‘Our government will continue supporting frontline workers until the safe reopening of all schools’
Ontario is further extending emergency child care services to essential workers in the province amid the pandemic.
Beginning today, construction workers working on essential projects that have been permitted to continue during the provincial shutdown, and transit workers who are unable to work remotely located in the said locations will also receive the benefit, says the government.
The change will affect workers in Toronto, York Region and the Region of Peel.
“While students in many parts of the province are returning or have returned to in-person learning, students in Toronto, York Region and Peel will be returning to class one week later, on Feb. 16, 2021. During this period of remote learning, our government is supporting these key workers by ensuring their children are well cared for,” says Stephen Lecce, minister of education.
In December 2020, the federal government announced $625 million in additional funding for the child care sector to help ensure that safe and sufficient child care spaces are available to support parents’ gradual return to work as the pandemic subsides.
Expanding list
The Ontario program helps the parents of school-aged children who may not be able to support their child's learning or care at home because they are performing critical roles in their communities and are required to report to work in person. On Jan. 27, the government also extended the service to:
- individuals working in fuel distribution and oil refineries
- education staff who are required to report to work in person while their children continue with remote learning
- grocery store and pharmacy workers
- truck drivers
- farmers and those who support food or agricultural product supply chains
- individuals involved in the collecting, transporting, storing, processing, disposing or recycling of any type of waste
- individuals working in the manufacturing and distribution of disinfectants and sanitizers.
The full list is available here.
“Our government will continue supporting frontline workers until the safe reopening of all schools. That’s why we're expanding access to emergency child care in Toronto, York & Peel to frontline workers in some transportation & construction sectors,” tweeted Premier Doug Ford.
In April 2020, British Columbia announced it was working to give access to childcare to parents who are working on the front lines of the province’s COVID-19 response.
