London, Ontario May 26th, 2020 – In a recent report by KidsRights, Canada has slipped in adhering to children’s rights and is treading water in the middle of the global rankings.  This may come as a surprise to Canadians given how Canada prides itself as a progressive country that holds a higher standard of living, but this is not a shock to our Indigenous children. Canada has ignored hea...

Child Care Updates Daycare Closures Continue On May 19, 2020, the Minister of Education announced private schools, licensed child-care centres, and EarlyON programs will remain closed, except emergency child-care or front-line workers. Stage 2 reopening will involve opening daycares based on the public health guidelines. There will be strict health guidelines and protocols: • no more than 50 ...

In the wake of COVID-19, the federal and provincial governments are increasing investment in virtual, telephone, and online mental health services so they can be accessed safety and without cost to everyone. A summary of these supports is provided below. Many of the supports targeting anyone, though some are indigenous specific, or age group specific. ONTARIO On May 6, 2020, the province announc...

Financial Updates for Child Care Centres Due to the Emergency Order, child care centers were ordered to close, with the exception of the emergency child care for health care and other front-line workers. First Nations who have been approved to run emergency child care will be contacted by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry will work with First Nations on identifying costs to run emergency ch...

FIRST NATIONS IN ONTARIO – CONFIRMED CASES As of May 4, 2020, there are 75 First Nations people who have contracted COVID-19. This represents an increase of 23% from last week and a 91% increase from the week before. These numbers indicate that spread amongst First Nations is increasing more rapidly than in the rest of Ontario, where the rate of increase is 20% from last week and 46% from the...

On April 7th, 2020, as part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Response to COVID-19, the Ontario government announced $37 million to support outbreak planning, prevention, and mitigation efforts to ensure the health and well-being of Indigenous people and communities. Out of this $37 million, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services provided $10 million to support Indigenous communities an...

EMERGENCY ORDER On May 6, 2020, Ontario announced an extension of its emergency order to May 19, 2020. This is an extension from the previous order extending the order to May 12, 2020. The state of emergency order mandates the closure of outdoor amenities including parks and recreational areas, the closure of non-essential workplaces, public places, bars, and restaurants. It also restricts soc...

On May 1, 2020 legislation authorizing $9 billion in financial aid for Canadian students and recent graduates was passed by royal assent. The legislation creates the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) which will provide income support to post-secondary students who have lost work opportunities as a result of COVID-19 and are not eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). ...

School Closures Extended On April 26, 2020, the Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced that publicly-funded schools will be closed until May 31, 2020.If schools are allowed to be reopened in the future, employees will have access as of May 29, 2020.Private schools, First Nation schools, licensed child care centres and EarlyON programs will remain closed until May 6, 2020, with certain exce...