Glossary and legal
Glossary
Applicant: means the organization who has applied for funding under the program.
Arm's-Length: means an entity that is not related, as determined under the Income Tax Act, to the Applicant.
Community Asset: refers to public physical places, structures or facilities. These can include cultural, heritage or tourism attractions, recreational trails, or in downtown areas, can include murals, decorative lighting, downtown street furniture or public art.
Community Leader: individuals who guide and direct others within an organization to achieve its Economic Development goals and vision (elected, volunteer or staff position).
Contribution Agreement: The legal contract between the Applicant(s) and the Province of Ontario.
Cost Share: The maximum funding percentage the Province will pay towards eligible costs for an approved Project.
Economic Development: The process of fostering an environment that results in the creation of wealth and well-being for communities.
Effective Date: The date the Minister of Rural Affairs approved an Applicant’s Project to begin, which is set out in the Contribution Agreement, and that is no earlier than January 1, 2026.
In-kind Contributions: Non-financial goods and services provided to support the Project. For example, salaries, use of equipment, materials and supplies, or use of facilities.
Incurred: A cost is considered incurred when goods have been received or services have been rendered, regardless of when the actual payment is made.
Local Services Board: A Local Services Board established under the Northern Services Boards Act, 1990.
Major Capital Costs: Costs for significant infrastructure, including transportation infrastructure; construction of buildings; construction or rehabilitation of paved, or concrete surfaces, parking lots, bridges; gateway signs; teardowns or rebuilds; purchase and installation of modular facilities for housing; and for site preparation or purchase or lease of land, buildings, facilities and structures.
Minor Capital Costs: Costs that include contractor's fees; costs of construction materials or supplies and labour; redevelopment of the interior or exterior of an existing vacant or underutilized building; rehabilitation of buildings or structures with identified cultural, heritage, or tourism significance; landscaping and streetscaping; installation of localized Wi-Fi equipment for public use, streetscaping and landscaping and recreational trail rehabilitation (non-paved surfaces), including existing recreational trail bridges.
Municipality: A geographic area whose inhabitants are incorporated as described in the Municipal Act, 2001. S.O. 2001 c. 25.
Not-For-Profit: A legal entity that is either a:
- registered charity as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) and is in good standing with the Canada Revenue Agency
- corporation incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation or similar entity under an act of Canada or a province or territory of Canada and is in good standing under its incorporating act
MRA: Ontario Ministry of Rural Affairs
Ontario Indigenous community or Indigenous non-profit organization: means a First Nations community in Ontario; Métis community in Ontario; Political Territorial organizations in Ontario; Tribal Councils in Ontario; or Indigenous organizations in Ontario that apply on behalf of and with the support of the communities they represent, and that have a substantiated record of representing those communities.
Partner: an organization that contributes financial or in-kind resources towards Project completion. Partners do not sign the Contribution Agreement with the Province of Ontario. Employees of the Ontario Public Service cannot be Partners and will not provide letters of support for any application.
Project: A set of activities undertaken to achieve specific outcomes.
Requirements of Law: means all applicable requirements of law as may be set out in statutes, regulations, by-laws, codes, rules, ordinances, official plans, approvals, permits, licenses, authorizations, decrees, injunctions, orders and declarations, or any other similar instrument.
Rural Ontario: means all Statistics Canada census subdivisions (including lower-tier and single-tier Municipalities) that either have a population of less than 100,000 people, or have a population density of 100 people per square kilometre or less, as identified in the most recent Statistics Canada Census of Canadian Population or a rural postal code within areas considered urban (“0” as the second character of a postal code identifies a rural postal code). Refer to the ROD Program “Rural and Urban Areas” map.
Workforce: refers to people employed or actively seeking employment including workers, youth and immigrants.
Legal
Confidentiality
Take notice that application forms and supporting material, claims and reports submitted to the Province of Ontario are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 1990 (FIPPA). Any information intended to be considered in confidence should be clearly and prominently marked "confidential" by the Applicant. Nevertheless, information supplied to the ROD Program may be disclosed by the Province where it is obligated to do so under FIPPA or by an order of a court, tribunal or pursuant to a legal proceeding. Information contained in an application to the ROD Program may also be disclosed by the Province to verify compliance with other provincial and federal funding initiatives administered by the Province, federal ministries, or a third-party delivery agent, to ensure that there is no duplication of funding. Inquiries about confidentiality should be directed to the ROD Program.
Order-In-Council (OIC) and conflict resolution between documents
The Rural Ontario Development program is an application-based program (OIC 201/2011 ("the OIC")). In the event of conflict between these guidelines, the application forms, and the Contribution Agreement, the terms and conditions of the Contribution Agreement will prevail. In the event of conflict between the terms and conditions of the Contribution Agreement and the OIC, the OIC will prevail.
Eligibility requirements
The Applicant must also comply with the following requirements:
- have the legal capacity and authority to enter into a Contribution Agreement and take on liability for the Project
- be undertaking an eligible activity set out in the Guidelines
- be in compliance with the following for its business operations at the time of applying and agree to remain in compliance throughout the Project if approved:
- environmental-related Requirements of Law
- labour-related Requirements of Law
- tax-related Requirements of Law
- material compliance with all other Requirements of Law
- agrees that Ontario may, should the Applicant be found to be eligible to participate in the ROD Program, publish information pertaining to the Applicant and Project, including:
- Project-related information
- the Name of the Applicant
- the amount of funding Ontario provided
- the outcome of the Project
- agrees to be bound by the terms, conditions and requirements of ROD Program, as set out in these Guidelines and the letter of approval
- if the Project is approved, cooperate in any audits related to any funding received under the ROD Program
Contact us
If the Applicant has questions or needs help with the application, contact us at