My Municipal Services Office

The Northeastern Municipal Services Office (NE-MSO) is the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s primary liaison with the municipal sector in Northeastern Ontario, comprising the districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Sudbury and Temiskaming.

We aim to provide high-quality, timely, customer-oriented service. NE-MSO communicates the Government’s and, more specifically, the Ministry’s priorities. We deliver programs, advisory services, and education and training related to municipal management, finance, administration, housing and land-use planning in support of strong, safe and vital communities.

NE-MSO’s activities contribute to the Ministry’s goal of fostering productive and co-operative provincial-municipal relationships by facilitating direct client contact and outreach, and by building partnerships and local networks. NE-MSO also plays a strategic role on behalf of the Government by anticipating, monitoring, analyzing and communicating municipal issues and trends to other parts of the Ministry and Government.

Who We Are

The Northeastern Municipal Services Office is staffed by a director, two managers, 14 municipal advisors and planners, and three support staff.  Most day-to-day issues that involve municipal concerns are directed to the municipal advisor or, in the case of land use planning questions, the planner responsible for the area.  (Map with staff names and areas of responsibility)

We are your connection to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and to the Provincial Government on municipally related matters.

For a complete list of staff and telephone numbers in our office, you may also visit the INFO-GO website.

Where We Are Located

Our office is located on the 4^th floor at 159 Cedar Street in Sudbury.  Our office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday (excluding statutory holidays). 

Click here to see a map of our office location.

What We Do

We generally view our role as advisory in nature.  Our office fields inquiries from municipal staff, councillors, members of the public, local media and from other governmental bodies and agencies.

We have set a high standard of service and pride ourselves on the ability to address the myriad of questions and requests that are made to us on a daily basis. 

Key Activities

The office provides service in four key areas:

1.   Fostering Provincial/Municipal Relations

Our office works with municipal councillors and staff to enhance municipal capacity in financial, administrative, community planning and development matters.

This is achieved through:

• providing training and education on legislation regulations, policies and programs to municipal clients with the aim of developing strong and accountable local governments – this is done over the telephone, at formal meetings such as Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) zone meetings, the annual Northeastern Ontario Municipal Conference and the Planning Technical Workshop, at various municipal association meetings, and staff workshops;
• providing advice, technical assistance and ongoing operational guidance by responding to local inquiries and meeting directly with municipal council and staff;
• communicating key government priorities to municipal stakeholders, and assisting municipalities to access government programs;
• promoting local networking, sharing of best practices and promoting municipal innovation;
• promoting greater municipal capacity for community planning; and
• responding to inquiries from the public on a wide range of municipal and provincial related issues.

2. Strategic Information

Our office collects and analyses information on issues facing municipalities in Northeastern Ontario.  We are interested in the ability of municipalities to respond to issues that may have an impact on provincial initiatives and interests. Advisors in the office monitor:

• issues and overall municipal capacity through regular contact with municipal staff, formal and informal meetings and media reports;
• municipal financial capacity by collecting and reviewing financial information received from municipalities and determining the impact that local decisions may have on municipal budgets and property taxes; 
• local planning activity; 
• the effectiveness of programs and legislation, for example the Municipal Act, 2001 and Brownfields legislation; and
• any potential disasters, in order to provide very early notification and to respond to the needs of these affected by a disaster.

3. Supporting the Development of Strong Communities

The office supports the development of strong communities by providing assistance and advice on land use planning issues to municipal planning staff, other provincial ministry staff and local agencies.  Under the “One Window Planning System”, our planning advisors:

• conduct a review and make decisions on planning applications where the Ministry is the approval authority;
• promote pre-consultation reviews on draft local planning applications and official plans;
• track Ontario planning applications in the Northeast, including undertaking appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board where appropriate,
• provide education, training and advice throughout the planning process;
• promote innovative approaches/practices in land-use planning; and
• support provincial initiatives such as the review of the Provincial Policy Statement on land use planning.

In addition to land use planning activities, our office supports the development of affordable housing in Northeastern Ontario. This support includes:

• in co-operation with others, assisting with the implementation of the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program;
• sharing best practices for dealing with housing demands and promoting the recognition of affordable housing policies in official plans; and
• helping District Social Services Administration Boards administer municipally delivered social housing programs and meeting the mandated residual provincial functions for social housing.

Our office supports the government’s development efforts in rural areas of Northeastern Ontario by:

• communicating regularly with the Rural Development Division of the ministry to co-ordinate programs;
• helping to identify opportunities to promote municipal initiatives; and
• helping to implement funding programs to municipalities such as Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF).

Our office also assists with various financial assistance programs and priorities. We currently:

• undertake local delivery and issues management associated with some transfer payment programs, including advisory assistance to municipal staff and politicians on the range of programs available and their purposes; and
• work with others in the ministry and the provincial government to promote disaster preparedness and respond following a natural disaster through the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP).

4.  Building Effective Provincial-Municipal Relations through Outreach and Partnerships

Our office works to build strong provincial-municipal relationships by:

• maintaining a strong local presence and constructive relationships with municipalities;
• reaching out to broader public sector stakeholders with the aim of increasing understanding of the municipal sector through education sessions; and
• developing productive and positive partnerships and relationships with municipal sector organizations and other municipal stakeholders, including co-sponsoring events such as the Annual FONOM/Northeastern Ontario Municipal Conference with the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities.