
As governments and communities grapple with
complex challenges, social innovation labs have
emerged as spaces for experimentation and collaborative problem solving. Until recently, there
has been limited understanding of how these
labs function collectively as part of a broader
system of innovation and learning.
The Future of Labs project examined this
emerging field by studying how labs operate, what roles they play in systems change,
and what conditions enable them to succeed.
Drawing on research and practitioner insights,
the project found that labs are well-suited to
tackling complex problems that resist traditional
policy approaches. They convene diverse actors
who rarely collaborate, including policymakers,
community leaders, researchers, and people
with lived experience, and they create environments where ideas can be tested, prototyped,
and refined through iterative learning.
Labs function best when treated as infrastructure for experimentation within complex systems
rather than as short-term initiatives. The project’s research highlighted that fully activating
the role of labs in systems change requires
stronger learning networks, sustained support,
and closer connections between experimentation and decision-making institutions.
Source: Future of Labs, Primer Report, 2024

Research on public sector innovation and policy
labs highlights the importance of structured experimentation in complex systems.6 7 8 Learning environments enable governments and partners to build the
evidence base needed to adjust policies, mobilize

capital, and support the wider adoption of solutions.
These findings were reinforced in discussions at the
Canadian Forum for Social Innovation in 2025 and in
a recent report from the Future of Labs, both highlighting the growing role of structured experimentation in helping institutions navigate complex challenges.9
Innovation labs, pilot programs, collaborative testing
environments, and other “lab-like” processes create
safe spaces for experimentation. These structured
learning environments enable community organizations, researchers, governments, and investors to test
ideas, generate evidence, and adapt policies based
on real-world feedback. Through integrated feedback
loops, transparent iteration, and the integration of
data, lived experience, and local knowledge, these
structured learning processes help institutions to
understand what works, under what conditions, and
for whom.
This approach is particularly important when addressing root causes. Iterative experimentation can reveal
hidden barriers, unintended consequences, and
structural drivers that would otherwise remain
invisible. In doing so, it helps move policy responses
beyond short-term fixes toward solutions that address
the underlying dynamics of complex challenges.
Across Canada, this approach is already generating
practical results. The Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation’s (CMHC’s) National Housing Strategy
Solutions Labs program, for example, supported 97
labs that brought together cross-sector stakeholders — including municipalities, housing providers,
tenants, financial institutions, and community organizations — to co-develop solutions to housing affordability challenges. By providing flexible funding and
space for stakeholders to work across institutional
silos, the labs enabled collaborative experimentation
that produced practical solutions, informed policy adjustments, and strengthened coordination across the
housing system.

6 OECD, Building local ecosystems for social innovation: A methodological framework, 2021.
7 Mariana Mazzucato, Mission-oriented innovation policies: challenges and opportunities, 2018.
8 OECD, Advancing the Entrepreneurial University, 2022.
9 Future of Labs, Primer Report, 2024.

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Housing affordability and the National
Housing Strategy Solutions Labs
program: structured experimentation at
scale
Restoring housing affordability in Canada would
require hundreds of thousands of additional
homes per year — roughly double current construction rates. One in three renters spends more
than 30% of their income on shelter. Housing affordability is not a single-policy problem; it reflects
zoning, financing, labour markets, regulation, and
capital flows.
Between 2018 and 2024, 97 National Housing
Strategy Solutions Labs were funded to test
solutions to these complex challenges, and 71
concluded labs were assessed in the 2026 Impact
Evaluation. Across them, 220 solutions were
generated, 52% were implemented, 41% scaled
beyond their original site, and 39% led to policy
change. Lab-supported solutions initiated or influenced over 1,000 affordable housing units. More
than 1,200 stakeholder groups participated, with
most labs creating or strengthening cross-sector
partnerships.
The evaluation found that structured collaboration and experimentation enabled municipalities,
housing providers, financial actors, and tenants to
test and refine practical solutions. It also identified
funding and regulatory barriers that limit sustained
impact — underscoring that experimentation must
be matched by institutional reform.
The program demonstrates that coordinated
learning mechanisms can translate complex housing challenges into implementable solutions and
policy change when supported at scale. In other
words: investing upstream in structured innovation processes delivers measurable downstream
housing results.
Source: Statistics Canada, Housing Affordability in Canada,
2022, 2024; CMHC, Innovation in action: Impacts & insights
from the NHS Solutions Labs Program, 2026

Similarly, initiatives such as the Converge Mental
Health Coalition and Datathon have brought together health leaders, data analysts, and community
organizations to better understand service gaps and
improve coordination in the mental health system,
ultimately creating changes that saved lives. Shared,
structured learning plays a critical role in
connecting innovation to systems change. By reducing uncertainty and generating credible evidence,
experimentation creates the conditions for policy reform, capital participation, and widespread adoption.

Converge Mental Health Coalition and
Datathon: learning to improve system
response
Nearly one in five Canadians aged 15+ meets
the criteria for a mood, anxiety, or substance use
disorder in a given year, and the proportion of
youth reporting poor mental health has more than
doubled since 2019. These outcomes are shaped
not only by clinical care, but by housing stability,
income security, education, employment, and
access to coordinated services. Mental health is a
systems challenge.
The Converge Datathon responded by bringing
together health leaders, data analysts, and community providers to work with real administrative
and service use data. Rather than developing
new treatments, teams focused on system insight
— identifying referral bottlenecks, service gaps,
and capacity mismatches. Participating regions
developed shared dashboards and practical
recommendations that improved service planning,
strengthened coordination, and reduced duplication in intake and referral processes.
The impact was not framed as immediate clinical
change, but as improved system responsiveness.
The Datathon demonstrates how structured learning environments can help complex systems see
themselves clearly — and respond faster.
Source: Statistics Canada, Mental health of Canadians — it
matters, 2023; Converge Mental Health Coalition, National
Mental Health Datathon Summary Report, 2025

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3. Alignment
Aligning institutions, incentives, and capital
Durable change occurs when institutions, incentives,
and capital flows align to enable solutions around
shared social goals. Without changes to the rules
of the system — such as regulatory modernization,
procurement reform, and new financing structures —
promising innovations remain isolated pilots rather
than standard practice.
Systems finance approaches — including blended finance, purpose-driven investment, and public-private
capital alignment — allow governments, investors,
and community actors to direct resources toward
shared outcomes rather than fragmented initiatives.
Canada’s Social Finance Fund, for example, is designed to mobilize private and philanthropic capital
alongside public investment to support solutions
addressing social and environmental challenges.
Policy reform can also reshape how economic value
and opportunity are distributed. The introduction of
Employee Ownership Trusts in 2023 illustrates how
targeted legislative change can alter incentives and
expand pathways for shared ownership and inclusive
growth. By adjusting tax and trust law, the reform

created new possibilities for business succession
through employee ownership without creating new
administrative structures.
In complex systems, alignment is what allows learning to translate into lasting change. Achieving this
kind of alignment requires coordination-into-collaboration capacity. Policy reform, capital mobilization,
and institutional change rarely occur within a single
organization. They depend on collaboration across
governments, financial institutions, intermediaries,
and community actors.

Employee Ownership Trusts: legislative
reform shifting incentives
Federal legislative reform in 2023 introduced
Employee Ownership Trusts (thanks to the identification of this gap and advocacy to address it
by Social Capital Partners), enabling business
succession through employee trusts. By adjusting tax and trust law, the reform shifted ownership possibilities nationwide without creating
new bureaucracy. It demonstrates how policy
changes can alter capital distribution at scale.

The Collaboration Spectrum

Adapted from Tamarack Institute, The Collaboration Spectrum, 2017.

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Research on systems change highlights the role of
system orchestrators in connecting actors, aligning
incentives, and translating local experimentation into
broader institutional reform. The Canadian Alliance
for Transit-Connected Housing (CATCH) offers a
clear example of what this orchestration looks like in
practice.

CATCH: purpose-driven coordination in
practice
The Canadian Alliance for Transit-Connected
Housing (CATCH) demonstrates how shared
ground, structured learning, and capital alignment can operate together around a clear national goal: preserving affordability near transit
infrastructure.

The first workshop of the Hamilton Equitable, TransitOriented Affordable Housing Lab that gave rise to CATCH.

CATCH convenes municipalities, housing
providers, tenants, capital partners, and policy
actors to address displacement risk created by
transit investment. Through place-based collaboration, it identifies acquisition opportunities,
tests financing tools, and mobilizes blended
capital to secure long-term affordability.
The model combines local experimentation with
national coordination — linking on-the-ground
housing preservation to policy design and capital deployment. Rather than funding isolated
projects, it aligns actors around a shared outcome and builds the connective capacity required to sustain impact. CATCH illustrates that
purpose-driven coordination is not theoretical. It
is already underway.
Source: Social Innovation Canada

Groundbreaking in November 2025 on the Small Lot Fourplex
Initiative led by Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes —
a pilot that emerged from the Hamilton Equitable, TransitOriented Affordable Housing Lab. | Photo courtesy of Mary
Wah

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Building a future-ready innovation
system
The federal government has a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to embed social innovation as a pillar of
Canada’s innovation system, giving purpose-driven
solutions the support they need to deliver lasting
results. This isn’t about spending more; it’s about
investing smarter and leveraging every dollar to generate both social and economic returns.
However, moving from intent to impact requires
new scaffolding: structures for collaboration, decision-making tools that prioritize learning and adaptation, and shared platforms that link federal action to
local initiative. Collaboration isn’t just a value — it’s a
competency. And it requires deliberate investment.
Purpose-driven efforts succeed only when institutions and communities have the capacity to collaborate, learn, and align their actions over time.
Canada has already laid the groundwork in this area.
In 2018, the Social Innovation and Social Finance
Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group identified ecosystem fragmentation, limited access to patient capital, thin intermediary capacity, and weak coordination
across government and community actors as core
barriers to impact. While important steps have been
taken including the creation of the Social Finance
Fund, many recommendations around procurement
reform, data systems, and coordination capacity
remain incomplete.
The opportunity now is to finish what was started. By
2035, Canada can have a functioning, future-ready
innovation system — one that routinely links local
experimentation with national policy, aligns capital
with community priorities, and embeds equity and
resilience into design rather than retrofitting them
after failure.

The work ahead has a dual ambition: to solve urgent
challenges today while strengthening the innovation
system, so that coordinated, purpose-driven problem
solving becomes routine rather than exceptional.
The opportunity before us is immense. Canada can
lead globally in demonstrating how purpose-driven
governance can be both ambitious and accountable
— rooted in Canadian values and a vision for shared
prosperity. Doing so will require both policy commitment and investment in enabling infrastructure.
Here’s how:

1. Strengthen participation:
enable place-based collaboration
Addressing complex societal challenges begins
with ensuring that the right actors are involved in
defining problems and shaping solutions. Participation strengthens legitimacy, improves adoption,
and ensures that innovation reflects the realities of
communities most affected by social and economic
challenges.
The federal government can strengthen participation by investing in the institutions and networks that
enable collaboration across sectors and regions. This
includes supporting place-based innovation hubs
and living labs that bring together municipalities,
community organizations, researchers, and businesses to address local challenges connected to national
purpose-driven goals.

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Participation can also be expanded through national
networks that connect community innovators, social enterprises, and research institutions, allowing
lessons learned in one region to inform solutions
elsewhere. Particular attention should be given to
Indigenous-led innovation infrastructure, ensuring Indigenous governments and communities can shape
solutions aligned with self-determination, economic
development, and community wellbeing.
By strengthening participation, Canada can create
the shared ground required for coordinated action
on complex challenges.

2. Expand learning
infrastructure: enable
experimentation and
evidence-based adaptation
Complex systems cannot be fully understood from a
distance. Effective solutions emerge through structured experimentation, testing, and iterative learning
that engage with the system’s complexity.
Canada already has promising models of this approach, including the CMHC’s National Housing Strategy Solutions Labs. Building on these experiences,
the federal government can expand national capacity
for structured experimentation by scaling solutions
labs programs across policy domains, including
climate resilience, health systems, and community
economic development.
This learning infrastructure should also support pilot-to-policy pathways, ensuring that lessons generated through experimentation inform regulatory reform,
program design, and funding decisions. Dedicated
research and experimentation funds could allow
governments, communities, and investors to test new
approaches in real-world settings while generating
the evidence required for broader adoption.
Investing in learning infrastructure reduces implementation risk and accelerates the diffusion of effec-

tive solutions across regions and sectors.

3. Align institutions and
capital around shared goals
Even when promising solutions exist, they rarely
scale unless policies, incentives, and capital flows
reinforce shared goals.
Purpose-driven innovation can help align federal programs and investments around clear national priorities such as housing affordability, climate resilience,
reconciliation, and inclusive prosperity. This would
involve creating cross-department purpose-driven
mandates, shared outcome metrics, and mechanisms
for pooled or coordinated funding across departments.
Alignment must also extend to capital markets. Expanding blended finance vehicles, strengthening the
Social Finance Fund ecosystem, and enabling placebased investment vehicles can help mobilize private,
philanthropic, and institutional capital toward public
benefit. Over time, this approach can help direct
long-term investment toward solutions that strengthen communities while supporting economic growth.
Coordinating actors across sectors and jurisdictions
requires dedicated institutions and intermediaries
capable of translating learning into action.
System orchestrators play a critical role in connecting
local experimentation with national policy priorities.
These organizations convene partners, build network
capabilities, align incentives, support collaborative
problem solving, and help scale promising models
across regions and sectors.
Strengthening this orchestration capacity could
involve supporting national intermediaries, purpose-driven networks, and place-based collaboration
platforms that connect community innovation with
federal policy objectives.
Without this connective infrastructure, even well-designed missions risk remaining fragmented initiatives
rather than coordinated national efforts.

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Investing in what makes
Canada strong
Prosperity in the twenty-first century will
depend not only on technological breakthroughs, but on our ability to coordinate
institutions and communities around
complex challenges. Purpose-driven
approaches give Canada the ability to set
bold national goals. Social innovation
provides the capabilities that allow
governments, markets, and communities
to work together to achieve them. Together,
they form the foundation of a future-ready
innovation system capable of delivering
lasting prosperity for all Canadians.

sicanada.org

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Staff Report
Report To:

Community Services Committee

Report From:

Jacklyn Iezzi, Senior Planner

Meeting Date:

June 24, 2026

Report Code:

8.b Report CM-26-023 from the Senior Advisor, External Relations and Investment Attraction Re: Agreement to Pilot aCommunity Impact Lab Planning and Heritage 8.b.1

The City of Owen Sound partners with Georgian College and Grey County to pilot the Community Impact Lab™ at Sydenham Campus starting September 1, 2026, utilising existing resources without new funding requirements beyond a $5,000 contribution. The initiative establishes an in-residence Social Innovator for community co-design on topics like housing or healthcare, aiming to build social infrastructure aligned with Vision 2050 priorities and the quadruple helix of innovation model.

Page 34 of 116

Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: The recommendation contributes to core service
delivery or a corporate initiative that enables service delivery for one or more
strategic priorities.
This project will develop necessary social infrastructure to support the Vision
2050 strategic plan priorities by fostering an ecosystem of innovation,
strengthening relationships with community partners, and enhancing safety
and wellbeing through collaborative approaches to complex social issues.

Previous Report/Authority:
Presentation Re: Updates on Economic Development Initiatives
Report CM-26-002 Re: Community Impact Lab Opportunity in Collaboration
with Georgian College and Grey County
Report CM-25-026 Re: External Relations and Investment Attraction Plan
Report CM-25-027 from the City Manager Re: Update Following the July 28
Community Stakeholder Discussion to Foster a Vibrant River District

Background:
In 2025, the City of Owen Sound initiated a collaboration with Georgian
College’s Department of Social Innovation and Grey County Economic
Development to establish a Community Impact Lab™ within the Sydenham
Campus regional innovation hub, and to formally partner with Georgian
College to apply for federal funding to develop a community-led social
innovation ecosystem following a model piloted in Simcoe-Muskoka.
In February 2026, the City and Georgian College jointly applied to the
National Science and Engineering Research Council’s College and Community
Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) with a research proposal supported by 14
letters from national, regional, and local partners demonstrating strong
cross-sector support (Attachment 1). If successful, the grant would provide
$360,000 over three years and enable the use of applied research and expert
facilitation to develop social infrastructure to support Owen Sound’s Vision
2050 priorities.
In April 2026, Georgian College Social Innovation matched the City’s $5,000
cash commitment with an in-kind contribution of furniture, equipment, and
resources to set up the Owen Sound Community Impact Lab™ at Sydenham
Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 2 of 8

Page 35 of 116

Campus in a leased space provided in-kind by Grey County, valued at
$11,600 annually.
The Senior Advisor supported informational tours of the proposed lab at the
Grey Bruce Healthy Communities Conference on April 27-28, Owen Sound
Innovates on May 12, and Grey County Warden’s Economic Development
Leadership Luncheon on May 29.

Analysis and Options:
The importance of investing in capacity-enabling social infrastructure
The proposed initiative is in alignment with research-backed best practices to
develop capacity-enabling social infrastructure and promote rural social
innovation (Attachment 2), as well as the “quadruple helix of innovation”
proposed by Social Innovation Canada (Attachment 3).
This collaboration also aligns with the City’s commitment to promote local
innovation and capacity-building initiatives, as per the External Relations and
Investment Attraction Action Plan, 2025-2027.
Phased approach to pilot and develop a regional innovation network
The process to establish the Owen Sound Community Impact Lab™ and an
associated Community Innovation Network will take place in two phases:




Phase One: Agreement to Pilot a Lab Space (12-18 months):
The initial agreement establishes the terms for the collaborators to
co-pilot a Community Impact Lab™ for a period of 12-18 months.
Phase Two: Future Network Agreement (3-5 years):
Upon a successful pilot, the collaborators intend to enter into a
separate agreement for the Lab to join or form a regional
Community Innovation Network, for a term of 3-5 years.

The proposed agreement will take effect September 1, 2026, and end on
March 1, 2028, (18 months) and outlines the responsibilities for each of the
core partners to provide resources, space, and outreach support.
No new funding is required at this time beyond the City’s current contribution
of $5,000 and 80 hours of staff time allocated within the Senior Advisor,
External Relations and Investment Attraction’s annual work plan.
With the matching contribution by Georgian College’s Department of Social
Innovation to furnish and resource the lab space provided by Grey County,

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
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the City’s contribution will directly support lab activation and co-design of the
innovation ecosystem and social infrastructure.
Proposed scope of work for local Social Innovator in Residence
The City and Georgian College’s Department of Social Innovation are
collaborating on a pilot initiative for community access to facilitation,
programming, and training services provided by a Social Innovation Fellow.
The initial scope of work for the Social Innovator in Residence Pilot at the
Owen Sound Community Impact Lab™ will be for approximately 60 hours,
allocated as follows:


MicroCert Group Coaching Support (12 hours)
o



Community Impact Scan Club and Trend Day (18 hours)
o



The Social Innovator in Residence will establish in-person office
hours to support a cohort of local community members
participating in the Social Innovation for Community Impact
MicroCert, a three-phase micro-certificate program offered by
Georgian College’s Department of Social Innovation.
Open to all residents, this 6-week Scan Club will include virtual
weekly meetings and an in-person Trend Day with the Social
Innovator in Residence to prepare a follow-up report that
includes a deck of community-generated trends.

Community Consultation Hours & Co-Design (30 hours)
o

As part of the pilot, a select number of community partners will
be allocated approximately 5-15 hours of dedicated project
consultation with the Social Innovator in Residence in
exchange for contributing to the co-design of the Owen Sound
lab’s ecosystem and shared innovation repository.

Next steps and opportunities for increased collaboration
Staff recommend entering an 18-month Agreement to Pilot a Community Lab
in collaboration with Georgian College and Grey County beginning September
1, 2026 and ending March 1, 2028. As part of the agreement, the City will
designate the Senior Advisor as a Lab Steward.
The initial activation of the Owen Sound lab will be supported by a dedicated
Social Innovator in Residence. As part of the scope of work, Staff are
requesting input from Council to propose a topic for the initial Community
Impact Scan Club:
Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 4 of 8

Page 37 of 116





Option 1—Future of Housing & Food Security
Option 2—Future of Health Care Access & Recruitment
Option 3—Future of… [A topic proposed by Council]

Staff will coordinate with Georgian College’s Department of Social Innovation
to finalize a proposed scope of work and review candidates for the Social
Innovator in Residence Pilot. Staff will review project proposals submitted by
non-profit community partners to access consultation hours in exchange for
co-design contribution, with selection based on anticipated project outcomes,
incorporation of priority groups (youth, Indigenous, newcomer residents,
etc.), and alignment with Vision 2050 strategic priorities.
Evaluation of this pilot initiative will be used to inform the co-design and
development of the Owen Sound lab’s resources and community use policies.
A follow-up report will be prepared for Council.

Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
No new funding is required. This initiative is allocated $5,000 from the Vision
2050 implementation reserve fund. Georgian College, through their
Department of Social Innovation, has made a matching in-kind contribution
of $5,000 in lab infrastructure and grant writing support. Grey County has
contributed a dedicated space at Sydenham Campus valued at $11,600
annually.
The City and Georgian College jointly submitted a CCSIF application for up to
$360,000 over three years to support a local initiative following the researchtested Future of Belonging framework. The results of that grant application
are expected by the end of June.

Human Resources
This initiative is included within the Senior Advisor, External Relations and
Investment Attraction’s annual work plan. 80 hours have been allocated
annually as part of the City’s in-kind contribution.
Additional support will be provided by the Communications Team to prepare
a joint announcement and official opening in collaboration with Georgian
College and County of Grey.

Time and Scheduling

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 5 of 8

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June-July 2026—Agreement to Pilot a Community Impact Lab is drafted,
reviewed and signed by all parties. Initial activation projects are identified
and a scope of work prepared for a Social Innovator in Residence Pilot.
September 1, 2026—Formal launch of the 18-month Agreement to Pilot. This
is a potential target date to schedule an official opening event.
November 10, 2026—Opportunity to observe the development of a proposed
Community Innovation Council that would provide collective foresight to the
labs and regional innovation network in Simcoe-Muskoka.
March 1, 2028—Formal end of the Agreement to Pilot a Community Impact
Lab, at which time the collaborators may enter into a new agreement to join
or form a regional Community Innovation Network for a term of three to five
years.

Technology and Infrastructure
N/A.

Climate and Environmental Impacts:
The recommendation supports the City's Corporate Climate Change
Adaptation Plan.
This initiative will promote the City’s vision to have a sustainable, practical
and innovative approach in building resiliency to the changing climate by
developing social infrastructure in collaboration with community partners.
Up to 20 hours of facilitation time will be allocated to the Youth Climate
Action Conference in exchange for contributions to the co-design of the Owen
Sound Community Impact Lab.

Communication and Engagement:
This initiative has been communicated to the public through reports posted
to the City’s website in January and June 2026, a verbal report to the April
Community Services Committee, and as part of the quarterly economic
development newsletter. The initiative was also shared during the Grey
County Planning and Economic Development Advisory Committee in May.
Community partners were engaged in early 2026 via direct outreach to
request letters of support for the CCSIF grant. Public tours of the proposed

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
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lab space were offered on April 27, May 12, May 29, and by request.
Approximately 80-100 individuals were engaged through these tours.
A post-event survey of participants from the Healthy Communities
conference indicated that 82 per cent found the Rural Innovation Activity
developed by Georgian College to be valuable. The Community Impact Lab™
and Community Innovation Network model was cited positively in many
responses about key takeaways and actions planned within six months:











“Social innovation lab processes; connections with potential and
new partners.”
“Using the Innovation Hub to strategize and create action plans.”
“Using community impact lab to advance capacity building.”
“Promoting co-design approach, bringing every voice to the table.”
“Explore the community impact hub for an informal group.”
“More opportunities to collaborate across sectors.”
“Utilizing the community innovation network
“May use the innovation lab at the college or take the course.”
“Consider use of Community Impact Lab model.”
“Explore the community impact hub for an informal group.”

Source: 2026 Healthy Communities Conference Survey Results
Media releases and communications materials about the initiative will be
developed in coordination with Georgian College and County of Grey. A
dedicated webpage will be added to the City’s website in alignment with the
Community Impact Lab™ brand design standards.
An official opening ceremony will be held at a future date pending
authorization of the Agreement to Pilot and the outcome of the CCSIF grant
application.

Report Developed in Consultation With:
Nicole Norris, Georgian College Social Innovation
Linnea Catalan, Grey County Economic Development
Carly McArthur, City of Owen Sound Communications

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 7 of 8

Page 40 of 116

Attachments:
1.

Attachment 1 - Owen Sound-Georgian College CCSIF Letters of
Support Summary

2.

Attachment 2 - Georgian College Rural Social Innovation Discussion
Paper, 2025

3.

Attachment 3 - Social Innovation Canada—Pathway to Prosperity:
Building an innovation system to solve Canada’s hardest problems
together, 2026

Reviewed by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Rebecca Ellerdiem,
Senior Advisor, External Relations and Investment Attraction at
rellerdiem@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440 x1254.

Staff Report CM-26-023: Agreement to Pilot
Page 8 of 8

Page 41 of 116

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Page 43 of 116

A Discussion Paper:

Canadian Colleges and Polytechnics
– the Pracademia – Key actors in unlocking
transformative rural social innovation in
Canadian Communities.
Nicole Norris, MDes., PhD(c).

Department of Social Innovation

Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Georgian College
Nicole.Norris@GeorgianCollege.ca

Heather Simpson, MBA

S4G - Strategies for Good
heather@s4g.ca

November 10, 2025

Page 44 of 116

Overview
Canada is at a pivotal moment in its history.
As a country we are grappling with an
increasingly complex and uncertain future.
Emerging technologies, shifting global
economic and trade relationships and
evolving geopolitical tensions are placing
new demands on national policy – particularly
in the areas of economic resilience and
defense. These challenges are also
undermining our shared prosperity, and our
ability to advance initiatives aimed at
combating climate change, advancing
reconciliation with Indigenous communities,
and addressing ongoing social issues such as
the housing affordability crisis, rising income
inequality, surging hate and polarization, and
ever growing pressures on our health care
system.
The Government of Canada has set out clear
economic, defense, and research agendas.
However, the corresponding social and
community infrastructure agendas have
largely been ignored—despite the fact that it
is widely understood that economic, defense,
and research goals cannot be achieved
without strong, healthy communities. In short,
Canada’s lack of focus on our social
infrastructure is leaving Canada vulnerable.

Photo 1 - Actor Mapping Workshop - 2023
Decision makers and front line staff from diverse social
and community service agencies working to map
current ecosystem actors in relationship to knowledge
verses inﬂuence on critical community priorities

Page 45 of 116

This vulnerability is particularly acute in rural

sounding distress signals about the need to

Canada. The Government of Canada has

invest and value the social beneﬁt sector

recognized that rural Canada plays a vital role

since the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same

in advancing Canada’s nation building

time, organizations such as provincial

agenda, particularly as providers of much of

Chambers of Commerce, Colleges and

the raw materials (e.g., natural resources,

Institutes Canada (CiCan), and Universities

agriculture) that support the upstream

Canada are advocating for new forms of

production upon which urban economies

cross-sector collaboration to strengthen

rely. However, the growing erosion of rural

community resiliency—though few yet

social, and community place-based

recognize the community and nonproﬁt

infrastructures highlights a looming gap in

sectors as vital collaborators in advancing

Canada’s economic value chain. The lack of

economic resilience. Social innovation offers

investment in community service-based

a path forward - a way to align economic and

assets is compounding the increasingly

social systems - through the development of

complex social challenges faced by rural and

place-based ecosystems for social innovation

small urban regions. The ripple effect is

that work in partnership with industrial and

already being felt: the health, wellbeing, and

entrepreneurial ecosystems.

security of the workforce Canada needs to
achieve its nation-building goals are at risk.

While some countries have made strong

Canada needs a comprehensive agenda that,

investments in social innovation (the

alongside economic and defense goals,

European Union, for example, has committed

builds more equitable and structurally

€3.16 billion to social innovation between

inclusive communities capable of planning

2021 and 2027), Canada has not. Canada

for the challenges that all Canadian

unfortunately, does not appear to

communities—both rural and urban—will face

understand the value of social innovation the

in the future.

way other countries have. While Canada has
allocated $755 million to the Social Finance

United Way Centraide Canada, Imagine

Fund and funds some research through

Canada, and provincial networks such as the

programs within the Tri-Agencies with

Ontario Nonproﬁt Network have been

programs like the College and Colleges and

2
Page 46 of 116

programs are essential for stability, but they
are not designed to generate systemic
learning or adaptation. Funding social
innovation, therefore, is not about
expanding social spending—it is about
investing in the capability of our systems to
learn and evolve. Social innovation creates
Photo 2 - Collective Foresight Workshop - 2025
Community and Georgian College students working
together using community data to co-develop trends
related to belonging

the conditions for communities,
governments, and institutions to prototype
new governance models, relationships, and
service pathways that can move beyond

Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF),

crisis response towards long-term

the number of federal programs dedicated

transformation. In this sense, social

to social innovation pales in comparison to

programs maintain the social fabric; social

the more than 130 federal programs

innovation rewires it to be more resilient,

supporting technological and business

equitable, and future-ready. Canada needs

innovation. Canada urgently needs to invest

both—but without deliberate investment in

in building its social innovation ecosystem.

the latter and new future-ﬁt models to
handle multiple, reinforcing crises, our

Part of the challenge lies in the nascent

well-intentioned social (and economic)

understanding of social innovation as

spending risks reinforcing the very systems

distinct from social infrastructure or social

that we are struggling to adapt.

services. Social innovation is also not always
synonymous with health innovation or public

Investing in social innovation is also a

health infrastructure. While Canada has long

matter of economic strategy. Economies

invested in social programs that address

thrive when their social systems are

immediate needs—housing, healthcare,

adaptive, equitable, and capable of

employment, and education—these

learning in real time. A community that can

investments primarily sustain existing

co-design housing solutions, innovate

systems rather than transform them. Social

real-time in care systems, or anticipate

3
Page 47 of 116

labour market shifts becomes a more
productive and resilient economic actor.
From a systemic-design perspective, social
innovation builds the enabling
infrastructure of productivity—trust,
collaboration, and shared intelligence
across sectors. These are the conditions
that allow technological and business
innovation to scale sustainably. In other
words, social innovation is the invisible
infrastructure of competitiveness: it keeps
the human, environmental and institutional
systems that underpin the economy
capable of renewal. Without deliberate
investment in this adaptive capacity,
Canada risks spending more on

This paper argues that Canada is at a crucial

remediation than regeneration.

moment to harness social innovation to drive
progress across its economic, defense, and
reconciliation agendas, and lays out an
applied model for rural social innovation –
currently in proof-of-concept stage - that
leverages the role of Canada’s public colleges,
institutes, polytechnics and CEGEPs (referred
to collectively in this paper as colleges) as
convenors, weavers, and capacity builders to
catalyze this model.

The following funding supported the model outlined in this paper:

4
Page 48 of 116

Deﬁnitions
Collective Foresight is a community led process that is committed to imaging and shaping long-term,
life-afﬁrming, futures together. Similar to Collective impact which seeks alignment to address speciﬁc issues
in the short and near-term, Collective Foresight brings diverse actors together to explore emergent,

Collective
Foresight

speculative and systemic futures - especially those that centre equity, care and collective ﬂourishing.
Collective Foresight supports collective sense-making, surfaces hidden assumptions, and opens space for
new ways of knowing and relating by drawing on storytelling, deep listening, qualitative data and the
exploration of diverse perspectives. It helps communities learn from the past, act in the present, and work
together to strategize for more equitable and inclusive futures.

There are many ways to deﬁne rural. In this paper a broad deﬁnition is used, which includes communities

Rural

Social
Innovation

with low population density, small population sizes or those located at a signiﬁcant distance from major
urban centers and affected by the complexities of rural/remote geographies and infrastructures.

Social innovations are changes in the cultural, normative or regulative structures of society which
enhance its collective power resources and improve its economic and social performance (Heiskala,
2007)

Applied Social Innovation is both a way of asking systemic questions (inquiry) and taking systemic action
(intervention). Building on Heiskala’s view of society as interconnected economic, political, cultural, and
communicative layers, it focuses on reorganizing these layers through place-based, collaborative spaces

Applied
Social
Innovation

where lived experience and research come together to co-design solutions that strengthen community
wellbeing.
This deﬁnition ﬁts the context of colleges and polytechnics, aligning with their strengths in working directly
with communities to identify local challenges, test solutions, and share learning in open and accessible
ways. It integrates applied research, experiential learning, and skills-based training to achieve place-led
social innovation.

A Social Innovation Practitioner is a pracademic—a professional who bridges practice and scholarship to

Social
Innovation
Practitioner

design, test, and scale solutions that transform complex social systems. Grounded in community realities
yet informed by research and theory, social innovation practitioners operate within the “living systems” of
community life—where policy, economy, culture, and human wellbeing intersect. Their work moves beyond
program delivery to prototype new models of governance, partnership, and value creation that foster
systemic learning, equity, and resilience. In essence, the social innovation practitioner is both a designer
and a steward of change, translating insights from practice into evidence for policy and pathways for
transformation.

Page 49 of 116

Rural-Speciﬁc Social
Innovation Ecosystems
are Vital to the Future
of Canada

compared to urban centres. Without the
infrastructure that urban centres take for
granted, and with smaller tax bases to draw
from, rural communities are struggling to
keep up. These gaps make it even harder to
attract and keep workers and investment,

Rural Canada is vital to the Canadian

further entrenching cycles of disadvantage

economy. Rural communities contribute

and weakening the ability of rural

nearly 30% of Canada’s GDP, and are home

communities to respond to and plan for

to one in ﬁve Canadians. The role of rural

increasingly complex futures.

communities in current efforts to boost
interprovincial trade, boost Canadian

Social innovation offers a path to addressing

productivity and safeguard our territorial

many of these issues, however, Canada

sovereignty, cannot be understated.

would need to increase its investment in

However, rural Canada’s ability to meet these

social innovation ecosystems for this to

expectations is challenged by mounting

happen. Additionally, these ecosystems

structural, demographic and social

need to be designed to engage in collective

pressures.

foresight planning, moving away from just
looking to solve present problems to look at

Across Canada, rural communities are aging,

future projections and identify and build

labour shortages are intensifying, and

solutions for future problems.

demographic diversity is rising. Rural
Canada is dealing with pressures around

At a time when the Government of Canada is

lack of affordable housing, rising income

looking to spend less and achieve greater

inequality, increased polarization and

efﬁciencies in program delivery and public

climate related threats. Additionally,

investment, it is essential to recognize that

essential infrastructure and services –

integrating social innovation within existing

including transportation, broadband

entrepreneurship, industry and economic

connectivity, health care, child care and

innovation ecosystems would be a costly

education - remain underdeveloped

mistake. Traditional entrepreneurship,

6
Page 50 of 116

economic or industry innovation models are
typically designed to tackle singular, well-deﬁned
challenges with a single product or within a single
organization and prioritize commercialization
agendas. In contrast, social innovation must
address complex, interrelated, and often poorly
deﬁned issues that require collaboration across
multiple sectors. The skill sets and structures
needed for social innovation are different from
more traditional innovation models. While it is vital
that they work together, housing rural social
innovation ecosystems within more traditional
economic innovation ecosystems has proved to
result in marginalization, placing social innovation
opportunities to build more resilient, inclusive and
sustainable rural communities across Canada.
Rural social innovation requires a unique approach
as well – one that prioritizes cross-sector
collaboration, systems thinking and long-term
community engagement. To be successful, rural
social innovation ecosystems need to be
place-based and purpose-built to recognize the
complexity and interconnectedness of rural
challenges, and to leverage the unique strengths
of rural communities themselves. Urban models
and ecosystems for social innovation simply do not
reﬂect the realities of rural communities, unique
place-based models are needed.

Page 51 of 116

The Role of Colleges in
Rural Social Innovation
Ecosystems

colleges are key regional employers.
Additionally, colleges contribute vital
infrastructure to the communities in which
they operate, they provide mental health
services to students, serve as technology
and digital access hubs, support small

Canada’s colleges have an important role to

businesses and entrepreneurs, provide

play in advancing rural social innovation

space for community events, engage in

ecosystems. Established in the 1960s, the

research to support local planning, and

Canadian college system has a pragmatic,

serve as the employment centres in the

place-based mission to respond to local

communities in which they operate.

community and industry needs by expanding
access to skills-based learning through

Colleges are present in communities

applied and experiential pathways. Colleges

across Canada. Colleges and Institutes

have always played an important role in

Canada (CICan) counts 128 members

addressing Canada’s most urgent challenges.

from coast to coast to coast (see Figure 1).

They provide their local communities with

In fact, 95% of Canadians live within 50km

trained, ready workforces and provide

of a college campus or access centre.

applied education in response to community
needs, labour market gaps and changes in
technology. Colleges innovate and
implement quickly and are direct and
important contributors to to Canada’s
economic and community wellbeing
mandates.
The importance of rural colleges is often
overlooked, particularly by those with a more
urban lens. Beyond their role as educational
and advanced skills training institutes,

Fig 1 - CICan College Members

SOURCE - CICan 2024/25 Impact Report

8
Page 52 of 116

Colleges are well suited to play a key role in

move from academic theory to proven

supporting the development of rural social

application.

innovation ecosystems, for two key reasons,
that often go overlooked:

Colleges are grounded in community. The
applied nature of the education they

Colleges were designed to do the applied

provide means that Canadian colleges

work and provide the applied education

have strong relationships with local

that enables place-based innovation.

employers and community organizations.
Colleges are increasingly being recognized

From the very beginning Colleges were

within the academic community for their

designed to be responsive to local needs.

deep connections to local communities,

Colleges have a long history of working

which helps them to be nimble with

closely with local industry partners through

research engagement and knowledge

Program Advisory Committees to engage in

translation strategies.

rapid program innovation based on direct
input from industry in response to changing
needs. Today, Canada’s widening skills gap is
a source of signiﬁcant concern for our
national economic health, and Colleges
provide opportunities to learn through
real-life experimentation and application.
This approach, combined with a nimbleness
acquired through a need to constantly adapt
to community needs, accelerates the
processes to both narrow the skills gap and

Over 95% of
Canadians live
within 50 km of
a college or
institute.
SOURCE:
CICan Impact Report 2024/25

9
Page 53 of 116

Additionally, Colleges have an established
track record for supporting place-based
innovation and the creation of rural
technological and business innovation
ecosystems. The Technology Access Centres

role as neutral convenors as well as a
disproportionately critical role in nurturing
all eight community capitals (see Figure 2).
Colleges are truly at the centre of rural
social innovation ecosystems.

(TACs) are National Sciences and

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o

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ta

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P

DI
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technical services (connecting small and

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e

foster industry-college partnership, offer

I T I CA

pow

Canadian colleges. TACs were designed to

OL

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Engineering Research Council of Canada

logy &

medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access

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m

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o

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NA I A

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students in applied research to build talent

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testing and commercialization), and engage

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support product development, prototyping,

ATURA

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college expertise, facilities and technology to

ic capa

pipelines. TACs have proven to be valuable

Colleges to play a unique, and important,

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o

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HU N

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il

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and provincial governments positions

C I AL

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well as their relationships with local, regional

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understanding of place-based innovation, as

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connection to community and their

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The ability of colleges to be nimble, their

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research facilities and expertise.

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underserved areas have access to advanced

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that even businesses in remote or

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investments and expansions and ensuring

SO

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addressing challenges through strategic

TUR A
UL

a

lt

to Canada’s innovation ecosystem,

& he

Fig 2 - Eight Community Capitals
(Nogueira, Ashton, Teixeira 2019)

10
Page 54 of 116

Foresight Lens: The urgent need to
address the underfunding of
Canadian Colleges.

The Canadian college system is
underfunded, particularly, in Ontario - the

The Georgian Model
for an Applied
Place-Based Social
Innovation Ecosystem

least publicly funded post-secondary system

Georgian College is currently in the

in Canada. The resulting erosion of applied

proof-of-concept stage of an emergent

education infrastructure as a result of this
underfunding poses a structural threat to
national progress. Without intervention,

applied place-based social innovation
ecosystem model within Simcoe County and

federal ambitions around economic and

the Region of Muskoka in Ontario. The

technical innovation, climate transition and

model was built with community - and puts

rural regeneration will be undermined due
to issues such as lack of skilled workforce,
decreased applied research capacity

the best academic and thought leadership
theory into practice. The model leverages

(particularly around technological

the important role the college plays in the

adaptation), and overall weaker

community and is working at the local level

communities.
The state of colleges in Ontario is something

to support place-based impact driven by
collective foresight, at the regional level to

that other provinces and the Federal

build and systematically steward community

Government should be looking at as a sign

wealth and will work at the provincial level

of things to come without renewed
investment in the college system.
The call to properly fund Canadian colleges
is intertwined with a need to re-align and
modernize the funding models, to better
align for the future, and build a system that is
less politically entangled. The how of this is
beyond the scope of this paper, but the need

to scale impacts and at the national level to
affect policy change.

The Origin of the Georgian Model:
The Future of Belonging
The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka approached

for social innovation on this issue is clear.

Georgian College in 2023 for help. As an

The current state of the Canadian college

organization they had found themselves at a

system is a national vulnerability that
demands collective foresight and action.

strategic crossroads. They were seeing
disconnection between their discussion and

11
Page 55 of 116

action, they were ﬁnding that they had limited

how equity-owed groups are

capacity to manage complex future visions in a

disproportionately affected by

way that integrated the growing diversity of

intersectional issues, and to surface the

lived experience in the region, and they were

futures that those same equity-owed

not ﬁnding much in the way of infrastructure to

groups envision for community safety,

support social and community service

wellbeing and belonging.

innovation. YMCA Simcoe/Muskoka was

The Future of Belonging leveraged past

interested in reassessing their mission-driven

relevance and seeking innovative approaches

Georgian College to develop

beyond traditional collective impact models

participatory design tools for rural social

with the goal of building a culture of

innovation and a network of Social Labs

transformative innovation at the YMCA. The

for multi-sector engagement. As the work

goal was ambitious.

progressed it became clear that YMCA
Simcoe/Muskoka was not alone in
wanting to build capacity for social
innovation, and collective strategic
planning. It also became clear that
Georgian and YMCA Simcoe/Muskoka
could not achieve their goals in isolation
from a broader network of community
actors (e.g. Chamber of Commerce,

Photo 3 - Press Announcement of Community Innovation
Network RISE Symposium, Georgian College.
L-R) Kevin Weaver, President and CEO Georgian College,
Jill Tettman - President and CEO YMCA Simcoe Muskoka,
Nicole Norris - Director Social Innovation Georgian College,
Dr. Mira Ray - Executive Director, Research, Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Georgian College

Together with Georgian College, the YMCA
Simcoe/Muskoka launched the Future of
Belonging project – a community-driven
foresight initiative, aimed at understanding

Industry partners, other community
organizations). As the YMCA
Simcoe/Muskoka and Georgian looked at
what the YMCA was looking to achieve, it
was clear that success would depend on
the ability to have deeper community-led
stewardship of community capital, and a
prototype model for an applied social
innovation ecosystem was built.

12
Page 56 of 116

Overview of The Georgian Model
The Applied Social Innovation Ecosystem

A Community Innovation Network (CIN):

Model (see Fig 4) incorporates a multi-level

A network of Community Impact Labs

perspective of community, economic and

connected via digital infrastructure that

political systems. The model is designed for

holds community-designed innovations in

place-based implementation, taking into

trust (see Innovation Trust below).

account local resources and realities.
Community engagement is central to the

Innovation Trust: A digital community

model, as it is through the engagement of

innovation repository, that holds in trust the

diverse groups, agencies and individuals that

community-designed innovations that

it is determined what resources are required

emerge from projects, convenings and

to make the change they need to see

collaborations done throughout lab spaces

happen. The key components of the model

across the CIN.

include:
A Community Innovation Council (CIC):
Community Impact Projects (CIP):

A collaborative stewardship that brings

future-focused projects that are identiﬁed by

together regional Networks of Networks

and rooted in community.

under the framework of collective
foresight. The CIC plays a critical role in

Community Impact Labs (CIL): Accessible

dismantling barriers and fostering a

spaces with tools & resources to support the

systemic approach to funding ﬂows and

development of Community Impact Projects

future-ﬁt socio-culturally informed funding

and Innovation Journey Tools.

design. The CIC’s mission is to catalyze the
communities’ diverse place-based Social

A Community Innovation Institute (CII): A

Good innovations.

collaborative that supports experiential
learning and training to increase the capacity
of social innovation practitioners to support
community engagement in the CIL spaces
and through Innovation Journey Tools
13
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NEIGHBOURHOOD
(hyper-local)

Training
and Field Building

Georgian College’s Applied Social
Innovation Ecosystem Model is showing
early promise and has attracted attention
from funders (the proof-of-concept,

Chambers
Communty Centres

currently underway, is being partially

Institutions

funded through an NSERC grant), as well
as key social sector players (the national
network of YMCAs) and social innovation

Libraries

forms

supports

leaders. Social Innovation (SI) Canada is a
partner in the proof-of-concept project,
they see promise in the model, recognise
its unique approach, and appreciate the

COMMUNITY LEVEL

Digital Repository /
Innovation Trust

applied approach, particularly as there
has historically been limited working
models for rural social innovation.
Uncommon
Collaborations

Collective
Foresight

supports

REGIONAL LEVEL

informs

Community
Wealth Building

Fig 3 - Applied Social Innovation Ecosystem Model
How it works across the structural systems

14
Page 58 of 116

Fig 4. Applied Social Innovation Ecosystem Map
Infrastructures across different system structure levels

ty Wealth Building
muni
Com
acy & Policy Design
voc
Ad

ight & Collectiv
ores
eS
eF
tra
tiv
te
c
gi
Knowledge M
ll e
&
h
o
c
o
bil
ar
e
iza
etworks
N
es
g
of
in
Ne
en
nv

Anchor Research
& Innovation
Insitution

Co

Co
Ca mmu
Fra pital nity
me s Im
wo pa
ct
rk

g
nin
an
Pl

(e.g College)

Stewardship Group:

ed
nd
Ble ance
Fin dels
Mo

Cultural & Arts

n
tio
ks
or
tw

R

c

C

REGIONAL LEVEL
(Networks > Structures)

Community Service
Agency (e.g YMCA)

Participatory
Governance

Chamber of Commerce
Trusted Funder

(e.g Community Foundations)

Community
Safety

Business &
Industry

Youth Education

(e.g School Board)

Coalitions &
Citizen Action Groups
unity Impact
omm
Pro
wC
jec
Ne
ts
&
g
E
n
i
n
gag
m
em
ram
g
en
o
Pr
t
red Learnin
Sha
g

l
y
ita nit
Dig mmu
Co

Inn
Tru ovat
ion
st

COMMUNITY LEVEL
(Groups > Networks)

Elder

Uncommon
Collaborations

edge & Data Tran
owl
sla
Kn
tio
n
y
p
t
i
o
n
t
g
Pro

NEIGHBOURHOOD
(Individual > Groups)

d
an s
ols ce
To sour
Re

Tra
Fie ining
ld
Bu and
ild
ing

Ideation

COMMUNITY
IMPACT
PROJECT

In-Community
& Digital Spaces

Chambers
Communty Centres
Institutions

15
Page 59 of 116

Central to the Georgian Model is the

the college within the CIC is to serve as the

Community Innovation Council (CIC), which

backbone institution that enables the

will seek to mobilize ﬁnancial capital

convening, weaving and mobilizing of other

through social ﬁnance and grant-based

intermediary organizations, assets and

funding, support the creation of new

capitals in collaboration and participation

projects and programs by connecting and

with the other members of the CIC. Colleges

encouraging uncommon collaborations

will lend their infrastructure (procurement,

across sectors, and build the rural social

facilities, alumni, students, faculty, digital

innovation ﬁeld through support for

systems, ﬁnancial reporting), and host and

knowledge mobilization. The CIC will work

maintain accessible Community Impact Lab

in symmetry with, but independently from,

spaces. Colleges will leverage their

the aforementioned TACs and other

administrative infrastructure and integrity to

economic and industry models. It is vital

manage complex, long-term, ﬂow through

that the CIC remains grounded in the

funding initiatives vital for the functioning of

community and prioritizes the needs of

an Applied Social Innovation Ecosystem.

equity-owed groups.

CIC, the College is the anchor institution
within a decentralized network of networks

Co
Ca mmu
Fra pital nity
me s Im
wo pa
ct
rk

systemic approaches. As such, within the

ed
nd
Ble ance
Fin dels
Mo

governance structure that supports more

s
rk

purpose built for social innovation, with a

Fo
r

national coordinating body), but is

Re
se
ar
c
Co
nv
e

decision making and action within a

Ad
vo

some similarities (such as local level

Co
m

learned from the TAC model and shares

Coll
ect
ive

The structure of the CIC leverages lessons

ing
uild
B
lth
ea
sign
W
y De
ty
c
i
i
l
Po
un
&
m
y
tive Strategic
c
ollec
Pla
ca
C
nn
t&
in
h
g
ig
ge Mobiliz
d
e
s
l
w
a
e
o
tio
n
K
n
&
etworks of Net
h
N
wo
ng
ni

Participatory
Governance

(as opposed to the central hub, in the hub
and spoke model of the TAC). The role of
Page 60 of 116

Calls to Action
The path to a national rural social
innovation ecosystem model will not be
linear. Our understanding of what is
needed and what can be achieved is
going to grow as community capital
resource ﬂows are unlocked, as layered
relationships–rooted in place–develop,
and as networks connect with each
other across regions and provinces.
To move forward there are seven calls
to action under four key areas:
1. Invest in the Proof-of-Concept
2. Recognize the Role of Colleges
3. Fund, Support and Engage in
National Dialogue on the role of
colleges in, and the importance of,
rural social innovation
4. Do not forget the social sector

1

Invest in the Proof-of-Concept

The proof-of-concept for the model requires
investment in two key ways. First, the
Georgian Model is looking to establish the
“Social Good Reserve” – which will work to
foster new forms of multi-capital ﬂows for
place-based innovations – within the
Community Innovation Council to provide
social ﬁnance and grant-based funding to
projects and initiatives that will advance the
Rural Social Innovation ecosystem in
Simcoe/Muskoka. Second, there is a need to
demonstrate that the Georgian model can be
replicated and that the model can achieve
ACTIONS

Provide the ﬂow-through
capital needed for the Social
Good Reserve to invest in

WHO
Government
Foundations
Impact Investors

community
Provide funding for
replication of the Georgian
model in other communities
and regions

Government
Foundations
Impact investors

Support social innovation
departments in carving out
unique space to apply the
model

Colleges
Community

17
Page 61 of 116

2

Recognize the Role of Colleges

3

Fund, Support and Engage

Colleges need to be seen (and need to

Fund, Support and Engage in National

position themselves) as unique players in the

Dialogue on the role of colleges in, and the

rural social innovation ecosystem. Too often

importance of, rural social innovation

colleges have been overlooked and

Both colleges and rural communities have

excluded from national level dialogue about

been overlooked in Canada’s dialogue

social innovation. Colleges bring an

around social innovation. There is a need for

important perspective and understanding

Colleges, government, as well as the social,

through their ability to bridge multiple

private, philanthropic and community beneﬁt

sectors and deep community knowledge

sectors to come together in national dialogue

and connection in rural communities. Rural

to build an understanding of the important

social innovation will not advance without

role that colleges can play as well as the

colleges.

importance of developing a unique strategy
for rural social innovation.

ACTIONS

WHO

ACTIONS

WHO

Actively engage colleges in

Social Innovation
Actors

Provide funding to support

Government
Foundations

social innovation
ecosystem planning and
discussions

national dialogue and
convening
Engage in national dialogue
around the role of colleges
and the importance of rural
social innovation

Government
Foundations
Colleges
Social sector
Private sector
Philanthropic sector
Community beneﬁt
sector

18
Page 62 of 116

4

Do Not Forget The Social Sector

Canada is juggling multiple crises at the
moment, and with economic and national
sovereignty concerns at the forefront of
national discussions it might be tempting for
political leaders to put social sector priorities
on the back burner. This would be a mistake.
Canada’s economic and security agendas
cannot be fully achieved if the social

7 Calls To Action:
Provide the ﬂow-through capital
needed for the Social Good
Reserve to invest in community
Provide funding for replication
of the Georgian model in other
communities and regions
Support social innovation
departments in carving out
unique space to apply the
model

infrastructure collapses.

Actively engage colleges in
social innovation ecosystem
planning and discussions
ACTIONS

WHO

Recognize the vital role that

Government
Private sector

the social sector plays in
Canadian communities and
ensure that the sector has the
funding needed to carry out
this role

Provide funding to support
national dialogue and
convening
Engage in national dialogue
around the role of colleges and
the importance of rural social
innovation
Recognize the vital role that the
social sector plays in Canadian
communities and ensure that
the sector has the funding
needed to carry out this role

19
Page 63 of 116

Why This Model — And
Why Now
Canada’s next economic chapter will require
more than investment capital and technological
ambition—it demands deep, community-rooted
infrastructure that can carry these transitions
equitably and inclusively. The applied social
innovation ecosystem model presented in this
paper, was developed in partnership with rural
communities, and provides a pragmatic and
scalable approach designed to meet this
challenge. The Georgian model recognizes the
limits of other models and goes beyond
centering the lived experience of
equity-deserving communities, and building
from local assets, to creating an ecosystem that
embraces these values as core, while at the
same time looking to engage and bring
together community actors from all sectors
(government, industry, social and
philanthropic), to plan for the future and
integrate social innovation directly into the
systems that shape people’s daily
lives—education, housing, health, workforce
development, and belonging.
This model will work because in application it is

“Community services are not “nice to

haves” – they are essential infrastructure
embedded in our communities that
provide care, build vital social

connections, address affordability
challenges and enable equitable

economic participation. The sector

delivers on core government priorities,

including employment and upskilling for
workers; housing construction and

homelessness prevention; childcare and
services for youth, seniors and people
with disabilities; mental health and

counselling; and support for survivors of

gender-based violence. Increasingly, the
sector is on the front lines of

emergencies like wildﬁres, playing a
critical role in community resilience,

response, and recovery from disasters
that too many of us are now familiar
with.”

Dan Clement,

President and CEO

United Way Centraide Canada
The Hill Times (August 7, 2025)

built from the ground up, not parachuted in. It
can be replicated but not imposed. It leverages
20
Page 64 of 116

colleges, not as central actors, but as anchor

weakest link in our social innovation

institutions—enablers of local stewardship,

ecosystem. Rural communities will be

distributed governance, and collective

particularly hard hit. National climate,

foresight – and leveraging their infrastructure.

economic, and reconciliation agendas will

It weaves together economic, cultural, and

falter if rural communities continue to be left

social capital through networks of

behind, their institutions underfunded, and

Community Impact Labs, digital knowledge

their innovations unsupported. Now is the

repositories, and cross-sector

time to recognize rural social innovation not

collaboration—creating a future-ﬁt foundation

as a peripheral experiment—but as essential

for community resilience.

infrastructure for a thriving, just, and
sustainable Canada.

The model assumes that the college will be
there to serve as the anchor – to play a
unique role for which there are few
substitutes. The model provides a strong
argument for the need for federal and
provincial governments to invest in Colleges.
While Social Innovation has not historically
been appropriately funded in Canada, and
while not everyone may be familiar with
using the term social innovation, there is
general acknowledgment of the need for
systems change, to do things differently, to
strengthen the social fabric of our
communities.
Ontario, in particular, needs urgent

Photo 4 - Uncommon Collaborations Workshop - 2024
Community members who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+,
working together to explore how different community
organizations can collaborate in new and uncommon ways.

reinvestment in its college system. Without
this, Ontario—and by extension Canada—risks
allowing our largest province to become the

21
Page 65 of 116

References
Colleges and Institutes Canada. (n.d.). About the impact report. Retrieved November 9, 2025, from
https://impactreport.collegesinstitutes.ca/about/
Canadian Forum for Social Innovation. (2024). Building networks for systemic impact: A national strategy for
social innovation. Social Innovation Canada.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities. (2017). Rural challenges, national opportunity: Shaping the future of
rural Canada.
https://fcm.ca/sites/default/ﬁles/documents/resources/report/rural-challenges-national-opportunities.pdf
Fraser, T. (2023). The art of scaling deep: Research in summary. The Systems Sanctuary.
Future of Social Labs. (2024). The evolution of social labs: Strategies for long-term sustainability. Social
Innovation Lab Network.
Geobey, S. (2022). Reckoning with reality: Reﬂections on a place-based social innovation lab. Sustainability,
14(3958). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073958
Georgian College Centre for Social Innovation. (2023). The Future of Belonging: Year 1 insights report.
Georgian College. https://futureofbelonging.ca/learn
Heiskala, R. (2007). In T. J. Hämäläinen & R. Heiskala (Eds.), Social innovations, institutional change and
economic performance (pp. 52–79). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Nicholls, J., Lawlor, E., Neitzert, E., & Goodspeed, T. (2012). A guide to social return on investment. The SROI
Network.
Nogueira, A., Ashton, W. S., & Teixeira, C. (2019). Expanding perceptions of the circular economy through
design: Eight capitals as innovation lenses. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 149, 566–576.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). Enhancing rural innovation in Canada.
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/enhancing-rural-innovation-in-canada_a9919c66-en.html
Strandberg, C. (2017). Maximizing the capacities of advanced education institutions to build social
infrastructure for Canadian communities. J.W. McConnell Family Foundation’s RECODE Initiative & Simon
Fraser University.

22
Page 66 of 116

Pathway
to
Prosperity
Building an innovation system
to solve Canada’s hardest
problems together
1

Page 67 of 116

Executive Summary
Canada is navigating a pivotal moment.
Housing unaffordability, climate disruption,
rising costs of living, deepening inequities,
and growing polarization are shaping the
everyday lives of millions and collectively threatening the foundations of shared
prosperity. These challenges are deeply
interconnected, crossing sectors and jurisdictions in ways that compound their impact. Addressing them requires more than
incremental reform, single-issue responses,
or technological breakthroughs. It requires
a new approach to problem solving: purpose-driven, people-centred, and built for
complexity. This is social innovation.
Canada’s current innovation system was largely
designed to support industrial competitiveness and
technological commercialization. It performs well
in key areas — research output, educational attainment, public investment in science — but struggles
to translate those strengths into widespread social
and economic benefit. The system is fragmented,
slow-moving, and misaligned to the nature of the
challenges we face today. As the federal government’s 2018 Social Innovation and Social Finance
Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group identified,
Canada does not lack innovative actors or promising
ideas. It lacks the coordinated architecture to support them at scale.
This report makes the case that solving Canada’s
most complex challenges requires national investment in three reinforcing capacities that are currently
underdeveloped in our innovation system:

•

Participation builds the shared ground and legitimacy that make coordination possible. When the
full range of affected actors — including communities with lived experience — are involved
in defining problems and shaping solutions, the
result is greater buy-in, broader adoption, and
more equitable outcomes.

•

Learning and experimentation enable institutions and communities to test solutions in real-world conditions, generate credible evidence,
and adapt before committing to full-scale implementation. Structured experimentation reduces
risk, surfaces hidden barriers, and accelerates
the adoption of effective approaches across
regions and sectors.

•

Alignment ensures that successful innovations
are supported by the policies, incentives, and
capital flows they need to scale and endure.
Aligning these enablers around shared goals
is what turns promising pilots into coordinated
national efforts.

Social innovation is the mechanism through which
these capacities are built. It is not a separate system,
but a set of capabilities that strengthen the broader
innovation system by enabling communities and
institutions to work together more effectively.
Canada has the talent, the institutional foundations,
and the collaborative spirit to build a future-ready
innovation system — one that routinely links local
experimentation with national policy, aligns capital
with community priorities, and embeds equity and
resilience into design from the start. Realizing this
potential starts with recognizing participation, learning, and alignment as foundational infrastructure for
a prosperous Canada.

Page 68 of 116

Table of contents

Acknowledgments

1

Introduction

2

The current innovation system: strengths and constraints

3

How it should work: unlocking the impact of the ecosystem

5

1. Participation

5

2. Learning and experimentation

7

3. Alignment

10

Building a future-ready innovation system

12

3

Page 69 of 116

Acknowledgments
This report draws on the longstanding leadership of many individuals and organizations
working toward a more just, equitable and sustainable future.
Special thanks to the following individuals for their contributions and support:
Alex Ryan
Amanuel Melles
Ben Weinlick
Celina Chavannes
Danya Pastuszek
David Waters
Diane Rousin
Geraldine Cahill
Gwen Joy

Ilse Treurnicht
Kirsten Wright
Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed
Marilyn Struthers
Nicole Norris
Patrick Dubé
Tim Draimin
Victor Beausoleil

Authors:
Andrea Nemtin
Ann-Elisabeth Samson

1

Page 70 of 116

Introduction
Canada has committed to creating greater prosperity
for all Canadians — building “Canada Strong” — by
investing in infrastructure, research, industrial strategy, and economic capacity. These investments are
essential, but they will not deliver prosperity on their
own. Building a strong Canada means investing not
only in infrastructure, but also in people and communities.
Canada has set ambitious goals: achieving inclusive
prosperity, preserving a healthy climate, advancing
reconciliation, and ensuring safety and security for all
Canadians. These goals are not isolated challenges.
They are deeply interconnected and foundational to
the country’s long-term economic and social stability.
They are being pursued in a time of increasing social, economic, and environmental turmoil. Increasing
polarization is being intensified by climate change,
instability in our historical trade relationships, and exponential technological change, which are impacting
how we live and work.1
Solving these challenges will require a new kind of
innovation — one that is purpose-driven, people-centred, and uniquely Canadian.

Social innovation connects community knowledge
with the resources and capabilities of public, private,
and philanthropic actors. It is an equity-centred approach that applies the discipline of innovation (experimentation, iteration, and scaling) to the systems
we all depend on.
This is not theoretical. Across Canada, community
innovators are advancing affordable housing solutions, accelerating clean-tech ventures, and supporting Indigenous-led development. What remains is
strengthening the conditions that allow these efforts
to connect, scale, and endure.

What do we mean by purpose-driven?
Purpose-driven approaches organize policy, investment, innovation, and collaboration around
common societal goals such as housing affordability, climate resilience, reconciliation, or
inclusive prosperity. They help diverse actors
work together to address complex challenges
in ways that generate shared public benefit.

Social innovation turns purpose-driven goals into
action by enabling experimentation, iteration, and
scaling alongside communities. It creates greater social cohesion through increased participation, faster
and more efficient development of solutions through
learning and experimentation, and the alignment
required for effective implementation and scaling
of solutions. It is an approach that moves us from
fragmented programs, pilot projects, and ineffective
top-down initiatives to coordinated national impact.

1 Further reading: Edelman Trust Institute, 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, 2026.

2

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The current innovation system:
strengths and constraints
Canada’s innovation system reflects a stark contrast
between its world-class inputs and its persistent
difficulty translating those into widespread economic
and social prosperity. The system itself was largely
designed to support industrial competitiveness and
technological commercialization, rather than the
cross-sector coordination required to address complex social challenges.
Canada performs well in some areas, including
research output, educational attainment, and public
investment in science. However, these strengths
have not translated into strong productivity growth or
widespread adoption of innovation across the economy.
Critics argue that the current innovation system is
uncoordinated, fragmented, and misaligned to our
present day needs.
Canada faces an “adoption gap.” Businesses underinvest in research and development and are slow to
adopt new technologies, while promising firms often
struggle to scale. The Council of Canadian Academies notes that while Canada has numerous programs and actors supporting innovation — including
over 130 federal programs — the system is lacking in
coordination and diffusion mechanisms, which widens this adoption gap.2 3

Canadian political scientist Dan Breznitz has suggested that this is in part because we have conflated
invention with innovation, prioritizing the creation of
new ideas while underinvesting in their adoption and
diffusion across firms, sectors, and regions.
Public policy has historically focused on firm-level
commercialization and venture-backed growth, while
community-based and civic innovation actors receive
far less system support.4
This limits the development of the broader civic
economy — the institutions and intermediaries that
generate public value alongside market growth.
Strengthening Canada’s innovation system, therefore, requires investing not only in new technologies,
but in the capacities that enable institutions to work
together effectively. The challenge is not only to generate innovation, but to organize the system so innovation can contribute to widespread public benefit.
This is where the role of social innovation becomes
critical. Social innovation operates as a bridging layer
within the system, enabling faster-moving experimentation and community-led solutions to inform
and influence slower-moving institutional, policy, and
capital systems.

2 Council of Canadian Academies, Competing in a Global Innovation Economy: The Current State of R&D in Canada, 2018.
3 Council of Canadian Academies, The State of Science, Technology and Innovation in Canada 2025, 2025.
4 David Watters, Innovation for a Public Purpose, The Hill Times, 2025.

3

Page 72 of 116

Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy (2018): groundwork and
unfinished agenda
The 2018 Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group identified
ecosystem fragmentation, limited access to patient capital, weak intermediary capacity, and insufficient coordination across departments as structural barriers to scaling social innovation in Canada.
The federal government subsequently launched measures, including the Social Finance Fund and
community investment supports. However, several structural recommendations — procurement
reform, improved data infrastructure, coordinated capacity building, and deeper interdepartmental
alignment — remain partially implemented.
The Strategy established that Canada does not lack innovative actors. It lacks coordinated architecture to support them at scale.
Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Inclusive Innovation: New Ideas and New Partnerships for
Stronger Communities: Recommendations of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering
Group, 2018

4

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How it should work: unlocking the
impact of the ecosystem
In an era of existential threats to Canada, public
policy is increasingly embracing a whole-of-society approach. This builds on earlier shifts toward
whole-of-government models, recognizing that
siloed approaches are insufficient for addressing
complex and interdependent challenges.
Historically, Canada’s innovation paradigm has
been structured around the triple helix of government, business, and academia. Today, this model is
evolving toward a quadruple helix that includes civil
society as a critical partner in shaping and delivering
solutions.

At its core, social innovation contributes three critical
capacities to the innovation system: participation,
learning, and alignment. Together, they enable institutions and communities to define complex problems
collaboratively, test solutions in real-world conditions, and embed successful approaches into policy,
incentives, and capital flows so they can scale and
endure.
Participation defines the problem. Learning unlocks
innovation and reveals what works. Alignment
embeds solutions into the system. Together, these
elements allow innovation systems to move from
fragmented experimentation to coordinated social
impact.

The Quadruple Helix of Innovation

1. Participation
Building shared ground and legitimacy
Complex social challenges require collaboration
across sectors, jurisdictions, and communities. For
innovation to advance the public good, a wider
range of actors must participate in defining problems
and shaping solutions.
Participation is central to establishing the legitimacy
for adoption. Research on policy implementation
shows that reforms lacking stakeholder inclusion
face lower adoption and greater resistance.5 In complex systems, relationships are not peripheral — they
are a condition for change.
When actors have a greater awareness of each
other’s perspectives, a shared understanding of
5 Johan Schot et al., Transformative Investment in Sustainability: An Investment Philosophy for the Second Deep Transition, 2022.

5

Page 74 of 116

the problems, and a common vision for the future,
coordination becomes easier. This understanding
shifts attention from competing outputs to shared
outcomes, lowering coordination costs and strengthening collaboration.
Examples across Canada illustrate how this work
unfolds in practice. The Winnipeg Boldness Project
demonstrates how shared problem definition and
community participation can improve outcomes for
families while strengthening alignment across
institutions. Similarly, Georgian College’s community
innovation model shows how trusted anchor institutions can convene municipalities, businesses, and
community organizations to build shared priorities
and coordinate action around local challenges.

Winnipeg Boldness Project: building
shared ground through relational
coordination
Launched in 2014 in the Point Douglas neighbourhood of Winnipeg, the Boldness Project
focused on improving early childhood outcomes
by starting with community-defined priorities
rather than externally imposed program models.
Families, service providers, funders, and governments worked together to redefine the problem, identify barriers, and test community-driven
responses. The approach emphasized continuous feedback loops, shared decision-making,
and relational trust.
Rather than treating service delivery as the
solution, the project treated relationship-building as a precondition for change. Over time,
this relational approach improved institutional
responsiveness and strengthened alignment
across agencies serving the same families. The
Boldness Project demonstrates that legitimacy
and adoption depend on who defines the problem and how actors align — not simply on the
technical quality of a proposed solution.
Source: Winnipeg Boldness Project, A New Approach.

Georgian College Community
Innovation Network: anchor institution
as connector
Georgian College’s community innovation model positions the college as an anchor institution
linking local challenges to broader provincial
and national priorities. This includes holding
community-led innovation in trust, allowing time
for slower-moving policy or funding cycles to
match the speed of community change.
Through community innovation councils and
place-based collaboration processes, the college convenes municipalities, businesses, social
purpose organizations, and residents to identify
shared challenges and co-design responses.
By embedding innovation capacity within a
trusted local institution, the model connects
place-based experimentation with broader
system objectives. It strengthens cross-sector
relationships, builds shared problem definitions,
and creates pathways for solutions to move
from community testing to broader adoption.
This approach demonstrates how anchor institutions can serve as connectors between national
purpose-driven goals and local implementation
capacity — reducing fragmentation and increasing coherence across the innovation system.
Source: Georgian College community innovation materials

Community catalysts — such as the Tamarack Institute, Social Economy through Social Inclusion
(SETSI), the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CEDNET), member organizations,
non-profits and social service organizations — are
the connectors who hold the relationships required
for broad participation to be realized. Expanding
participation improves the relevance, legitimacy, and
adoption of innovation, while ensuring that the benefits are more widely distributed.

6

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Community catalysts: Tamarack
Institute and SETSI
Across Canada, organizations are already
working to strengthen the connective tissue of
the social innovation ecosystem. Institutions
such as the Tamarack Institute and SETSI play
a catalytic role in building the relational infrastructure needed for systems change.
Tamarack has spent more than two decades
supporting communities across Canada to
address complex challenges such as poverty
reduction, community climate action, and inclusive local economic development. Through
learning networks, collaborative leadership
training, and place-based initiatives, Tamarack
helps communities build the shared ground
required for cross-sector collaboration and
collective problem-solving.
Similarly, the SETSI initiative has focused on
strengthening the social enterprise ecosystem
by supporting partnerships among community
organizations, intermediaries, governments,
and investors. By connecting practitioners,
mobilizing knowledge, and strengthening
institutional capacity, SETSI has helped create
pathways for social enterprises to scale their
impact while contributing to broader economic
and community development goals. These organizations demonstrate the role of community
catalysts in a functioning innovation system.
Rather than delivering solutions themselves,
they build the conditions that allow communities, institutions, and innovators to work
together more effectively. In doing so, they
strengthen the relational infrastructure required
for participation, learning, and alignment across
the system.

2. Learning and
experimentation
Structured experimentation to solve
complex challenges
Many of Canada’s most pressing challenges are systemic in nature, shaped by the interaction of policies,
markets, human behaviour, and social conditions.
Their root causes are rarely visible at the outset,
and their impacts are not evenly distributed. Housing insecurity, climate vulnerability, mental health
outcomes, and economic precarity are entangled
and affect certain communities more intensely than
others.
This challenge is compounded by the fact that actors
are distributed across arenas — community, institutional, and policy — and operate at different speeds
of change. Community-based initiatives can adapt
quickly to emerging needs, while policy, regulatory,
and capital systems often move more slowly due to
complexity, risk, and accountability requirements.
These “pace layers” are interdependent but rarely
well aligned.
Because these systems are nonlinear and adaptive,
effective solutions cannot be fully designed in advance. Instead, we must learn our way toward better
responses through structured experimentation.
Structured experimentation reduces implementation
risk. By testing approaches in real-world conditions
before scaling, institutions avoid over-specifying too
early, uncover regulatory friction in advance, and
generate the evidence required for durable change.
Rather than slowing action, disciplined learning
accelerates progress because policies and capital
flows move more confidently when uncertainty has
been reduced.

Source: Tamarack Institute, SETSI program materials

7

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Learning and experimentation
infrastructure: the Future of Labs
project
As governments and communities grapple with
complex challenges, social innovation labs have
emerged as spaces for experimentation and collaborative problem solving. Until recently, there
has been limited understanding of how these
labs function collectively as part of a broader
system of innovation and learning.
The Future of Labs project examined this
emerging field by studying how labs operate, what roles they play in systems change,
and what conditions enable them to succeed.
Drawing on research and practitioner insights,
the project found that labs are well-suited to
tackling complex problems that resist traditional
policy approaches. They convene diverse actors
who rarely collaborate, including policymakers,
community leaders, researchers, and people
with lived experience, and they create environments where ideas can be tested, prototyped,
and refined through iterative learning.
Labs function best when treated as infrastructure for experimentation within complex systems
rather than as short-term initiatives. The project’s research highlighted that fully activating
the role of labs in systems change requires
stronger learning networks, sustained support,
and closer connections between experimentation and decision-making institutions.
Source: Future of Labs, Primer Report, 2024

Research on public sector innovation and policy
labs highlights the importance of structured experimentation in complex systems.6 7 8 Learning environments enable governments and partners to build the
evidence base needed to adjust policies, mobilize

capital, and support the wider adoption of solutions.
These findings were reinforced in discussions at the
Canadian Forum for Social Innovation in 2025 and in
a recent report from the Future of Labs, both highlighting the growing role of structured experimentation in helping institutions navigate complex challenges.9
Innovation labs, pilot programs, collaborative testing
environments, and other “lab-like” processes create
safe spaces for experimentation. These structured
learning environments enable community organizations, researchers, governments, and investors to test
ideas, generate evidence, and adapt policies based
on real-world feedback. Through integrated feedback
loops, transparent iteration, and the integration of
data, lived experience, and local knowledge, these
structured learning processes help institutions to
understand what works, under what conditions, and
for whom.
This approach is particularly important when addressing root causes. Iterative experimentation can reveal
hidden barriers, unintended consequences, and
structural drivers that would otherwise remain
invisible. In doing so, it helps move policy responses
beyond short-term fixes toward solutions that address
the underlying dynamics of complex challenges.
Across Canada, this approach is already generating
practical results. The Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation’s (CMHC’s) National Housing Strategy
Solutions Labs program, for example, supported 97
labs that brought together cross-sector stakeholders — including municipalities, housing providers,
tenants, financial institutions, and community organizations — to co-develop solutions to housing affordability challenges. By providing flexible funding and
space for stakeholders to work across institutional
silos, the labs enabled collaborative experimentation
that produced practical solutions, informed policy adjustments, and strengthened coordination across the
housing system.

6 OECD, Building local ecosystems for social innovation: A methodological framework, 2021.
7 Mariana Mazzucato, Mission-oriented innovation policies: challenges and opportunities, 2018.
8 OECD, Advancing the Entrepreneurial University, 2022.
9 Future of Labs, Primer Report, 2024.

8

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Housing affordability and the National
Housing Strategy Solutions Labs
program: structured experimentation at
scale
Restoring housing affordability in Canada would
require hundreds of thousands of additional
homes per year — roughly double current construction rates. One in three renters spends more
than 30% of their income on shelter. Housing affordability is not a single-policy problem; it reflects
zoning, financing, labour markets, regulation, and
capital flows.
Between 2018 and 2024, 97 National Housing
Strategy Solutions Labs were funded to test
solutions to these complex challenges, and 71
concluded labs were assessed in the 2026 Impact
Evaluation. Across them, 220 solutions were
generated, 52% were implemented, 41% scaled
beyond their original site, and 39% led to policy
change. Lab-supported solutions initiated or influenced over 1,000 affordable housing units. More
than 1,200 stakeholder groups participated, with
most labs creating or strengthening cross-sector
partnerships.
The evaluation found that structured collaboration and experimentation enabled municipalities,
housing providers, financial actors, and tenants to
test and refine practical solutions. It also identified
funding and regulatory barriers that limit sustained
impact — underscoring that experimentation must
be matched by institutional reform.
The program demonstrates that coordinated
learning mechanisms can translate complex housing challenges into implementable solutions and
policy change when supported at scale. In other
words: investing upstream in structured innovation processes delivers measurable downstream
housing results.
Source: Statistics Canada, Housing Affordability in Canada,
2022, 2024; CMHC, Innovation in action: Impacts & insights
from the NHS Solutions Labs Program, 2026

Similarly, initiatives such as the Converge Mental
Health Coalition and Datathon have brought together health leaders, data analysts, and community
organizations to better understand service gaps and
improve coordination in the mental health system,
ultimately creating changes that saved lives. Shared,
structured learning plays a critical role in
connecting innovation to systems change. By reducing uncertainty and generating credible evidence,
experimentation creates the conditions for policy reform, capital participation, and widespread adoption.

Converge Mental Health Coalition and
Datathon: learning to improve system
response
Nearly one in five Canadians aged 15+ meets
the criteria for a mood, anxiety, or substance use
disorder in a given year, and the proportion of
youth reporting poor mental health has more than
doubled since 2019. These outcomes are shaped
not only by clinical care, but by housing stability,
income security, education, employment, and
access to coordinated services. Mental health is a
systems challenge.
The Converge Datathon responded by bringing
together health leaders, data analysts, and community providers to work with real administrative
and service use data. Rather than developing
new treatments, teams focused on system insight
— identifying referral bottlenecks, service gaps,
and capacity mismatches. Participating regions
developed shared dashboards and practical
recommendations that improved service planning,
strengthened coordination, and reduced duplication in intake and referral processes.
The impact was not framed as immediate clinical
change, but as improved system responsiveness.
The Datathon demonstrates how structured learning environments can help complex systems see
themselves clearly — and respond faster.
Source: Statistics Canada, Mental health of Canadians — it
matters, 2023; Converge Mental Health Coalition, National
Mental Health Datathon Summary Report, 2025

9

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3. Alignment
Aligning institutions, incentives, and capital
Durable change occurs when institutions, incentives,
and capital flows align to enable solutions around
shared social goals. Without changes to the rules
of the system — such as regulatory modernization,
procurement reform, and new financing structures —
promising innovations remain isolated pilots rather
than standard practice.
Systems finance approaches — including blended finance, purpose-driven investment, and public-private
capital alignment — allow governments, investors,
and community actors to direct resources toward
shared outcomes rather than fragmented initiatives.
Canada’s Social Finance Fund, for example, is designed to mobilize private and philanthropic capital
alongside public investment to support solutions
addressing social and environmental challenges.
Policy reform can also reshape how economic value
and opportunity are distributed. The introduction of
Employee Ownership Trusts in 2023 illustrates how
targeted legislative change can alter incentives and
expand pathways for shared ownership and inclusive
growth. By adjusting tax and trust law, the reform

created new possibilities for business succession
through employee ownership without creating new
administrative structures.
In complex systems, alignment is what allows learning to translate into lasting change. Achieving this
kind of alignment requires coordination-into-collaboration capacity. Policy reform, capital mobilization,
and institutional change rarely occur within a single
organization. They depend on collaboration across
governments, financial institutions, intermediaries,
and community actors.

Employee Ownership Trusts: legislative
reform shifting incentives
Federal legislative reform in 2023 introduced
Employee Ownership Trusts (thanks to the identification of this gap and advocacy to address it
by Social Capital Partners), enabling business
succession through employee trusts. By adjusting tax and trust law, the reform shifted ownership possibilities nationwide without creating
new bureaucracy. It demonstrates how policy
changes can alter capital distribution at scale.

The Collaboration Spectrum

Adapted from Tamarack Institute, The Collaboration Spectrum, 2017.

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Research on systems change highlights the role of
system orchestrators in connecting actors, aligning
incentives, and translating local experimentation into
broader institutional reform. The Canadian Alliance
for Transit-Connected Housing (CATCH) offers a
clear example of what this orchestration looks like in
practice.

CATCH: purpose-driven coordination in
practice
The Canadian Alliance for Transit-Connected
Housing (CATCH) demonstrates how shared
ground, structured learning, and capital alignment can operate together around a clear national goal: preserving affordability near transit
infrastructure.

The first workshop of the Hamilton Equitable, TransitOriented Affordable Housing Lab that gave rise to CATCH.

CATCH convenes municipalities, housing
providers, tenants, capital partners, and policy
actors to address displacement risk created by
transit investment. Through place-based collaboration, it identifies acquisition opportunities,
tests financing tools, and mobilizes blended
capital to secure long-term affordability.
The model combines local experimentation with
national coordination — linking on-the-ground
housing preservation to policy design and capital deployment. Rather than funding isolated
projects, it aligns actors around a shared outcome and builds the connective capacity required to sustain impact. CATCH illustrates that
purpose-driven coordination is not theoretical. It
is already underway.
Source: Social Innovation Canada

Groundbreaking in November 2025 on the Small Lot Fourplex
Initiative led by Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes —
a pilot that emerged from the Hamilton Equitable, TransitOriented Affordable Housing Lab. | Photo courtesy of Mary
Wah

11

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Building a future-ready innovation
system
The federal government has a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to embed social innovation as a pillar of
Canada’s innovation system, giving purpose-driven
solutions the support they need to deliver lasting
results. This isn’t about spending more; it’s about
investing smarter and leveraging every dollar to generate both social and economic returns.
However, moving from intent to impact requires
new scaffolding: structures for collaboration, decision-making tools that prioritize learning and adaptation, and shared platforms that link federal action to
local initiative. Collaboration isn’t just a value — it’s a
competency. And it requires deliberate investment.
Purpose-driven efforts succeed only when institutions and communities have the capacity to collaborate, learn, and align their actions over time.
Canada has already laid the groundwork in this area.
In 2018, the Social Innovation and Social Finance
Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group identified ecosystem fragmentation, limited access to patient capital, thin intermediary capacity, and weak coordination
across government and community actors as core
barriers to impact. While important steps have been
taken including the creation of the Social Finance
Fund, many recommendations around procurement
reform, data systems, and coordination capacity
remain incomplete.
The opportunity now is to finish what was started. By
2035, Canada can have a functioning, future-ready
innovation system — one that routinely links local
experimentation with national policy, aligns capital
with community priorities, and embeds equity and
resilience into design rather than retrofitting them
after failure.

The work ahead has a dual ambition: to solve urgent
challenges today while strengthening the innovation
system, so that coordinated, purpose-driven problem
solving becomes routine rather than exceptional.
The opportunity before us is immense. Canada can
lead globally in demonstrating how purpose-driven
governance can be both ambitious and accountable
— rooted in Canadian values and a vision for shared
prosperity. Doing so will require both policy commitment and investment in enabling infrastructure.
Here’s how:

1. Strengthen participation:
enable place-based collaboration
Addressing complex societal challenges begins
with ensuring that the right actors are involved in
defining problems and shaping solutions. Participation strengthens legitimacy, improves adoption,
and ensures that innovation reflects the realities of
communities most affected by social and economic
challenges.
The federal government can strengthen participation by investing in the institutions and networks that
enable collaboration across sectors and regions. This
includes supporting place-based innovation hubs
and living labs that bring together municipalities,
community organizations, researchers, and businesses to address local challenges connected to national
purpose-driven goals.

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Participation can also be expanded through national
networks that connect community innovators, social enterprises, and research institutions, allowing
lessons learned in one region to inform solutions
elsewhere. Particular attention should be given to
Indigenous-led innovation infrastructure, ensuring Indigenous governments and communities can shape
solutions aligned with self-determination, economic
development, and community wellbeing.
By strengthening participation, Canada can create
the shared ground required for coordinated action
on complex challenges.

2. Expand learning
infrastructure: enable
experimentation and
evidence-based adaptation
Complex systems cannot be fully understood from a
distance. Effective solutions emerge through structured experimentation, testing, and iterative learning
that engage with the system’s complexity.
Canada already has promising models of this approach, including the CMHC’s National Housing Strategy Solutions Labs. Building on these experiences,
the federal government can expand national capacity
for structured experimentation by scaling solutions
labs programs across policy domains, including
climate resilience, health systems, and community
economic development.
This learning infrastructure should also support pilot-to-policy pathways, ensuring that lessons generated through experimentation inform regulatory reform,
program design, and funding decisions. Dedicated
research and experimentation funds could allow
governments, communities, and investors to test new
approaches in real-world settings while generating
the evidence required for broader adoption.
Investing in learning infrastructure reduces implementation risk and accelerates the diffusion of effec-

tive solutions across regions and sectors.

3. Align institutions and
capital around shared goals
Even when promising solutions exist, they rarely
scale unless policies, incentives, and capital flows
reinforce shared goals.
Purpose-driven innovation can help align federal programs and investments around clear national priorities such as housing affordability, climate resilience,
reconciliation, and inclusive prosperity. This would
involve creating cross-department purpose-driven
mandates, shared outcome metrics, and mechanisms
for pooled or coordinated funding across departments.
Alignment must also extend to capital markets. Expanding blended finance vehicles, strengthening the
Social Finance Fund ecosystem, and enabling placebased investment vehicles can help mobilize private,
philanthropic, and institutional capital toward public
benefit. Over time, this approach can help direct
long-term investment toward solutions that strengthen communities while supporting economic growth.
Coordinating actors across sectors and jurisdictions
requires dedicated institutions and intermediaries
capable of translating learning into action.
System orchestrators play a critical role in connecting
local experimentation with national policy priorities.
These organizations convene partners, build network
capabilities, align incentives, support collaborative
problem solving, and help scale promising models
across regions and sectors.
Strengthening this orchestration capacity could
involve supporting national intermediaries, purpose-driven networks, and place-based collaboration
platforms that connect community innovation with
federal policy objectives.
Without this connective infrastructure, even well-designed missions risk remaining fragmented initiatives
rather than coordinated national efforts.

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Investing in what makes
Canada strong
Prosperity in the twenty-first century will
depend not only on technological breakthroughs, but on our ability to coordinate
institutions and communities around
complex challenges. Purpose-driven
approaches give Canada the ability to set
bold national goals. Social innovation
provides the capabilities that allow
governments, markets, and communities
to work together to achieve them. Together,
they form the foundation of a future-ready
innovation system capable of delivering
lasting prosperity for all Canadians.

sicanada.org

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Staff Report
Report To:

Community Services Committee

Report From:

Jacklyn Iezzi, Senior Planner

Meeting Date:

June 24, 2026

Report Code:

CS-26-059

Subject:

Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications

Recommendations:
THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-059 respecting applications to
the Heritage Property Tax Relief Program for the 2025 tax year, the
Community Services Committee recommends that City Council direct staff
to:
1.

Process refunds for those eligible applicants outlined in Schedule ‘A’
of the report, in accordance with the Heritage Property Tax Relief
Program of the City’s Community Improvement Plan and the City’s
Heritage Property Tax Relief By-law No. 2009-148; and

2.

Issue notice to the County of Grey of the heritage property tax
rebates for the 2025 tax year and request that the County pass a
by-law to authorize a 20 per cent (20%) refund of taxes levied for
upper-tier purposes for those properties outlined in Schedule ‘A’ of
the report.

Highlights:



The City has offered a Heritage Property Tax Relief Program to
eligible designated heritage property owners since 2009.
The program provides 20 per cent (20%) rebate on City, education,
and County portion of taxes to eligible applicants.

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
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

The total amount of the rebate is $35,950.60, the City portion of
which is $23,224.86, which is within the allocated budget of
$25,000.

Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: City Building – Enhancing urban development,
planning and place-making processes to create places and spaces that
contribute to complete communities for existing residents, future residents
and tourists.

Previous Report/Authority:
City of Owen Sound 2020 Community Improvement Plan
Heritage Property Tax Relief By-law No. 2009-148

Background:
The City has offered a Heritage Property Tax Relief Program through the
Community Improvement Plan (CIP) since 2009 under the authority of the
Ontario Planning Act, the Municipal Act, and the Ontario Heritage Act. City
Council activated the program via By-law 2009-148. The purpose of the
program is to assist owners of designated heritage properties in maintaining
and restoring their properties for the entire community’s benefit. The
program provides an incentive to owners to make regular investments in the
ongoing conservation of their heritage properties.
Through continuous care and maintenance, major restoration projects can be
avoided. Traditionally, the program has provided a rebate of up to 20 per
cent (20%) of the municipal and education portion of property taxes. As of
the 2020 tax year, the County began contributing to the program by
providing a 20% rebate on the County portion of taxes to eligible applicants.
The City’s 2020 CIP is consistent with the County’s template released in
2019.
To be considered eligible for a heritage property tax rebate, owners of
designated heritage properties must have one of the following agreements in
place:

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
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Page 85 of 116

1.

A heritage easement with the City or the Ontario Heritage Trust
registered on title of the property; or,

2.

A Heritage Conservation and Maintenance Agreement (HCMA) with
the City.

One (1) applicant to the Heritage Property Tax Relief Program for the 2025
tax year is subject to a Heritage Easement with the Ontario Heritage Trust,
discussed further in the Analysis section of this report. The remaining 16
applicants have entered into an HCMA with the City, which is a voluntary
legal agreement that establishes the expectation for the use of the refund to
be invested back into the designated property. Such an agreement is
required by the City’s Heritage Property Tax Relief By-law because
designation under the Ontario Heritage Act alone does not compel owners
to maintain their properties on an ongoing basis.
The purpose of this report is to obtain Committee and Council approval to
issue heritage property tax refunds to eligible applicants for the 2025 tax
year.

Analysis and Options:
Of the 17 designated properties with an easement agreement or an HCMA in
place that can apply, 17 have made applications for the 2025 tax year.
Each of the 17 applications received is complete and meets the eligibility
criteria outlined in Schedule 4 of the City’s Heritage Property Tax Relief Bylaw (2009-148, as amended) to be issued a rebate. Schedule ‘A’ lists
the eligible applicants.

Former CPR Station/Mudtown Station – 1198 1st Avenue East
This year, the former Canadian Pacific Railway Station located at 1198 1st
Avenue East has been included among the properties eligible to receive a
heritage property tax rebate. This property is under ownership of the City,
and leased to Mudtown Station Inc., to operate as a restaurant and brewery.
Section 6.3.16 of the City’s CIP states that in no case is the City, including its
internal departments and divisions, eligible to receive grant funding under
the Plan. Tenants of City-owned buildings and lands may be eligible to
receive funding, if the project costs are being borne by the tenant(s).

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
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It is not proposed that the City would collect the property tax savings
realized through the heritage property tax relief program for the 2025 tax
year for 1198 1st Avenue East rather, City Staff are proposing to “download”
the rebate to Mudtown Station Inc., as the tenant.
City Staff have reviewed the City’s CIP and the Heritage Property Tax Relief
By-law, as it relates to Mudtown Station Inc.’s eligible for the rebate, and the
following merits note:


The City’s Heritage Property Tax Relief By-law requires that a
property be subject to a heritage conservation easement or have a
HCMA with the City to be considered eligible. The property is
designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act via By-law No.
2010-199, passed by City Council on September 13, 2010, and is
subject to a Heritage Conservation Easement Agreement between
the City and the Ontario Heritage Trust dated May 26, 2010, which
is registered on title of the property. Mudtown Station, as the
tenant of the property, is also required to comply with the terms of
the OHT heritage conservation easement, in accordance with
Section 7, Part 3 of the Lease Agreement with the City.



The purpose of the Heritage Property Tax Rebate Program is to
assist owners of designated heritage properties in maintaining and
restoring their properties for the benefit of the entire community.
The program provides an incentive to owners to make regular
investments in the ongoing conservation of their heritage
properties. While Mudtown Station Inc. is not a property owner, the
terms of their Lease Agreement with the City require them to
conduct ongoing repairs and maintenance to certain heritage
elements of the property, as outlined in Schedule E of the Lease
Agreement, in the same way a designated heritage property owner
would be responsible for these items.



Project costs are being borne by the tenant (Mudtown), in
accordance with Section 6.3.16 of the CIP. Mudtown is responsible
for the payment of property taxes, in addition to rent, in
accordance with Part 2 (f) of their Lease Agreement with the City.

In consideration of the analysis provided above, it is therefore appropriate to
include 1198 1st Avenue East as an eligible designated property for the
purposes of the Heritage Property Tax Relief Program for the 2025 tax year

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
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Page 87 of 116

and on a go forward basis, as the requirements of the City’s Heritage
Property Tax Relief Program By-law and CIP are met.

County of Grey Heritage Property Tax Rebate
As noted, the County of Grey began participation in the program in 2021, for
the 2020 tax year. Given that a Heritage Property Tax Relief Program is
offered under the City’s 2020 CIP and the County’s template released in June
of 2019, it is necessary that staff issue notice to the County of the heritage
tax rebates for the 2025 tax year and request that the County pass a by-law
to provide a similar refund of taxes levied for upper-tier purposes for those
properties listed in Schedule ‘A’ of this report, pursuant to Section 365.2 of
the Municipal Act.

Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
The total amount of the rebates is $35,950.60, which represents a 20%
rebate on City, education, and County portion of taxes to the 17 eligible
properties. The City portion of the total rebate is $23,442.86, which is within
the allocated budget of $25,000.

Human Resources
The City’s Planning & Heritage Division administers the Heritage Property Tax
Relief Program on an annual basis. This includes sending reminder letters to
applicants to apply, intaking all applications, ensuring applications are
complete and that the eligibility criterion outlined in the City’s Heritage
Property Tax Relief By-law are met.
Support from the City’s Tax Collector is necessary in order to issue the
rebates.

Time and Scheduling
It is expected that the heritage property tax rebates would be issued to
eligible applicants in August/September of 2026, following approval by
Committee and Council.

Technology and Infrastructure
N/A

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
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Climate and Environmental Impacts:
There are no anticipated climate or environmental impacts.

Communication and Engagement:
Each applicant will receive a tax rebate cheque or Electronic Funds Transfer
and a letter outlining the City’s heritage permit requirements and other grant
opportunities available under the CIP, such as the Façade and Structural
Improvement Grant Program.

Report Developed in Consultation With:
Tax Collector

Attachments:
1.

Schedule ‘A’ – Eligible Applicants – 2025 Tax Year

2.

Schedule ‘B’ – Eligibility Criteria

Reviewed by:
Sabine Robart, Manager of Planning & Heritage
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Jacklyn Iezzi, Senior
Planner at planning@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440 ext. 1261.

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
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Page 89 of 116

SCHEDULE A
Eligible Applicants – 2025 Tax Year
Applicati
on No.

Name of Heritage
Property

Insurance

HCMA/Ease
ment

1

Former Christian Science
Society (Tone Studio)

900 1st Ave W

425902001600900

Yes

HCMA (2021)

2

F.W. Harrison House

1050 4th Ave W

425902001200600

Yes

HCMA (2023)

3

F.N D’Orr LePan House

861 5th Ave E

425904002808900

Yes

HCMA (2022)

4

Former U.S Consulate

932 3rd Ave W

425902001612000

Yes

HCMA (2010)

5

Former Bus Terminal

1023 2nd Ave E

425901000105700

Yes

HCMA (2009)

6

Former Peoples
Department Store

958 2nd Ave E

425904003001300

Yes

HCMA (2009)

7

Wilcox Bowman House

606 2nd Ave W

425903001703600

Yes

HCMA (2015)

8

Atkins Residence

215 8th St W

425903001708300

Yes

HCMA (2009)

9

Old Post Office

291 9th St E

425904003004900

Yes

HCMA (2009)

10

Kilbourn Block

908 2nd Ave E

425904003002700

Yes

HCMA (2021)

11

Former Coates & Best
(Grey Gallery)

883 2nd Ave E

425904003008100

Yes

HCMA (2024)

Report: CS-26-059

Address

Roll #

Page 1 of 2

Page 90 of 116

Applicati
on No.

Name of Heritage
Property

Address

Roll #

Insurance

HCMA/Ease
ment

12

Sloan Building (Women’s
House)

229 10th St E

425904003013100

Yes

HCMA (2012)

13

Kennedy Terrace (791)

791 2nd Ave W

425903001700400

Yes

HCMA (2024)

14

Kennedy Terrace (795)

795 2nd Ave W

425903001700300

Yes

HCMA (2024)

15

Wilkinson House

903 2nd Ave W

425903002104800

Yes

HCMA (2009)

16

Oretsky Fur Store

275 8th St E

425902001603700

Yes

HCMA (2021)

17

Former CPR Station
(Mudtown)

1198 1st Ave E

425901000738900

Yes

OHT
Easement
(2009)

Report: CS-26-059

Page 2 of 2

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Page 92 of 116

Staff Report
Report To:

Community Services Committee

Report From:

Eckhard Pastrik, Manager of Parks & Open Space

Meeting Date:

June 24, 2026

Report Code:

CS-26-057

Subject:

Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design

Recommendations:
THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-057 respecting the final design
concept for the Kelso Beach at Nawash Park playground replacement and
splash pad revitalization, the Community Services Committee recommends
that City Council direct staff to proceed with the detailed design and
tendering of the recommended final concept design as outlined in the report.

Highlights:




The Kelso Beach at Nawash Park project will replace the 25-year old
playground and revitalize the 2011 splash pad to create a more
accessible, inclusive, and engaging play space for residents and visitors
of all ages and abilities.
Public feedback was solicited via key stakeholder meetings, an online
OurCity website survey and a public open house. All input including the
200 survey responses were used to inform the establishment of the
final concept design.
The focus of this report is to outline the final concept design context
that will be used to establish the detail design drawing set and
supporting tender package for this project.
The total project budget was updated to capture design, construction
and construction administration costs and is $638,800, funded by the

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 1 of 10

Page 93 of 116



City of Owen Sound ($354,000 ) and the Scenic City Order of Good
Cheer ($284,800), with the Order’s contribution spread over six years.
The City applied for the Enhancing Access to Spaces for Everyone
(EASE) Grant valued at up to $60,000 to enhance and further improve
accessibility. There is no update on status of the grant application and
a decision is expected this summer.
Jambette was selected as the preferred suppliers for the playground
based on accessibility, ramp-based design, and overall play value. For
the splash pad, ABC Recreation is proposed to supply compatible new
features as the supplier of the original splash pad components.

Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: City Building – Enhancing urban development,
planning and place-making processes to create places and spaces that
contribute to complete communities for existing residents, future residents
and tourists.

Previous Report/Authority:
Report CS-26-036 Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization
The report outlined the preliminary conceptual design context of the
replacement playground and revitalized splash pad. A public open house and
online survey will solicit feedback on the preliminary design. Staff will
synthesize this public input and use it to inform the preparation of a final
concept design which will be brought back to the Community Services
Committee at its June 24 meeting. The capital budget was adjusted to
capture additional funding of $69,600 to support base construction cost of
the project and $69,200 to include the cost of construction administration
oversight in the capital budget envelope (originally included in Crozier design
proposal as a provisional item).
Report CS-24-061 Re: Parks Capital Projects Update
The report outlined changes to the Parks & Open Space capital program with
a focus on investing in existing aging infrastructure before creating any noncritical new infrastructure. One of the recommendations approved was to
eliminate and reallocate the capital funding for a new shade sail to support
the proposed 2026 playground replacement capital project at Kelso Beach at
Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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Nawash Park (26D.6). The existing playground is 25 years old, and many
components have been taken out of service due to age and condition. The
capital budget for the replacement of the playground at Kelso Beach at
Nawash was adjusted to $315k with the re-allocation of the $115k shade sail
project funding. It was recognized that additional capital funding would be
required to replace this highly utilized playground.
Report CS-24-106 Re: Partnership with the Scenic City Order of Good Cheer
- Kelso Beach at Nawash Park
The City entered into a contribution agreement with the Scenic City Order of
Good Cheer (SSOGC) in support of the replacement of the Kelso Beach at
Nawash Park playground and revitalization of the splash pad, with a focus on
asset renewal and utilizing existing infrastructure. The SSOGC committed a
$250,000 donation for the project, to be given in 5 annual installments of
$50,000, starting in 2025. The total capital funding for the playground
replacement and splash pad upgrade project was initially established at
$500k, split evenly between the City and SSOGC. The Order has recently
confirmed support for an additional $35,000 to support the project with the
donation now be spread over 6 years.

Background:
The focus of this report is to outline the final concept design context for the
replacement playground and the revitalized splash pad components at Kelso
Beach at Nawash Park. The final conceptual design context will form the
foundation for the development of the detail design drawings and supporting
tender package for this project.
Public engagement feedback obtained at the May 20, 2026, Public Open
House and the 200 survey responses that were submitted over a two-week
window were synthesized to generate the following key findings that were
used to shape the final concept design:
1.

Community Use and Importance

The park is a well-used community asset, with over 70% of respondents
visiting on a weekly or monthly basis. A strong majority (85%) of
participants are local residents, indicating that feedback reflects the needs
and priorities of the surrounding community.

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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The most frequently used amenities are the splash pad (84.7%) and
playground (84.2%), followed by walking trails, the beach/waterfront, and
washrooms.
2.

Strengths of Existing Facilities

Respondents value the current playground and splash pad for their location
within the park, accessibility, and range of activities. Key strengths include:





Strong integration within the broader park setting;
Variety of play and water features;
Availability of open space for flexible use;
Proximity to seating and supporting amenities.

The splash pad’s location (77.4% support) and variety of water play features
are particularly appreciated.
3.

Key Issues and Gaps

Consistent feedback highlights several priority improvements for both the
playground and splash pad:

4.

a.

Lack of Shade and Seating
The most significant concern across both the playground and splash
pad is insufficient shade and seating, especially at the splash pad
(over 55% cite lack of shade).

b.

Limited Age Diversity in Play
There is a notable gap in play opportunities for older children, while
some respondents also identified shortcomings in toddler-specific
features.

c.

Maintenance and Cleanliness
Ongoing concerns relate to general upkeep, indicating a need for
improved maintenance strategies.

Preferred Future Improvements

Survey results indicate clear priorities for future investment:




High-demand play elements: climbing structures, slides, and swings;
Improved shade structures and additional seating; and
Broader range of play opportunities to serve multiple age groups.

While 40% of respondents would like to see new or additional features, a
similar proportion prefer maintaining the existing approach, suggesting that
Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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enhancements should build on current strengths rather than introduce major
changes.
5.

Design Direction

There is no strong preference for a themed playground (55.5% indicate it
does not matter), providing flexibility in design.
Accessibility is not a primary concern for most users (85% report no issues),
but inclusive design should still be considered to address the needs of all
users.
Key Takeaways





Maintain the core appeal and location advantages of the existing park
amenities;
Address critical amenity and service gaps, particularly shade, seating,
and age-inclusive play;
Prioritise durable, high use play elements (climbing, slides, swings);
and
Focus on incremental improvements that enhance usability rather than
fundamentally changing the preliminary design concept.

These findings provide clear direction for a revitalisation approach that
strengthens existing assets while addressing the most common user
concerns.

Analysis and Options:
Hearing what the public has said through the engagement process, we have
noted the following areas where the final concept design outlined in
Attachment 1, Playground and Splash Pad Final Concept Design, has been
updated and will form the foundation for the development of the subsequent
detail design stage of the project.

Park Improvements
There are improvements proposed that support the seamless and
complimentary integration of the splash pad and new playground into the
park context. These improvements relate to grading and drainage,
connectivity, supporting amenities and operations and include the following:

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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Grading
The undulating and inconsistent grades between the parking area and new
playground will be smoothed out and adjusted to seamlessly integrate the
existing fixed elements (gazebo, washroom) with the new pathway network.
The new pathway network will link all these elements to the splash pad,
playground and waterfront trail.
A grading plan will be developed to direct surface water flow to appropriate
locations where it can be effectively managed and improve usability of the
adjacent area to support passive use.
Accessibility
A new accessible pathway will be added that will directly connect the parking
area with the washroom building, gazebo, splash pad mechanical building,
splash pad, playground and links to the existing trail network along the
waterfront.
Seating
Seating opportunities will be created at strategic locations that support the
programmed use of the splash pad and playground. Seating options will be
explored to provide more alternatives for users of the playground and splash
pad. These may include formal benches, picnic tables or informal seating
walls. The seating locations will be coordinated with potential tree planting
locations to take advantage of natural shade.
Shade
We are integrating new tree plantings in target locations to provide more
shade along the edges of the trail, splash pad and playground. Additional
opportunities within proximity to the splash pad and playground.
Operations
Operationally, the design is looking at opportunities to improve the drain
connection from the splash pad to the existing washroom building to allow
for direct drainage to the sanitary network and eliminate the need for
dichlorination treatment.
Subdrainage will be provided under the playground to protect integrity of
protective surface and maximize lifecycle of the wood product.

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 6 of 10

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Playground
The design of the playground follows a ‘By the Water’ theme and emphasizes
inclusive, accessible play, with opportunities for users to climb, sit, slide, and
swing. The playground will be completely replaced with new play elements
including structures, swings and climbers generally in the same location as
the current playground. Playground edging will be replaced, and new
woodchip safety surfacing will be added to the area.

Splash Pad
The final concept will revitalize the splash pad by replacing two splash pad
features with new ones that offer increased play value and are more efficient
in terms of water usage, updating controllers to make the splash pad more
reliable, clean up and painting of existing features to integrate it into the
updated colour palette and theme for the playground area. The two new
features as outlined in the concept being developed include a twin splash
bucket and a sea silhouette fish.

Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
Capital Project 26D.6 has a budget of $638,800 and is allocation as outlined
in Table 1, Capital Project Cost Breakdown (values include applicable HST).
The funding envelope supports the initial detail design and tendering,
construction and construction administration of the project as follows:
Table 1, Capital Project Cost Breakdown
Design and Tender Services
Topographic Survey of Project Area

$4,400

Landscape Architect Design (Crozier Ltd.)

$68,200

Total Design Services

$72,600

Construction (Bidder will be selected through tender
process)
Hardscape/Paving

$116,250

Playground Replacement

$256,750

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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Splashpad Component Revitalization

$79,000

Contingency (10%)

$45,000
Total Construction

$497,000

Construction Administration Services
Construction Administration and Oversight (Crozier Ltd.)

$69,200

Total Construction Administration

$69,200

Grand Total (Design/Construction/Administration)

$638,800

The City has entered into a funding contribution agreement with the SCOGC
who are partnering with the City on this capital project. The agreement has
been amended to reflect updated City/SCOGC funding contribution
breakdown as summarized in Table 2, Project Funding Sources as follows:
Table 2, Project Funding Sources
City of Owen Sound
Parks Capital

$250,000

Parks Capital Reserve

$104,000
Total (City of Owen Sound)

$354,000

Scenic City Order of Good Cheer
Contribution Agreement Donation

*$284,800
Total (SCOGC)

$284,800

* The SCOGC will be making six equal payments starting in 2025 of $50,000
per year for first five years with the balance of $34,800 paid in the 6th year.
Grant Application – Enhancing Access to Spaces for Everyone (EASE)
Grant
Staff submitted a grant application on May 7, 2026, for the Enhancing Access
to Spaces for Everyone (EASE) Grant valued at a maximum of $60,000. The
grant provides funding for small capital projects that improve accessibility in
Ontario communities for people with disabilities and older adults. The timing
of the grant award is anticipated in the summer of 2026. If successful, the
grant funding will be used to enhance the accessibility of the project.
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and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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Human Resources
This project is being supported by the Manager of Parks and Open Spaces
and the Director of Community Services. The City’s Purchasing Division has
supported the RFP for the selection of the designer and has been involved in
the selection of three companies that provided written estimates for the
project.
Communications staff are assisting in the project communication including
soliciting public input via the project page in OurCity.

Updated Schedule and Next Steps
The schedule moving forward is based on the following key next steps and
their associated timelines.
Detailed Design and Tender Completion

Early to Mid-July 2026

Tender Period

Mid-July to Early August 2026

Construction Start-up

Early September 2026

Construction Completion and
Commissioning

End of May 2027

Technology and Infrastructure
The OurCity engagement platform has been used to support the public
engagement along with an in-person open house.

Climate and Environmental Impacts:
There are no anticipated climate or environmental impacts.

Communication and Engagement:
Working with the Communications Advisor, the following communication and
public engagement initiatives were undertaken to support and shape the
development of the project:
1.

Input from key stakeholders and the public was gathered through a
community survey on the OurCity engagement website. The survey
was released in May of 2026 and remained open for two weeks.
Communications built awareness of the survey through social media
posts and the installation of physical signs at the playground and

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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splash pad. A total of 200 survey responses were received and the
feedback reviewed and considered in the establishment of the final
conceptual design of the project.
2.

A project website has been created as a resource centre for project
specific information that the public can access at any time.

Report Developed in Consultation With:
Tim McCormick, Crozier

Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Final Concept Design
Reviewed by:
Pamela Coulter, Director of Community Services
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Eckhard Pastrik, Manager
of Parks and Open Space at epastrik@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440
x1221.

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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NEW
PLAYGROUND

EXISTING
ASPHALT
PATHWAY

UPDATED
SPLASH PAD
EXISTING
GAZEBO

EXISTING PATHWAY
TO REMAIN

PROPOSED
SHADE TREES

PROPOSED
SEATING
PROPOSED
PATHWAY

PROPOSED
PICNIC TABLES
EXISTING SPLASH PAD
CONTROLLER BUILDING

EXISTING
PARKING

EXISTING
WASHROOM
BUILDING

GEORGIAN
BAY

KELSO BEACH AT NAWASH PARK

FINAL CONCEPT DESIGN
Page 103 of 116

Staff Report
Report To:

Community Services Committee

Report From:

Pamela Coulter, Director of Community Services

Meeting Date:

June 24, 2026

Report Code:

CS-26-058

Subject:

Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names

Recommendations:
THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-058 respecting the submitted
names for the park naming at 823 5th Avenue East, the Community Services
Committee recommends that City Council direct staff to proceed with one of
the Options outlined in the report.

Highlights:




Policy CS-087 provides a policy-driven and transparent approach to
considering requests for naming and renaming of parks and
facilities in the City.
Engagement was completed using the City’s OurCity platform, as
well as in person with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environment
Office.
Through the City’s online engagement platform, 70 unique
submissions were received. After removing duplicates, staff
compiled a list of proposed names for possible ranked voting.
Honourific names were identified, but are not recommended for
voting as the policy gives this option a lower priority and Council
has requested a name with locational reference.
City staff consulted with representatives from the Saugeen Ojibway
Nation, including an on-site meeting in the park. From that
engagement, the name Niisinaabe-ki was proposed, translated

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 1 of 8

8.b.1 Report CS-26-059 from the Senior Planner Re: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program - 2025 Tax Refund Applications

The Community Services Committee proposes approving refunds totaling approximately thirty-six thousand dollars for seventeen heritage applicants under Owen Sound's programme, launched in 2009 to protect historic sites like the Mudtown Station and Tone Studio via tax rebates up to twenty percent. For the Mudtown property specifically, guidelines allow directing funds to a tenant rather than the City if lease terms cover conservation costs; this reflects broader efforts that also include locations such as the Oretsky Fur Store while maintaining clear maintenance responsibilities for all owners. Staff recommend the County of Grey draft a by-law in 2026 to match these rebates once notified regarding municipal tax contributions, ensuring preservation duties remain defined across upper-tier and local jurisdictions. Simultaneously, upcoming agenda items examine Winnipeg properties potentially qualifying for heritage status or easement review, including recent nominations from 2012 through 2024 for sites like the Former People's Department Store and Wilkinson House. The June 24 report outlines specific addresses but confirms no final decisions have been reached regarding which listings will advance in the upcoming session. These processes aim to sustain designated structures without assuming outcomes yet, balancing financial support from rebates against ongoing conservation obligations for affected communities through potential inter-municipal cooperation starting next year.

THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-059 respecting applications to
the Heritage Property Tax Relief Program for the 2025 tax year, the
Community Services Committee recommends that City Council direct staff
to:
1.

Process refunds for those eligible applicants outlined in Schedule ‘A’
of the report, in accordance with the Heritage Property Tax Relief
Program of the City’s Community Improvement Plan and the City’s
Heritage Property Tax Relief By-law No. 2009-148; and

2.

Issue notice to the County of Grey of the heritage property tax
rebates for the 2025 tax year and request that the County pass a
by-law to authorize a 20 per cent (20%) refund of taxes levied for
upper-tier purposes for those properties outlined in Schedule ‘A’ of
the report.

Highlights:



The City has offered a Heritage Property Tax Relief Program to
eligible designated heritage property owners since 2009.
The program provides 20 per cent (20%) rebate on City, education,
and County portion of taxes to eligible applicants.

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
Page 1 of 6

Page 84 of 116



The total amount of the rebate is $35,950.60, the City portion of
which is $23,224.86, which is within the allocated budget of
$25,000.

Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: City Building – Enhancing urban development,
planning and place-making processes to create places and spaces that
contribute to complete communities for existing residents, future residents
and tourists.

Previous Report/Authority:
City of Owen Sound 2020 Community Improvement Plan
Heritage Property Tax Relief By-law No. 2009-148

Background:
The City has offered a Heritage Property Tax Relief Program through the
Community Improvement Plan (CIP) since 2009 under the authority of the
Ontario Planning Act, the Municipal Act, and the Ontario Heritage Act. City
Council activated the program via By-law 2009-148. The purpose of the
program is to assist owners of designated heritage properties in maintaining
and restoring their properties for the entire community’s benefit. The
program provides an incentive to owners to make regular investments in the
ongoing conservation of their heritage properties.
Through continuous care and maintenance, major restoration projects can be
avoided. Traditionally, the program has provided a rebate of up to 20 per
cent (20%) of the municipal and education portion of property taxes. As of
the 2020 tax year, the County began contributing to the program by
providing a 20% rebate on the County portion of taxes to eligible applicants.
The City’s 2020 CIP is consistent with the County’s template released in
2019.
To be considered eligible for a heritage property tax rebate, owners of
designated heritage properties must have one of the following agreements in
place:

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
Page 2 of 6

Page 85 of 116

1.

A heritage easement with the City or the Ontario Heritage Trust
registered on title of the property; or,

2.

A Heritage Conservation and Maintenance Agreement (HCMA) with
the City.

One (1) applicant to the Heritage Property Tax Relief Program for the 2025
tax year is subject to a Heritage Easement with the Ontario Heritage Trust,
discussed further in the Analysis section of this report. The remaining 16
applicants have entered into an HCMA with the City, which is a voluntary
legal agreement that establishes the expectation for the use of the refund to
be invested back into the designated property. Such an agreement is
required by the City’s Heritage Property Tax Relief By-law because
designation under the Ontario Heritage Act alone does not compel owners
to maintain their properties on an ongoing basis.
The purpose of this report is to obtain Committee and Council approval to
issue heritage property tax refunds to eligible applicants for the 2025 tax
year.

Analysis and Options:
Of the 17 designated properties with an easement agreement or an HCMA in
place that can apply, 17 have made applications for the 2025 tax year.
Each of the 17 applications received is complete and meets the eligibility
criteria outlined in Schedule 4 of the City’s Heritage Property Tax Relief Bylaw (2009-148, as amended) to be issued a rebate. Schedule ‘A’ lists
the eligible applicants.

Former CPR Station/Mudtown Station – 1198 1st Avenue East
This year, the former Canadian Pacific Railway Station located at 1198 1st
Avenue East has been included among the properties eligible to receive a
heritage property tax rebate. This property is under ownership of the City,
and leased to Mudtown Station Inc., to operate as a restaurant and brewery.
Section 6.3.16 of the City’s CIP states that in no case is the City, including its
internal departments and divisions, eligible to receive grant funding under
the Plan. Tenants of City-owned buildings and lands may be eligible to
receive funding, if the project costs are being borne by the tenant(s).

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
Page 3 of 6

Page 86 of 116

It is not proposed that the City would collect the property tax savings
realized through the heritage property tax relief program for the 2025 tax
year for 1198 1st Avenue East rather, City Staff are proposing to “download”
the rebate to Mudtown Station Inc., as the tenant.
City Staff have reviewed the City’s CIP and the Heritage Property Tax Relief
By-law, as it relates to Mudtown Station Inc.’s eligible for the rebate, and the
following merits note:


The City’s Heritage Property Tax Relief By-law requires that a
property be subject to a heritage conservation easement or have a
HCMA with the City to be considered eligible. The property is
designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act via By-law No.
2010-199, passed by City Council on September 13, 2010, and is
subject to a Heritage Conservation Easement Agreement between
the City and the Ontario Heritage Trust dated May 26, 2010, which
is registered on title of the property. Mudtown Station, as the
tenant of the property, is also required to comply with the terms of
the OHT heritage conservation easement, in accordance with
Section 7, Part 3 of the Lease Agreement with the City.



The purpose of the Heritage Property Tax Rebate Program is to
assist owners of designated heritage properties in maintaining and
restoring their properties for the benefit of the entire community.
The program provides an incentive to owners to make regular
investments in the ongoing conservation of their heritage
properties. While Mudtown Station Inc. is not a property owner, the
terms of their Lease Agreement with the City require them to
conduct ongoing repairs and maintenance to certain heritage
elements of the property, as outlined in Schedule E of the Lease
Agreement, in the same way a designated heritage property owner
would be responsible for these items.



Project costs are being borne by the tenant (Mudtown), in
accordance with Section 6.3.16 of the CIP. Mudtown is responsible
for the payment of property taxes, in addition to rent, in
accordance with Part 2 (f) of their Lease Agreement with the City.

In consideration of the analysis provided above, it is therefore appropriate to
include 1198 1st Avenue East as an eligible designated property for the
purposes of the Heritage Property Tax Relief Program for the 2025 tax year

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
Page 4 of 6

Page 87 of 116

and on a go forward basis, as the requirements of the City’s Heritage
Property Tax Relief Program By-law and CIP are met.

County of Grey Heritage Property Tax Rebate
As noted, the County of Grey began participation in the program in 2021, for
the 2020 tax year. Given that a Heritage Property Tax Relief Program is
offered under the City’s 2020 CIP and the County’s template released in June
of 2019, it is necessary that staff issue notice to the County of the heritage
tax rebates for the 2025 tax year and request that the County pass a by-law
to provide a similar refund of taxes levied for upper-tier purposes for those
properties listed in Schedule ‘A’ of this report, pursuant to Section 365.2 of
the Municipal Act.

Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
The total amount of the rebates is $35,950.60, which represents a 20%
rebate on City, education, and County portion of taxes to the 17 eligible
properties. The City portion of the total rebate is $23,442.86, which is within
the allocated budget of $25,000.

Human Resources
The City’s Planning & Heritage Division administers the Heritage Property Tax
Relief Program on an annual basis. This includes sending reminder letters to
applicants to apply, intaking all applications, ensuring applications are
complete and that the eligibility criterion outlined in the City’s Heritage
Property Tax Relief By-law are met.
Support from the City’s Tax Collector is necessary in order to issue the
rebates.

Time and Scheduling
It is expected that the heritage property tax rebates would be issued to
eligible applicants in August/September of 2026, following approval by
Committee and Council.

Technology and Infrastructure
N/A

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
Page 5 of 6

Page 88 of 116

Climate and Environmental Impacts:
There are no anticipated climate or environmental impacts.

Communication and Engagement:
Each applicant will receive a tax rebate cheque or Electronic Funds Transfer
and a letter outlining the City’s heritage permit requirements and other grant
opportunities available under the CIP, such as the Façade and Structural
Improvement Grant Program.

Report Developed in Consultation With:
Tax Collector

Attachments:
1.

Schedule ‘A’ – Eligible Applicants – 2025 Tax Year

2.

Schedule ‘B’ – Eligibility Criteria

Reviewed by:
Sabine Robart, Manager of Planning & Heritage
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Jacklyn Iezzi, Senior
Planner at planning@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440 ext. 1261.

Staff Report CS-26-059: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program – 2025 Tax Refund
Applications
Page 6 of 6

Page 89 of 116

SCHEDULE A
Eligible Applicants – 2025 Tax Year
Applicati
on No.

Name of Heritage
Property

Insurance

HCMA/Ease
ment

1

Former Christian Science
Society (Tone Studio)

900 1st Ave W

425902001600900

Yes

HCMA (2021)

2

F.W. Harrison House

1050 4th Ave W

425902001200600

Yes

HCMA (2023)

3

F.N D’Orr LePan House

861 5th Ave E

425904002808900

Yes

HCMA (2022)

4

Former U.S Consulate

932 3rd Ave W

425902001612000

Yes

HCMA (2010)

5

Former Bus Terminal

1023 2nd Ave E

425901000105700

Yes

HCMA (2009)

6

Former Peoples
Department Store

958 2nd Ave E

425904003001300

Yes

HCMA (2009)

7

Wilcox Bowman House

606 2nd Ave W

425903001703600

Yes

HCMA (2015)

8

Atkins Residence

215 8th St W

425903001708300

Yes

HCMA (2009)

9

Old Post Office

291 9th St E

425904003004900

Yes

HCMA (2009)

10

Kilbourn Block

908 2nd Ave E

425904003002700

Yes

HCMA (2021)

11

Former Coates & Best
(Grey Gallery)

883 2nd Ave E

425904003008100

Yes

HCMA (2024)

Report: CS-26-059

Address

Roll #

Page 1 of 2

Page 90 of 116

Applicati
on No.

Name of Heritage
Property

Address

Roll #

Insurance

HCMA/Ease
ment

12

Sloan Building (Women’s
House)

229 10th St E

425904003013100

Yes

HCMA (2012)

13

Kennedy Terrace (791)

791 2nd Ave W

425903001700400

Yes

HCMA (2024)

14

Kennedy Terrace (795)

795 2nd Ave W

425903001700300

Yes

HCMA (2024)

15

Wilkinson House

903 2nd Ave W

425903002104800

Yes

HCMA (2009)

16

Oretsky Fur Store

275 8th St E

425902001603700

Yes

HCMA (2021)

17

Former CPR Station
(Mudtown)

1198 1st Ave E

425901000738900

Yes

OHT
Easement
(2009)

Report: CS-26-059

Page 2 of 2

Page 91 of 116

Page 92 of 116

Staff Report
Report To:

Community Services Committee

Report From:

Eckhard Pastrik, Manager of Parks & Open Space

Meeting Date:

June 24, 2026

Report Code:

8.c Report CS-26-057 from the Director of Community Services Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park - Playground and Splash Pad Concept Design

The report presents a concept design for a playground and splash pad at Kelso Beach within Nawash Park.

8.c Report CS-26-057 from the Director of Community Services Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park - Playground and Splash Pad Concept Design

1
Report CS-26-057 from the Director of Community Services Re:
Kelso Beach at Nawash Park - Playground and Splash Pad
Concept Design

8.c.1 Report CS-26-057 from the Director of Community Services Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park - Playground and Splash Pad Concept Design

A revitalization project at Kelso Beach within Nawash Park aims to replace an aging playground and splash pad with inclusive design that addresses critical gaps identified by over 200 residents. The proposed $638,800 initiative relies on shifting capital from a deferred shade sail project elsewhere in the city system alongside direct funding of roughly $179k per year for five years plus a final balance provided through donations to good cheer. A pending grant application seeks up to $60k specifically for accessibility enhancements if approved later this summer, targeting needs voiced by families and older adults including severe lack of shade and insufficient seating. The planned improvements include planting trees to provide natural cooling under trails near washrooms and play areas, installing new benches, reconfiguring pathways to connect amenities, and upgrading drainage systems to eliminate chemical treatments while extending the life of wood chip surfaces through subdrainage construction. Currently, Jambette has been selected as the preferred supplier based on accessibility features. Detailed designs are expected mid-July 2026 before tendering begins in July that same year with physical work commencing September 2026 and concluding May 2027 ensuring community voices directly guide improvements for visitors of all ages without claiming final decisions have been made yet regarding pending grants or specific construction details.

THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-057 respecting the final design
concept for the Kelso Beach at Nawash Park playground replacement and
splash pad revitalization, the Community Services Committee recommends
that City Council direct staff to proceed with the detailed design and
tendering of the recommended final concept design as outlined in the report.

Highlights:








The Kelso Beach at Nawash Park project will replace the 25-year old
playground and revitalize the 2011 splash pad to create a more
accessible, inclusive, and engaging play space for residents and visitors
of all ages and abilities.
Public feedback was solicited via key stakeholder meetings, an online
OurCity website survey and a public open house. All input including the
200 survey responses were used to inform the establishment of the
final concept design.
The focus of this report is to outline the final concept design context
that will be used to establish the detail design drawing set and
supporting tender package for this project.
The total project budget was updated to capture design, construction
and construction administration costs and is $638,800, funded by the

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 1 of 10

Page 93 of 116





City of Owen Sound ($354,000 ) and the Scenic City Order of Good
Cheer ($284,800), with the Order’s contribution spread over six years.
The City applied for the Enhancing Access to Spaces for Everyone
(EASE) Grant valued at up to $60,000 to enhance and further improve
accessibility. There is no update on status of the grant application and
a decision is expected this summer.
Jambette was selected as the preferred suppliers for the playground
based on accessibility, ramp-based design, and overall play value. For
the splash pad, ABC Recreation is proposed to supply compatible new
features as the supplier of the original splash pad components.

Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: City Building – Enhancing urban development,
planning and place-making processes to create places and spaces that
contribute to complete communities for existing residents, future residents
and tourists.

Previous Report/Authority:
Report CS-26-036 Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization
The report outlined the preliminary conceptual design context of the
replacement playground and revitalized splash pad. A public open house and
online survey will solicit feedback on the preliminary design. Staff will
synthesize this public input and use it to inform the preparation of a final
concept design which will be brought back to the Community Services
Committee at its June 24 meeting. The capital budget was adjusted to
capture additional funding of $69,600 to support base construction cost of
the project and $69,200 to include the cost of construction administration
oversight in the capital budget envelope (originally included in Crozier design
proposal as a provisional item).
Report CS-24-061 Re: Parks Capital Projects Update
The report outlined changes to the Parks & Open Space capital program with
a focus on investing in existing aging infrastructure before creating any noncritical new infrastructure. One of the recommendations approved was to
eliminate and reallocate the capital funding for a new shade sail to support
the proposed 2026 playground replacement capital project at Kelso Beach at
Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 2 of 10

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Nawash Park (26D.6). The existing playground is 25 years old, and many
components have been taken out of service due to age and condition. The
capital budget for the replacement of the playground at Kelso Beach at
Nawash was adjusted to $315k with the re-allocation of the $115k shade sail
project funding. It was recognized that additional capital funding would be
required to replace this highly utilized playground.
Report CS-24-106 Re: Partnership with the Scenic City Order of Good Cheer
- Kelso Beach at Nawash Park
The City entered into a contribution agreement with the Scenic City Order of
Good Cheer (SSOGC) in support of the replacement of the Kelso Beach at
Nawash Park playground and revitalization of the splash pad, with a focus on
asset renewal and utilizing existing infrastructure. The SSOGC committed a
$250,000 donation for the project, to be given in 5 annual installments of
$50,000, starting in 2025. The total capital funding for the playground
replacement and splash pad upgrade project was initially established at
$500k, split evenly between the City and SSOGC. The Order has recently
confirmed support for an additional $35,000 to support the project with the
donation now be spread over 6 years.

Background:
The focus of this report is to outline the final concept design context for the
replacement playground and the revitalized splash pad components at Kelso
Beach at Nawash Park. The final conceptual design context will form the
foundation for the development of the detail design drawings and supporting
tender package for this project.
Public engagement feedback obtained at the May 20, 2026, Public Open
House and the 200 survey responses that were submitted over a two-week
window were synthesized to generate the following key findings that were
used to shape the final concept design:
1.

Community Use and Importance

The park is a well-used community asset, with over 70% of respondents
visiting on a weekly or monthly basis. A strong majority (85%) of
participants are local residents, indicating that feedback reflects the needs
and priorities of the surrounding community.

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
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The most frequently used amenities are the splash pad (84.7%) and
playground (84.2%), followed by walking trails, the beach/waterfront, and
washrooms.
2.

Strengths of Existing Facilities

Respondents value the current playground and splash pad for their location
within the park, accessibility, and range of activities. Key strengths include:





Strong integration within the broader park setting;
Variety of play and water features;
Availability of open space for flexible use;
Proximity to seating and supporting amenities.

The splash pad’s location (77.4% support) and variety of water play features
are particularly appreciated.
3.

Key Issues and Gaps

Consistent feedback highlights several priority improvements for both the
playground and splash pad:

4.

a.

Lack of Shade and Seating
The most significant concern across both the playground and splash
pad is insufficient shade and seating, especially at the splash pad
(over 55% cite lack of shade).

b.

Limited Age Diversity in Play
There is a notable gap in play opportunities for older children, while
some respondents also identified shortcomings in toddler-specific
features.

c.

Maintenance and Cleanliness
Ongoing concerns relate to general upkeep, indicating a need for
improved maintenance strategies.

Preferred Future Improvements

Survey results indicate clear priorities for future investment:




High-demand play elements: climbing structures, slides, and swings;
Improved shade structures and additional seating; and
Broader range of play opportunities to serve multiple age groups.

While 40% of respondents would like to see new or additional features, a
similar proportion prefer maintaining the existing approach, suggesting that
Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 4 of 10

Page 96 of 116

enhancements should build on current strengths rather than introduce major
changes.
5.

Design Direction

There is no strong preference for a themed playground (55.5% indicate it
does not matter), providing flexibility in design.
Accessibility is not a primary concern for most users (85% report no issues),
but inclusive design should still be considered to address the needs of all
users.
Key Takeaways





Maintain the core appeal and location advantages of the existing park
amenities;
Address critical amenity and service gaps, particularly shade, seating,
and age-inclusive play;
Prioritise durable, high use play elements (climbing, slides, swings);
and
Focus on incremental improvements that enhance usability rather than
fundamentally changing the preliminary design concept.

These findings provide clear direction for a revitalisation approach that
strengthens existing assets while addressing the most common user
concerns.

Analysis and Options:
Hearing what the public has said through the engagement process, we have
noted the following areas where the final concept design outlined in
Attachment 1, Playground and Splash Pad Final Concept Design, has been
updated and will form the foundation for the development of the subsequent
detail design stage of the project.

Park Improvements
There are improvements proposed that support the seamless and
complimentary integration of the splash pad and new playground into the
park context. These improvements relate to grading and drainage,
connectivity, supporting amenities and operations and include the following:

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 5 of 10

Page 97 of 116

Grading
The undulating and inconsistent grades between the parking area and new
playground will be smoothed out and adjusted to seamlessly integrate the
existing fixed elements (gazebo, washroom) with the new pathway network.
The new pathway network will link all these elements to the splash pad,
playground and waterfront trail.
A grading plan will be developed to direct surface water flow to appropriate
locations where it can be effectively managed and improve usability of the
adjacent area to support passive use.
Accessibility
A new accessible pathway will be added that will directly connect the parking
area with the washroom building, gazebo, splash pad mechanical building,
splash pad, playground and links to the existing trail network along the
waterfront.
Seating
Seating opportunities will be created at strategic locations that support the
programmed use of the splash pad and playground. Seating options will be
explored to provide more alternatives for users of the playground and splash
pad. These may include formal benches, picnic tables or informal seating
walls. The seating locations will be coordinated with potential tree planting
locations to take advantage of natural shade.
Shade
We are integrating new tree plantings in target locations to provide more
shade along the edges of the trail, splash pad and playground. Additional
opportunities within proximity to the splash pad and playground.
Operations
Operationally, the design is looking at opportunities to improve the drain
connection from the splash pad to the existing washroom building to allow
for direct drainage to the sanitary network and eliminate the need for
dichlorination treatment.
Subdrainage will be provided under the playground to protect integrity of
protective surface and maximize lifecycle of the wood product.

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 6 of 10

Page 98 of 116

Playground
The design of the playground follows a ‘By the Water’ theme and emphasizes
inclusive, accessible play, with opportunities for users to climb, sit, slide, and
swing. The playground will be completely replaced with new play elements
including structures, swings and climbers generally in the same location as
the current playground. Playground edging will be replaced, and new
woodchip safety surfacing will be added to the area.

Splash Pad
The final concept will revitalize the splash pad by replacing two splash pad
features with new ones that offer increased play value and are more efficient
in terms of water usage, updating controllers to make the splash pad more
reliable, clean up and painting of existing features to integrate it into the
updated colour palette and theme for the playground area. The two new
features as outlined in the concept being developed include a twin splash
bucket and a sea silhouette fish.

Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
Capital Project 26D.6 has a budget of $638,800 and is allocation as outlined
in Table 1, Capital Project Cost Breakdown (values include applicable HST).
The funding envelope supports the initial detail design and tendering,
construction and construction administration of the project as follows:
Table 1, Capital Project Cost Breakdown
Design and Tender Services
Topographic Survey of Project Area

$4,400

Landscape Architect Design (Crozier Ltd.)

$68,200

Total Design Services

$72,600

Construction (Bidder will be selected through tender
process)
Hardscape/Paving

$116,250

Playground Replacement

$256,750

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 7 of 10

Page 99 of 116

Splashpad Component Revitalization

$79,000

Contingency (10%)

$45,000
Total Construction

$497,000

Construction Administration Services
Construction Administration and Oversight (Crozier Ltd.)

$69,200

Total Construction Administration

$69,200

Grand Total (Design/Construction/Administration)

$638,800

The City has entered into a funding contribution agreement with the SCOGC
who are partnering with the City on this capital project. The agreement has
been amended to reflect updated City/SCOGC funding contribution
breakdown as summarized in Table 2, Project Funding Sources as follows:
Table 2, Project Funding Sources
City of Owen Sound
Parks Capital

$250,000

Parks Capital Reserve

$104,000
Total (City of Owen Sound)

$354,000

Scenic City Order of Good Cheer
Contribution Agreement Donation

*$284,800
Total (SCOGC)

$284,800

* The SCOGC will be making six equal payments starting in 2025 of $50,000
per year for first five years with the balance of $34,800 paid in the 6th year.
Grant Application – Enhancing Access to Spaces for Everyone (EASE)
Grant
Staff submitted a grant application on May 7, 2026, for the Enhancing Access
to Spaces for Everyone (EASE) Grant valued at a maximum of $60,000. The
grant provides funding for small capital projects that improve accessibility in
Ontario communities for people with disabilities and older adults. The timing
of the grant award is anticipated in the summer of 2026. If successful, the
grant funding will be used to enhance the accessibility of the project.
Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 8 of 10

Page 100 of 116

Human Resources
This project is being supported by the Manager of Parks and Open Spaces
and the Director of Community Services. The City’s Purchasing Division has
supported the RFP for the selection of the designer and has been involved in
the selection of three companies that provided written estimates for the
project.
Communications staff are assisting in the project communication including
soliciting public input via the project page in OurCity.

Updated Schedule and Next Steps
The schedule moving forward is based on the following key next steps and
their associated timelines.
Detailed Design and Tender Completion

Early to Mid-July 2026

Tender Period

Mid-July to Early August 2026

Construction Start-up

Early September 2026

Construction Completion and
Commissioning

End of May 2027

Technology and Infrastructure
The OurCity engagement platform has been used to support the public
engagement along with an in-person open house.

Climate and Environmental Impacts:
There are no anticipated climate or environmental impacts.

Communication and Engagement:
Working with the Communications Advisor, the following communication and
public engagement initiatives were undertaken to support and shape the
development of the project:
1.

Input from key stakeholders and the public was gathered through a
community survey on the OurCity engagement website. The survey
was released in May of 2026 and remained open for two weeks.
Communications built awareness of the survey through social media
posts and the installation of physical signs at the playground and

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 9 of 10

Page 101 of 116

splash pad. A total of 200 survey responses were received and the
feedback reviewed and considered in the establishment of the final
conceptual design of the project.
2.

A project website has been created as a resource centre for project
specific information that the public can access at any time.

Report Developed in Consultation With:
Tim McCormick, Crozier

Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Final Concept Design
Reviewed by:
Pamela Coulter, Director of Community Services
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Eckhard Pastrik, Manager
of Parks and Open Space at epastrik@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440
x1221.

Staff Report CS-26-057: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park – Playground Replacement
and Splash Pad Revitalization Final Concept Design
Page 10 of 10

Page 102 of 116

NEW
PLAYGROUND

EXISTING
ASPHALT
PATHWAY

UPDATED
SPLASH PAD
EXISTING
GAZEBO

EXISTING PATHWAY
TO REMAIN

PROPOSED
SHADE TREES

PROPOSED
SEATING
PROPOSED
PATHWAY

PROPOSED
PICNIC TABLES
EXISTING SPLASH PAD
CONTROLLER BUILDING

EXISTING
PARKING

EXISTING
WASHROOM
BUILDING

GEORGIAN
BAY

KELSO BEACH AT NAWASH PARK

FINAL CONCEPT DESIGN
Page 103 of 116

Staff Report
Report To:

Community Services Committee

Report From:

Pamela Coulter, Director of Community Services

Meeting Date:

June 24, 2026

Report Code:

8.c.2 Report CS-26-058 from the Director of Community Services Re: Park Naming - 823 5th Avenue East - Report 2

Owen Sound is soliciting public input via its OurCity platform regarding naming a new park at 823 Fifth Avenue East, which previously required renaming Ryerson Park under Policy CS-087. Between April and May 2026, the city received exactly 70 responses to submissions suggesting various locations such as Eighth Street or Boyd Street Parks, alongside proposals for honorific names like Ningaawendam Miikana ("Friendship Land"). During a late May 2025 engagement meeting with Saugeen Ojibway Nation representatives, community partner SON proposed the Anishinaabe name "Niisinaabe-ki" (meaning "Person lowered to earth"), linking it to landscape movement and creation stories; this proposal seeks separate consideration rather than standard ranked voting. The City Council will subsequently decide whether to adopt the Indigenous name alone or include it among other candidates for a ten-day public notice period before by-law adoption, with allocated funds covering new signage and engagement logistics. Concurrently, local construction activity intensified in May 2026 as Troy Life Fire & Safety secured foundation permits at East Bayshore while BGDCSB and UHaul advanced building permit applications following conditional site plan approvals. This month saw the issuance of thirty-six new permits generating $1.4 million in fees against a project value exceeding sixty-nine million dollars, marking a significant increase where fifty-eight single-family homes were permitted since 2021 compared to minimal numbers for other categories prior to mid-2025.

THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-058 respecting the submitted
names for the park naming at 823 5th Avenue East, the Community Services
Committee recommends that City Council direct staff to proceed with one of
the Options outlined in the report.

Highlights:








Policy CS-087 provides a policy-driven and transparent approach to
considering requests for naming and renaming of parks and
facilities in the City.
Engagement was completed using the City’s OurCity platform, as
well as in person with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environment
Office.
Through the City’s online engagement platform, 70 unique
submissions were received. After removing duplicates, staff
compiled a list of proposed names for possible ranked voting.
Honourific names were identified, but are not recommended for
voting as the policy gives this option a lower priority and Council
has requested a name with locational reference.
City staff consulted with representatives from the Saugeen Ojibway
Nation, including an on-site meeting in the park. From that
engagement, the name Niisinaabe-ki was proposed, translated

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 1 of 8

Page 104 of 116

as “Person lowered to earth”. SON representatives requested that
this name be considered on its own merits rather than through
ranked voting.

Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: Celebrating and Embracing Culture - Uplifting all
aspects of the City’s local culture, including Indigenous Peoples’ cultural
histories and practices, the cultural histories and practices of all residents,
and formal institutional arts and culture.

Previous Report/Authority:
Policy CS-087 Naming and Re-Naming Policy for City Parks and Facilities
Report CS-25-047 from the Director of Community Services Re: Request
Under Policy CS087 to Rename Ryerson Park
Report CS-25-061 from the Director of Community Services Re: Request to
Rename Ryerson Park
Minutes: Owen Sound City Council, July 7, 2025
Report CM-25-037 from the City Manager Re: Ryerson Park Renaming –
number CS-251217-002, which was approved by City Council as follows:
"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CM-25-037 respecting the
Ryerson Park Renaming Working Group overview and 3
recommendations, the Community Services Committee recommends
that City Council:
1.

Ratify the Working Group’s recommendation to rename
Ryerson Park;

2.

Direct the process to name the Park proceed in accordance
with Policy No. CS-087;

3.

Initiate the next phase in the process by February 2026;

4.

Direct staff to prioritize a name with a locational reference;

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 2 of 8

Page 105 of 116

5.

Direct staff to install a plaque/marker at the park to educate
visitors about its history and previous names, ensuring
transparency and public awareness; and

6.

Dissolve the Working Group having successfully completed its
mandate as set out in Policy No. CS-087."

Report CS-26-009 Re: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East, which prompted
"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-009 respecting the
Naming of the Park at 823 5th Avenue East, City Council directs staff
to:
1.

Undertake public engagement regarding four (4) potential
park names, including Eighth Street Park, Boyd Street Park,
Old School Park, and Ningaawendam Miikana (Friendship
Land), as outlined in the report; and

2.

First solicit additional park name suggestions, followed by

Background:
The City’s Naming Policy provides a transparent framework for
renaming and naming City parks and facilities
In 2021, the City of Owen Sound adopted Policy No. CS087, establishing
transparent and consistent criteria for naming and renaming City parks and
facilities. This policy ensures that any review or change to existing park
names follows a structured process, with clear requirements for applicants
and opportunities for community and expert consultation. The recent request
to rename Ryerson Park was the first to be considered under this policy.
The Policy also covers requests for Naming a City Park or Facility.
As noted in the Previous report/authority section, Council directed the
process to name the Park proceed in accordance with Policy No. CS-087 with
the next phase by February 2026.
At the conclusion of the renaming process, Council directed that the
naming process be commenced
Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 3 of 8

Page 106 of 116

This report was requested by Council and, in accordance with the policy, is to
set out the proposed naming, together with information from the application.
commence.
Policy CS-087 has relevant policy considerations regarding naming of
a park or facility
Sections 7 through 12 of the policy apply to the naming process.
In this case, Council has not directed that a specific name be considered;
a locational reference. This is consistent with section 9 of the Policy.
At its meeting in March, Council directed that public engagement be
undertaken for input on names in addition to 4 names that had been
suggested through the earlier renaming process (including Eighth Street
Park, Boyd Street Park, Old School Park and Ningaawendam Mikkana
(Friendship Land) followed by ranked voting.

Analysis and Options:
Next steps:
Online Input
Using the City’s public engagement platform, staff created a project page.
Seventy unique inputs with suggestions for names were received. Removing
duplication, the following names were put forward by members of the public:
Name suggestions

Honourific name suggestions
(Not recommended for voting as
Naming policy does not prioritize
honourific naming and a locational
name was requested)

8th Street Common

Ann Kelly Park

8th Street Park

Billy Bishop Park

Boyd Street Park

Bob Rutherford Park

Commons Park

Cy Lemon Memorial Park

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 4 of 8

Page 107 of 116

Dodem Park (Means heart of core of
a person, village or community,
translation not confirmed with SON
Environmental Office)

Jackson Park

East Ridge Park

John “Daddy” Hall Park

Entity Park

Murdoch Park

Fifth and Eighth Park

Nahnebahweequay (Catharine
Sutton) Park

Friendship Land (Ningaawendam
Mikkana, translation not confirmed
with SON Environment Office)

Norman Bethune Park

Heritage Park

Northern Star - The Thomas Green
Park

Hillside Park

Rutherford on 8th Park

Hope Hill Park

Sharif Rahman Memorial Park

Maple Tree Park

Stewart Taylor Park or Taylor Park

Mary’s Hill Park
Nana’s Park
Nipissing Ridge Park
Northern Star Park
Old Maple Park
Old School Park
Old Union Street Park
Reconciliation Collegiate Park
Regiment Park
Ryerson School Park
Sydenham 8th Hill Park

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 5 of 8

Page 108 of 116

Significant thought and consideration was put into these names, with some
offering detailed explanations for the names.
Based on the previous direction, these names would now be put forward for
ranked voting. The honourific names would not be put forward for voting.
Engagement with SON
The City had written to the Saugeen Ojibway Nation regarding the renaming.
Although comments were not received in time for the December meeting,
the City did receive an email from Ben McLeod of the SON Environmental
office that included the following:
“We are pleased to hear that on December 17th, the Community
Services Committee ratified the recommendation to rename Ryerson
Park in Owen Sound and initiate the next stage of the process.
The Joint Council of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation has appointed
councilors Janine Manning (Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First
Nation) and Theresa Root (Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation) - cc'd
on this email - to act as SON representatives for the Ryerson Park
renaming process. I trust that their knowledge and leadership will be
beneficial in determining an appropriate name.
The Environment Office remains available to provide
research/technical support, translation assistance, SON community
engagement, communications alignment, and coordination support to
ensure the process aligns with the spirit of reconciliation.”
Although there is no working group as there was for the process to consider
a request to rename, as noted in the February report, staff did reach out to
obtain feedback from the SON EO.
An on-site meeting was held on May 27 with Ben McLeod from the SON EO,
Robbie Nadjiwon, Janine Manning, and Rita Roote, a Language Speaker and
Elder from the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation. Rita is a residential school
survivor, and her offering a name is a special gift.
The group spent time in the park on an early summer late afternoon and
early evening. The park was busy with children and families, and there was a
neighbourhood potluck taking place.
Considering the history of the park and its historic names, and seeing how it
is now used, the following name has been put forward:
Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 6 of 8

Page 109 of 116

Niisinaabe-ki
Direct translation: “Person lowered to the earth.”
This is offered with the idea of coming from the escarpment down to the
base of the hill or going down the toboggan and this name also connects to
the creation story.
If this name is to be considered, the request from the SON representatives
would be that this name not be considered as part of the ranked voting, but
alone on its merits. This would be a deviation from the policy, but given the
motivation to rename this park it may be appropriate in this instance to allow
a deviation from policy. If this option is not preferred, the name should be
considered as part of the ranked voting.
Options
The following next steps are identified:



Option 1: Consider a deviation from the policy and select the
Anishinaabe name provided;
Option 2: Move forward with ranked voting including the provided
Anishinaabe name;

Based on the above, once a name is recommended, the policy requires a
public notice with a minimum of 10 days' notice. The results of any input
from that notice would be assembled and presented to this Committee in a
staff report with a final recommendation. The decision to name the park is
then adopted by by-law.

Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
Funds will be required for the new park sign as well as installation.

Human Resources
Staff time has been required for staff reports, setting up and administering
the Our City Engagement page and the survey, and preparing for
consultation with the representatives from SON, and preparing the follow-up
report.

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 7 of 8

Page 110 of 116

Time and Scheduling:
The next steps and timing will be in part determined by the path forward
selected.
As noted, prior to a bylaw to name the Park, 10 days of public notice is
required.

Technology and Infrastructure
The City’s online engagement platform was utilized to obtain feedback and
name suggestions.

Climate and Environmental Impacts:
There are no anticipated climate or environmental impacts.

Communication and Engagement:
This report includes input gathered through a community survey on the
OurCity engagement website. The survey was released on April 15, 2026,
and remained open for a duration of 2.5 weeks (until May 4, 2026).
A total of 70 responses were received.

Report Developed in Consultation With:
N/A.

Attachments:
Prepared and Reviewed by:
Pamela Coulter, Director of Community Services
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Pamela Coulter, Director
of Community Services at pcoulter@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440 x 1252.

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 8 of 8

Page 111 of 116

Development Update
May 2026

Major Permits and Projects:

Comparison with May 2025

•

Troy Life Fire & Safety received a foundation
permit for an addition to the existing building at
their new location on East Bayshore Road.

•

BGDCSB received Conditional Site Plan Approval
and submitted their building permit applications.

•

UHaul submitted their building permit
applications.

•

A ZBA was submitted to facilitate an 8-storey
apartment building in the East Court
Residences.

•

Staff completed professional development
training for Part 3, Large Buildings Health &
Safety.

91
2021

81

51

2022

2023

2024

Single Residential: 1
Semi/Duplex: 0
Row/Townhouse: 14

17
2025

2025

36

Permits
Issued

37

$1,428,697

Fees
Received

$14,433

Construction
Value

$69,745,547
$15,829,767

Inspections By Type

# of New Residential Units
(based on issued permits) 566
124

2026

2026

ARUs: 2
Apartments/Condos: 0

10
8
6
4
2
0

May 2026 Inspections

May 2026 Building
Highlights
$69,745,547 in Construction
Value compared to
$15,829,767 during same
period in 2025
36 Building Permits
issued including all
building, plumbing,
demolition, heritage and
tents

69 on-site building
inspections were completed
including a foundation
inspection at Hansa and six
inspections (fire separation x 3,
plumbing underground, rough
plumbing, and insulation) at
SkyDev
$1,428,697 in
building fees collected
compared to
$262,761 during the
same period in 2025
Page 112 of 116

May 2026 Development Update
Planning Applications Received
10
9

7

8
7
6

5
4
3

2

2
1

1

0

Page 113 of 116
May-26

YTD Total

As of May 2025

DECISION
Authority & Background:
The following is a decision respecting Minor Site Plan Approval made by the
delegate or authorized approval authority having jurisdiction under the City’s
Powers of Delegation By-law 2014-019 and the Site Plan Control By-law 2019-185
and Sec. 41(4.0.1) of the Planning Act. The decision is considered on the basis of
the information summarized below, including agency and Development Team
comments.
File No.

ST2026-002 (Amendment to File No. ST2022-014)

Staff Report No.

8.f Facility Bookings and Community Programs None.

Owen Sound is advancing a park renaming process under Policy CS-087 to honour Indigenous histories, specifically considering an Anishinaabe name for "Niisinaabe-ki." Council faces two options: including this term in standard ranked voting or seeking policy deviation alone due to its connection to creation stories and reconciliation efforts. Public notice remains pending before final by-law adoption. Simultaneously, municipal development activity is surging as construction value nearly quadruples from last year with 36 permits issued for residential, commercial, plumbing, demolition, and more. Specific projects include Troy Life Fire & Safety securing a foundation permit for an East Bayshore Road expansion, BGDCSB obtaining Conditional Site Plan Approval while filing building permits, UHaul submitting applications, and a zoning bylaw amendment review enabling an eight-storey apartment project within the existing East Court Residences framework. Regulatory staff recently completed large-structure safety training, with inspections conducted at sites like Hansa foundations and SkyDev locations totaling $1,428,697 in collected fees during this active May 2026 period.

Page 104 of 116

as “Person lowered to earth”. SON representatives requested that
this name be considered on its own merits rather than through
ranked voting.

Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: Celebrating and Embracing Culture - Uplifting all
aspects of the City’s local culture, including Indigenous Peoples’ cultural
histories and practices, the cultural histories and practices of all residents,
and formal institutional arts and culture.

Previous Report/Authority:
Policy CS-087 Naming and Re-Naming Policy for City Parks and Facilities
Report CS-25-047 from the Director of Community Services Re: Request
Under Policy CS087 to Rename Ryerson Park
Report CS-25-061 from the Director of Community Services Re: Request to
Rename Ryerson Park
Minutes: Owen Sound City Council, July 7, 2025
Report CM-25-037 from the City Manager Re: Ryerson Park Renaming –
number CS-251217-002, which was approved by City Council as follows:
"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CM-25-037 respecting the
Ryerson Park Renaming Working Group overview and 3
recommendations, the Community Services Committee recommends
that City Council:
1.

Ratify the Working Group’s recommendation to rename
Ryerson Park;

2.

Direct the process to name the Park proceed in accordance
with Policy No. CS-087;

3.

Initiate the next phase in the process by February 2026;

4.

Direct staff to prioritize a name with a locational reference;

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 2 of 8

Page 105 of 116

5.

Direct staff to install a plaque/marker at the park to educate
visitors about its history and previous names, ensuring
transparency and public awareness; and

6.

Dissolve the Working Group having successfully completed its
mandate as set out in Policy No. CS-087."

Report CS-26-009 Re: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East, which prompted
"THAT in consideration of Staff Report CS-26-009 respecting the
Naming of the Park at 823 5th Avenue East, City Council directs staff
to:
1.

Undertake public engagement regarding four (4) potential
park names, including Eighth Street Park, Boyd Street Park,
Old School Park, and Ningaawendam Miikana (Friendship
Land), as outlined in the report; and

2.

First solicit additional park name suggestions, followed by

Background:
The City’s Naming Policy provides a transparent framework for
renaming and naming City parks and facilities
In 2021, the City of Owen Sound adopted Policy No. CS087, establishing
transparent and consistent criteria for naming and renaming City parks and
facilities. This policy ensures that any review or change to existing park
names follows a structured process, with clear requirements for applicants
and opportunities for community and expert consultation. The recent request
to rename Ryerson Park was the first to be considered under this policy.
The Policy also covers requests for Naming a City Park or Facility.
As noted in the Previous report/authority section, Council directed the
process to name the Park proceed in accordance with Policy No. CS-087 with
the next phase by February 2026.
At the conclusion of the renaming process, Council directed that the
naming process be commenced
Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 3 of 8

Page 106 of 116

This report was requested by Council and, in accordance with the policy, is to
set out the proposed naming, together with information from the application.
commence.
Policy CS-087 has relevant policy considerations regarding naming of
a park or facility
Sections 7 through 12 of the policy apply to the naming process.
In this case, Council has not directed that a specific name be considered;
a locational reference. This is consistent with section 9 of the Policy.
At its meeting in March, Council directed that public engagement be
undertaken for input on names in addition to 4 names that had been
suggested through the earlier renaming process (including Eighth Street
Park, Boyd Street Park, Old School Park and Ningaawendam Mikkana
(Friendship Land) followed by ranked voting.

Analysis and Options:
Next steps:
Online Input
Using the City’s public engagement platform, staff created a project page.
Seventy unique inputs with suggestions for names were received. Removing
duplication, the following names were put forward by members of the public:
Name suggestions

Honourific name suggestions
(Not recommended for voting as
Naming policy does not prioritize
honourific naming and a locational
name was requested)

8th Street Common

Ann Kelly Park

8th Street Park

Billy Bishop Park

Boyd Street Park

Bob Rutherford Park

Commons Park

Cy Lemon Memorial Park

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 4 of 8

Page 107 of 116

Dodem Park (Means heart of core of
a person, village or community,
translation not confirmed with SON
Environmental Office)

Jackson Park

East Ridge Park

John “Daddy” Hall Park

Entity Park

Murdoch Park

Fifth and Eighth Park

Nahnebahweequay (Catharine
Sutton) Park

Friendship Land (Ningaawendam
Mikkana, translation not confirmed
with SON Environment Office)

Norman Bethune Park

Heritage Park

Northern Star - The Thomas Green
Park

Hillside Park

Rutherford on 8th Park

Hope Hill Park

Sharif Rahman Memorial Park

Maple Tree Park

Stewart Taylor Park or Taylor Park

Mary’s Hill Park
Nana’s Park
Nipissing Ridge Park
Northern Star Park
Old Maple Park
Old School Park
Old Union Street Park
Reconciliation Collegiate Park
Regiment Park
Ryerson School Park
Sydenham 8th Hill Park

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 5 of 8

Page 108 of 116

Significant thought and consideration was put into these names, with some
offering detailed explanations for the names.
Based on the previous direction, these names would now be put forward for
ranked voting. The honourific names would not be put forward for voting.
Engagement with SON
The City had written to the Saugeen Ojibway Nation regarding the renaming.
Although comments were not received in time for the December meeting,
the City did receive an email from Ben McLeod of the SON Environmental
office that included the following:
“We are pleased to hear that on December 17th, the Community
Services Committee ratified the recommendation to rename Ryerson
Park in Owen Sound and initiate the next stage of the process.
The Joint Council of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation has appointed
councilors Janine Manning (Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First
Nation) and Theresa Root (Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation) - cc'd
on this email - to act as SON representatives for the Ryerson Park
renaming process. I trust that their knowledge and leadership will be
beneficial in determining an appropriate name.
The Environment Office remains available to provide
research/technical support, translation assistance, SON community
engagement, communications alignment, and coordination support to
ensure the process aligns with the spirit of reconciliation.”
Although there is no working group as there was for the process to consider
a request to rename, as noted in the February report, staff did reach out to
obtain feedback from the SON EO.
An on-site meeting was held on May 27 with Ben McLeod from the SON EO,
Robbie Nadjiwon, Janine Manning, and Rita Roote, a Language Speaker and
Elder from the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation. Rita is a residential school
survivor, and her offering a name is a special gift.
The group spent time in the park on an early summer late afternoon and
early evening. The park was busy with children and families, and there was a
neighbourhood potluck taking place.
Considering the history of the park and its historic names, and seeing how it
is now used, the following name has been put forward:
Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 6 of 8

Page 109 of 116

Niisinaabe-ki
Direct translation: “Person lowered to the earth.”
This is offered with the idea of coming from the escarpment down to the
base of the hill or going down the toboggan and this name also connects to
the creation story.
If this name is to be considered, the request from the SON representatives
would be that this name not be considered as part of the ranked voting, but
alone on its merits. This would be a deviation from the policy, but given the
motivation to rename this park it may be appropriate in this instance to allow
a deviation from policy. If this option is not preferred, the name should be
considered as part of the ranked voting.
Options
The following next steps are identified:



Option 1: Consider a deviation from the policy and select the
Anishinaabe name provided;
Option 2: Move forward with ranked voting including the provided
Anishinaabe name;

Based on the above, once a name is recommended, the policy requires a
public notice with a minimum of 10 days' notice. The results of any input
from that notice would be assembled and presented to this Committee in a
staff report with a final recommendation. The decision to name the park is
then adopted by by-law.

Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
Funds will be required for the new park sign as well as installation.

Human Resources
Staff time has been required for staff reports, setting up and administering
the Our City Engagement page and the survey, and preparing for
consultation with the representatives from SON, and preparing the follow-up
report.

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 7 of 8

Page 110 of 116

Time and Scheduling:
The next steps and timing will be in part determined by the path forward
selected.
As noted, prior to a bylaw to name the Park, 10 days of public notice is
required.

Technology and Infrastructure
The City’s online engagement platform was utilized to obtain feedback and
name suggestions.

Climate and Environmental Impacts:
There are no anticipated climate or environmental impacts.

Communication and Engagement:
This report includes input gathered through a community survey on the
OurCity engagement website. The survey was released on April 15, 2026,
and remained open for a duration of 2.5 weeks (until May 4, 2026).
A total of 70 responses were received.

Report Developed in Consultation With:
N/A.

Attachments:
Prepared and Reviewed by:
Pamela Coulter, Director of Community Services
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Pamela Coulter, Director
of Community Services at pcoulter@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440 x 1252.

Staff Report CS-26-058: Park Naming – 823 5th Avenue East – Report 2 Submitted Names
Page 8 of 8

Page 111 of 116

Development Update
May 2026

Major Permits and Projects:

Comparison with May 2025

•

Troy Life Fire & Safety received a foundation
permit for an addition to the existing building at
their new location on East Bayshore Road.

•

BGDCSB received Conditional Site Plan Approval
and submitted their building permit applications.

•

UHaul submitted their building permit
applications.

•

A ZBA was submitted to facilitate an 8-storey
apartment building in the East Court
Residences.

•

Staff completed professional development
training for Part 3, Large Buildings Health &
Safety.

91
2021

81

51

2022

2023

2024

Single Residential: 1
Semi/Duplex: 0
Row/Townhouse: 14

17
2025

2025

36

Permits
Issued

37

$1,428,697

Fees
Received

$14,433

Construction
Value

$69,745,547
$15,829,767

Inspections By Type

# of New Residential Units
(based on issued permits) 566
124

2026

2026

ARUs: 2
Apartments/Condos: 0

10
8
6
4
2
0

May 2026 Inspections

May 2026 Building
Highlights
$69,745,547 in Construction
Value compared to
$15,829,767 during same
period in 2025
36 Building Permits
issued including all
building, plumbing,
demolition, heritage and
tents

69 on-site building
inspections were completed
including a foundation
inspection at Hansa and six
inspections (fire separation x 3,
plumbing underground, rough
plumbing, and insulation) at
SkyDev
$1,428,697 in
building fees collected
compared to
$262,761 during the
same period in 2025

9 MATTERS POSTPONED There are no matters postponed.

No matters were postponed.

9 MATTERS POSTPONED There are no matters postponed.

MATTERS POSTPONED
There are no matters postponed.

10 MOTIONS FOR WHICH NOTICE WAS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN There are no motions for which notice was previously given.

No prior-notice motions were presented.

10 MOTIONS FOR WHICH NOTICE WAS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN There are no motions for which notice was previously given.

MOTIONS FOR WHICH NOTICE WAS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN
There are no motions for which notice was previously given.

11 CORRESPONDENCE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION

A memorandum updates development progress.

11 CORRESPONDENCE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION

CORRESPONDENCE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION
11.a
Memorandum from the Chief Building Official and Manager of Planning
and Heritage Re: Development Update

11.a Memorandum from the Chief Building Official and Manager of Planning and Heritage Re: Development Update

On May 20, 2026, City Director Pamela Coulter issued a decision regarding an amendment to a site plan at 1730 27th Avenue East. The proposal sought to expand one-storey storage space by adding 226.53 square metres through a concrete block retaining wall and bicycle parking area. It also requested reconfiguring off-street parking, which would have reduced two accessible stalls while adding four parallel spaces near the avenue. While City staff recommended approval with conditions under specific planning laws, Director Coulter did not grant full permission immediately; instead, she refused current plans on the basis that a subsequent submission is required to address directions outlined in Schedule 'D' of her report. This means further details must be presented before final modifications can proceed as originally requested.

Page 112 of 116

May 2026 Development Update
Planning Applications Received
10
9

7

8
7
6

5
4
3

2

2
1

1

0

Page 113 of 116
May-26

YTD Total

As of May 2025

DECISION
Authority & Background:
The following is a decision respecting Minor Site Plan Approval made by the
delegate or authorized approval authority having jurisdiction under the City’s
Powers of Delegation By-law 2014-019 and the Site Plan Control By-law 2019-185
and Sec. 41(4.0.1) of the Planning Act. The decision is considered on the basis of
the information summarized below, including agency and Development Team
comments.
File No.

ST2026-002 (Amendment to File No. ST2022-014)

Staff Report No.

DA-26-005

Property Address

1730 27th Avenue East

Proposal Description

The subject lands received Site Plan Approval from the
City in 2022 (City File No. ST2022-014). This submission
is proposing the following modifications to the Site Plan
approved through ST2022-014:
•

•
•

•

A 226.53 sq. m. addition (25.9 m by 54.6 m) to the
one-storey storage building. The total building GFA
is proposed to be 1,415.94 sq. m.
A concrete block retaining wall south of the
proposed expanded storage building.
Reconfiguration of the off-street parking area
include four (4) parallel parking spaces adjacent to
27th Avenue East and a reduction of two (2)
accessible stalls.
A bicycle parking area to the front (east) of the
office/maintenance building.

Decision Declaration:
I, Pamela Coulter, being the Director of Community Services of the City of Owen
Sound render the following decision based on the facts of the application and the
recommendation made in the abovementioned Staff Recommendation Report:
☐

Refused on the basis that a subsequent submission is required in accordance
with the direction provided in Schedule ‘D’ of the attached staff report.

☐

Approved

☒

Approved, subject to the conditions in Schedule ‘F’ of the attached staff
report.

Decision for ST2026-002

Page 1 of 2

11.b Site Plan DA-26-005 - 1730 27th AveE

The Community Services Committee convened with Chair Melanie Middlebro' and staff including Director Pam Coulter, noting the absence of Councillor Travis Dodd.

Site Plan DA-26-005 - 1730 27th Ave E

114

12.

DISCUSSION OF ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

13.

NOTICES OF MOTION

14.

ADJOURNMENT

Page 2 of 116

Minutes
Community Services Committee
May 20, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
City Hall - 808 2nd Avenue East - Council Chambers
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Melanie Middlebro'
Vice Chair Marion Koepke
Member Aly Bousfield-Bastedo
Member Connie Ede
Councillor Suneet Kukreja
Member Royden Thomson
Member Lance Thurston
MEMBERS
ABSENT/REGRETS:

Councillor Travis Dodd
Member Morgan Kemick

STAFF PRESENT:

Pam Coulter, Director of Community Services
Ryan Gowan, Manager of Arena Operations
Eckhard Pastrik, Manager of Parks and Open Space
Sabine Robart, Manager of Planning and Heritage
Viveca Gravel, River District Coordinator
Jacklyn Iezzi, Senior Planner
Christina McLean, Committee and Executive Support
Coordinator
_____________________________________________________________________

1.

CALL TO ORDER
Chair Middlebro' called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

2.

CALL FOR ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
There was no additional business.

3.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.

4.

12 DISCUSSION OF ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

No substantive content or newsworthy details were present in the provided text.

12 DISCUSSION OF ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

DISCUSSION OF ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

13 NOTICES OF MOTION

The section contains notices of motion.

13 NOTICES OF MOTION

NOTICES OF MOTION

14 ADJOURNMENT

The meeting concluded with an adjournment.

14 ADJOURNMENT

ADJOURNMENT

Committee - Community Services Agenda Preview — June 24, 2026

Summary

Top Newsworthy Developments

Key Topics & Sections

Meeting Details

Related Discussion

Transcript Notice

Full Transcript

2 CALL FOR ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

4 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 4.a

4.a Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on May 20, 2026

5 Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on May 20,

5.a Presentation from Cassondra Dillman, Intermediate Planner at Grey County Re: Age-Friendly Action Plan

6 PUBLIC FORUM

7 CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED FOR WHICH DIRECTION IS REQUIRED There are no correspondence items being presented for consideration.

8 REPORTS OF CITY STAFF

8.a.1 Report CM-26-023 from the Senior Advisor, External Relations and Investment Attraction Re: Agreement to Pilot aCommunity Impact Lab

8.b Report CM-26-023 from the Senior Advisor, External Relations and Investment Attraction Re: Agreement to Pilot aCommunity Impact Lab Planning and Heritage 8.b.1

8.b.1 Report CS-26-059 from the Senior Planner Re: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program - 2025 Tax Refund Applications

8.c Report CS-26-057 from the Director of Community Services Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park - Playground and Splash Pad Concept Design

8.c.1 Report CS-26-057 from the Director of Community Services Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park - Playground and Splash Pad Concept Design

8.c.2 Report CS-26-058 from the Director of Community Services Re: Park Naming - 823 5th Avenue East - Report 2

8.f Facility Bookings and Community Programs None.

9 MATTERS POSTPONED There are no matters postponed.

10 MOTIONS FOR WHICH NOTICE WAS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN There are no motions for which notice was previously given.

11 CORRESPONDENCE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION

11.a Memorandum from the Chief Building Official and Manager of Planning and Heritage Re: Development Update

11.b Site Plan DA-26-005 - 1730 27th AveE

12 DISCUSSION OF ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

13 NOTICES OF MOTION

14 ADJOURNMENT

Summary

Top Newsworthy Developments

Key Topics & Sections

Meeting Details

Related Discussion

Transcript Notice

Full Transcript

2 CALL FOR ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

4 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 4.a

4.a Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on May 20, 2026

5 Minutes of the Community Services Committee meeting held on May 20,

5.a Presentation from Cassondra Dillman, Intermediate Planner at Grey County Re: Age-Friendly Action Plan

6 PUBLIC FORUM

7 CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED FOR WHICH DIRECTION IS REQUIRED There are no correspondence items being presented for consideration.

8 REPORTS OF CITY STAFF

8.a.1 Report CM-26-023 from the Senior Advisor, External Relations and Investment Attraction Re: Agreement to Pilot aCommunity Impact Lab

8.b Report CM-26-023 from the Senior Advisor, External Relations and Investment Attraction Re: Agreement to Pilot aCommunity Impact Lab Planning and Heritage 8.b.1

8.b.1 Report CS-26-059 from the Senior Planner Re: Heritage Property Tax Relief Program - 2025 Tax Refund Applications

8.c Report CS-26-057 from the Director of Community Services Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park - Playground and Splash Pad Concept Design

8.c.1 Report CS-26-057 from the Director of Community Services Re: Kelso Beach at Nawash Park - Playground and Splash Pad Concept Design

8.c.2 Report CS-26-058 from the Director of Community Services Re: Park Naming - 823 5th Avenue East - Report 2

8.f Facility Bookings and Community Programs None.

9 MATTERS POSTPONED There are no matters postponed.

10 MOTIONS FOR WHICH NOTICE WAS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN There are no motions for which notice was previously given.

11 CORRESPONDENCE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION

11.a Memorandum from the Chief Building Official and Manager of Planning and Heritage Re: Development Update

11.b Site Plan DA-26-005 - 1730 27th AveE

12 DISCUSSION OF ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

13 NOTICES OF MOTION

14 ADJOURNMENT

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