Sault daycares could be swamped by offer of free emergency child care to frontline workers

'If there's more demand than we can handle...there's a wait list that needs to be established' - Mike Nadeau, Social Services Sault Ste. Marie

File photo

The Ontario government announced Thursday that free emergency child care will be offered to critical frontline workers starting next week.

But Mike Nadeau, chief executive officer of the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board, is warning the demand may be greater than local child-care operators are able to accommodate.

"We anticipate that the demand for emergency child care could exceed our capacity, because the operators are still providing day care to their regular customers," Nadeau told SooToday following a DSSMSSAB board meeting on Thursday.

"If there's more demand than we can handle...there's a wait list that needs to be established."

"As a spot comes up, we would make contact on a first-come, first-served basis."

This is not the first time emergency child care has been announced in Ontario.

A similar offer was extended earlier this year when the COVID-19 pandemic caused students to pivot to remote learning.

"Last time there was emergency child care, the system was shut down," Nadeau said.

"This time, [the funding for] emergency child care is being provided through the Province of Ontario, but the child care centres haven't been mandated to shut down."

The free child care for children of eligible health care staff and other frontline workers is to start on Monday.

"The service is intended for workers performing critical duties in the province's continued fight against COVID-19 who cannot work remotely and who have elementary school-aged children," said an Ontario government news release.

"Eligible parents and guardians with a school-aged child or children looking to access an emergency child care program should contact their local service system manager for information on availability, program locations and registration," the release said.

"Emergency child care has been previously offered during the pandemic. At its peak earlier this year, the program served an average of 5,000 children each day across 540 locations province-wide. Today’s announcement reflects the broadest eligibility for the program to date."

Those eligible for the free childcare program include:

health care workers
people working to administer, distribute or manufacture COVID-19 vaccines
child care workers, including staff at emergency child care programs
grocery store and pharmacy workers
police officers, firefighters, paramedics, provincial inspection or enforcement workers, as well as justice, court and correctional system workers
Children's Aid Society and residential services frontline staff
people working in developmental services, violence against women services, victims' services, anti-human trafficking or people interpreting for persons who are deaf or deaf-blind
homeless shelter staff or people providing services to the homeless
food safety inspectors and people working in the processing, manufacturing or distribution of food and beverages
Ontario Public Service staff in radiation protection services or who perform critical tasks for environmental monitoring, reporting and laboratory services
RCMP, Canada Border Services, Canadian Armed Forces and Canada Post employees
power workers
non-municipal water and wastewater workers
workers collecting, transporting, storing, processing, disposing or recycling any type of waste
education staff required to attend schools for students with special needs who cannot be accommodated through remote learning
hotel or motel employees of a site that is an isolation centre, health care centre, vaccine clinic or housing essential workers
truck drivers and transit workers
construction workers
anyone whose child was registered in an emergency child care program delivered by a consolidated municipal service manager of district social service administration board from April 6, 2021 to April 16, 2021