New as of April 6
Link is now LIVE To Apply: Ontario Government Supports Families in Response to COVID-19
Province Providing One-time Financial Assistance During School and Child Care Closures
The Ontario government is offering direct financial support to parents while Ontario schools and child care centres remain closed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The new Support for Families initiative offers a one-time payment of $200 per child 0 to 12 years of age, and $250 for those 0 to 21 years of age with special needs.
The announcement was made today by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education.
Families can complete a simple online application at Ontario’s Support for Families web page to access this financial support. Parents already receiving Support for Parents payments through direct deposit will be automatically eligible for this financial support and do not need to submit a new application.
Through this initiative the government is providing over $300 million in relief to parents across Ontario as part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19.
Ontario Takes Additional Measures to Protect First Responders During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General, issued the following statement regarding new emergency measures to protect Ontario’s first responders and stop the spread of COVID-19:
“First responders put their lives on the line every day to protect Ontarians and they are at great risk of being directly exposed to COVID-19 as they fulfill their frontline duties. We must do everything in our power to ensure the health and well-being of those working on the frontlines and provide them with the tools they need to do their jobs and keep Ontarians safe.
With their safety and health in mind, our government has made an emergency order that will allow police, firefighters and paramedics to obtain COVID-19 positive status information about individuals with whom they are coming into contact.
During this pandemic, it is crucial that our first responders have access to this critical information when they are preparing to respond to an emergency in order to protect themselves and the public and help stop the spread of this virus.
The information disclosed will be limited to an individual’s name, address, date of birth, and whether the individual has had a positive COVID-19 test result. Strict protocols will be enforced to limit access to this information and will only be used to allow first responders to take appropriate safety precautions to protect themselves and the communities they serve.
Once the declaration of emergency is lifted, this data will be made inaccessible to first responders.
We will continue to take decisive action to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of all Ontarians.”
Ontario Providing Relief for Remote Northern Property Taxpayers During COVID-19
Province Deferring Provincial Land Tax Payments for 90 Days
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Ontario government is deferring $15 million in property taxes for people and businesses in parts of Northern Ontario located outside of municipal boundaries. This tax deferral builds on the $10 billion in cash flow supports made available to people and businesses as part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19.
Through these measures, Ontario is giving taxpayers in unincorporated areas more time to pay each of the four 2020 Provincial Land Tax installments. Taxpayers will have 90 extra days to pay without incurring interest or penalties. For example, taxpayers who would be required to pay the April 7 property tax installment will have until July 6 to pay without interest or penalties.
This action is complementary to new support for municipalities that was announced in Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19. In this plan, the Province announced it is deferring the upcoming quarterly (June 30) remittance of education property tax to school boards by 90 days. This will provide municipalities with the flexibility to, in turn, provide property tax deferrals of over $1.8 billion to local residents and businesses.
Federal Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) – Canadians can now apply
It will provide a taxable benefit of $2,000 a month for up to 4 months to eligible workers who have lost their income due to COVID-19.
There are two ways to apply:
- Online
- Over the phone with an automated phone service:
1-800-959-2019 or 1-800-959-2041
Both of these services are available 21 hours a day, 7 days a week. Both services are closed from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. (Eastern time) for maintenance.
Canadians who still have jobs but are working 10 hours or less due to the pandemic, such as gig economy, students or contract workers, as well as those who are working but earning less money than they would if they received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), such as long-term care workers, will soon be able to qualify for federal assistance.
Ontario has created a new self-assessment tool
If you think you have 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who has it, use this self-assessment to help determine if you need to seek further care. Visit here.
If you require help in Ottawa South, please visit our website for Community links and contacts.
Ottawa Public Health
For the latest updates, please click here.
Government of Ontario
Every day at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET, the Province of Ontario’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) web page will be updated with the most up-to-date information including the status of cases in Ontario.
Government of Canada
For the latest COVID-19 updates, please click here.
For the latest on Employment and Social Development changes for employees and employers, click here.
Find out about the current reported scams related to COVID-19.