'Childcare is an absolutely critical part of our fight against COVID-19'
As of today, the Ontario government is providing free childcare services for healthcare and frontline workers. Beginning Monday, April 19, 2021, the decision was made after students across the province moved to remote learning.
"Our government is once again stepping up to provide health care and other frontline workers with access to emergency childcare as they continue to work around the clock in our fight against COVID-19," added Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. "Doing so will allow these frontline workers to perform their duties knowing that their children are safe and in good hands.
"Childcare is an absolutely critical part of our fight against COVID-19, and will be key to our economic recovery. I want to thank Ontario's dedicated childcare staff who have stepped up time and again to provide your children with the care they deserve.”
Prior to the pandemic, employers were still struggling to juggle work commitments and child or elderly care. In fact, 47% of employees provide care for their parents or parents-in-law. What’s more, 13% cared for a spouse or partner and eight percent cared for a child.
“Providing care to children can be a challenge, given that children often require more intense care, but also because many caregiving parents are active in the labour market,” explained StatCan, authors of the research. “Despite the often-competing demands of care and working in a paid job, the parents who provided care for their child typically spent just over 14 hours on caregiving activities per week.”
