Province Expands List of Essential Workers Eligible for Emergency Child Care

Wednesday, 29 April 2020 13:13

The expanded list of essential workers eligible for emergency child care includes grocery store workers, truck drives, the armed forces and workers in the food supply chain to name a few.

ONTARIO - The Province of Ontario is expanding the list of essential workers eligible to receive free emergency child care during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Since emergency child care was introduced last month, almost 100 child care centres have reopened along with 40 Licensed Home Child Care Agencies in communities across the province.

Premier Doug Ford says this is just a small way to thank you to the people working hard every day to keep our supply chain moving.

"While our frontline workers are looking after us, we need to make sure we're looking after them and their families. Providing emergency child care for our essential workers gives parents one less thing to worry about when they're on the job saving lives, protecting us, or keeping shelves stocked with food and necessities."

On March 22, 2020, the government announced an emergency order directing certain child care centres to reopen subject to physical distancing constraints as part of the province's support for health care and other frontline workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. The list of essential workers eligible to access emergency childcare has now been further expanded. To accommodate more children, 37 additional centres have been approved and will be reopening in the coming days.

The additional frontline workers who can now access emergency childcare services include:

- Workers in grocery stores and pharmacies
- Truck drivers (driver's licence Class A and Class D)
- Workers in the food supply chain, including food processing
- Workers in retirement homes
- Auxiliary workers in health care settings, including cooks and cleaning staff in hospitals and long-term care homes
- Interpreters and intervenors who support people who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and deafblind
- Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) emergency personnel
- Provincial officers and onsite staff in Ontario courts
- Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence staff working in Ontario
- Additional workers supporting public safety and correctional services

A list of emergency child care centres is available online here.