*NEW FIR Awards Framework: New Categories, More Winners
February 29, 2024
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) appreciates the time and effort municipalities devote each year to filling out the Financial Information Return (FIR), the province’s primary data collection tool of municipal financial information.
Accurate timely data is a foundational block of evidence-based decision-making. This is why we are pleased to announce updates made to the FIR Awards Framework to recognize municipalities’ ongoing dedication and efforts to filling out the template.
Starting this year (2024), the FIR award will be presented to more municipalities, to a maximum of 20, across 3 population-based categories as follows:
| Population Category | Criteria | Maximum # of Winners |
| Less than 10,000 | First municipalities to submit financial statements and a complete FIR by the FIR deadline of May 31 | 12 |
| Between 10,000 and 100,000 | 6 | |
| Greater than 100,000 | 2 | |
| Total | 20 |
If you have any questions about the new awards framework or the FIR in general, please contact FIR.MAH@ontario.ca.
Thank you again for your work in support of evidence-based decision-making.