Parents to Begin Receiving Direct Support Under Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit

TORONTO – Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s Minister of Education, has made a statement about the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit: 

“As we have done before, our government is again providing direct relief to families to help offset additional costs incurred as a result of the pandemic. I am pleased to confirm that payments to parents through the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit will begin tomorrow, April 26, 2021, to help working parents of students aged 0 through Grade 12, and up to age 21 for children and youth with special needs, with direct financial support during this pandemic.  

COVID-19 has imposed many costs on moms, dads and caregivers across the province, and we are committed to helping them through this incredible challenge. To make this easier on families, individuals who previously received the Support for Learners payments will not be required to reapply — you will automatically receive your payment. We also know affordable child care is critical to working parents, which is why our government supported the creation of 16,000 new spaces in 2019-20. 

We are also proposing to enhance the Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) tax credit by 20 per cent for 2021, which would increase support from $1,250 to $1,500, on average, providing about $75 million in additional support for the child care expenses of over 300,000 families. 

Ontario is committed to building an affordable child care system that is flexible and responsive to the unique needs of all families.” 

BACKGROUND 

The government is providing a new round of payments through Ontario’s COVID-19 Child Benefit. In total, Ontario will have provided families $1.8 billion since last March. The payment will be doubled to $400 per child and $500 for any child and youth up to age 21 with special needs. 

The government is automatically providing this round of payments to parents who received Support for Learners payments, and money will begin to flow April 26th. 

The government is automatically providing this round of payments to parents who received Support for Learners payments, and money will begin to flow April 26th. Parents who received a confirmation email but have not received their payment by May 10 should contact the call centre for further information — toll-free at 1-888-444-3770, and toll-free TTY at 1-800-268-7095. 

Parents who did not apply for or receive the Support for Learners program can apply for the new funding starting May 3 with a deadline of May 17. Applications will be open on Monday, May 3, 2021. More information about how to apply will be available at Ontario.ca/covidchildbenefit shortly.