April 13 - Update

Dear Friends and Neighbours,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I’d like to thank everyone who did their part by staying home and avoiding gatherings. I know it wasn’t easy, but we must stay dedicated to flattening the curve. 

I’d also like to extend my gratitude to all of the essential workerswho continue to work at our medical facilities and keep fundamental services available across Toronto. 

The City has opened two new child care centres to provide care for children of essential and critical workers. This is a free service for families of children aged 0-12. Services will operate 24/7 and are located across Toronto in existing City-run licensed child care facilities. To find out more, to check eligibility and to apply, please click here.

Any child care operators currently charging fees without delivering child care service can no longer do so as part of an emergency order issued by the province. The order also means that parents cannot lose their child care space because they are not paying fees during this period. 

The Government of Ontario is partnering with SPARK Ontario to help seniors and the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 outbreak. This bilingual volunteer hub is designed to direct volunteers to where they are needed to help deliver food or medicines, run errands or check-up on those in need by phone or email. If you are interested in volunteering, check out their website to register. 

Volunteer organizations can also go towww.sparkontario.ca to post volunteer opportunities available in their communities. 

Sincerely,

Frances Nunziata

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Here's the key information you need to know today:

City of Toronto Opens Two New Child Care Centres for Essential Workers

The City of Toronto has received authorization from the Province to open two additional licensed child care centres to provide care for the children of essential and critical service workers. Like the first four centres that opened on March 31, the new centres are located in existing City-run licensed child care facilities and staffed by City of Toronto child care workers. The two new child care centres are downtown where the City has seen the most demand. The first centre, located at 34 Bathurst St., opened today and the second centre, located at 1125 Danforth Ave., will open later this week. To date, Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario to offer this service since provincial approval was granted. Read the full news release.

COVID-19 Enforcement Team Update

On April 11, City of Toronto’s COVID-19 Enforcement Team started stricter enforcement as part of the ongoing blitz in parks and public squares across the city. No longer focused on education, enforcement officers have now moved almost exclusively to issuing tickets to people congregating in groups and using closed amenities in City parks. Any two people who don’t live together, who fail to keep two metres of distance between them in a park or public square, can receive a $1,000 ticket – the maximum set fine available. In addition, failing to provide one’s identity (correct name, date of birth and address) to an officer investigating a matter under the Emergency Measures and Civil Protection Act carries a set fine of $750. 

City Working to Meet Food Needs of Vulnerable Torontonians 

The City of Toronto is working closely with community and corporate partners to ensure that the food needs of vulnerable Torontonians are being met during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several recently launched programs have already helped hundreds of people. The City is also partnering with United Way Greater Toronto, 211 and large-scale community food programs including Second Harvest, Daily Bread Food Bank, North York Harvest Food Bank, Red Cross and the Salvation Army to help ensure that community food programs including food banks, multi-service centres, home delivery programs and meal drop-ins can continue. The City has made resources such as facilities, staffing and equipment available to partners.

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For the latest updates from the City of Toronto, please clickhere.

For the latest updates from the Federal Government, please click here. 

For the latest updates from the Province of Ontario, please click here.