ONTARIO – The government of Ontario announced emergency childcare for some frontline workers on Thursday, April 15.
The province states that the decision is directly related to their move to transition all students to at-home learning after the Spring Break.
The childcare will be free and will be available starting on Monday, April 19.
Those who are eligible should contact their local Service System Manager.
“Thank you to all frontline workers. The government appreciates greatly the efforts they have made to their communities, and we continue to respond to local needs as best as possible to ensure their success,” said Jim McDonell, MPP for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry.
The below individuals are eligible for free emergency childcare with a full list available under Schedule 5 at this link.
- Health care workers, including but not limited to doctors, nurses, health care providers and those who work in long-term care and retirement homes, as well as individuals who manufacture or distribute medical/pharmaceutical supplies
- Individuals performing work in relation to the administration, distribution or manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines
- Child care workers, including those staffing the emergency child care programs
- Grocery store and pharmacy workers
- Public safety (police, fire, paramedics, provincial inspection/enforcement), justice/court and correctional system workers
- Frontline staff in Children’s Aid Societies and residential services
- Individuals working in developmental services, violence against women services, victims’ services, anti-human trafficking and those engaged in interpreting or intervenor services for persons who are deaf or deaf-blind
- Individuals working in a homeless shelter or providing services to homeless persons
- Food safety inspectors and individuals working in the processing, manufacturing or distribution of food and beverages
- OPS staff employed in Radiation Protection Services
- OPS staff performing critical tasks related to environmental monitoring, reporting and laboratory services
- Certain federal employees, including RCMP, Canada Border Services, Canadian Armed Forces and Canada Post
- Power workers
- Non-municipal water and wastewater workers
- Workers involved in the collecting, transporting, storing, processing, disposing or recycling of any type of waste.
- Education staff who are required to attend schools to provide in-person instruction and support to students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated through remote learning
- Employees of a hotel or motel that is acting as an isolation centre, health care centre, vaccine clinic or housing essential workers.
- Truck drivers and transit workers
- Construction workers
- Any individual whose child was registered in an emergency child care program delivered by a Consolidated Municipal Service Manager or District Social Service Administration Board during the time period beginning on April 6, 2021 and ending on April 16, 2021.
