Toronto

Toronto to open 2 more child care centres for families of essential workers

The city is opening up two new child care centres in the downtown core this week to serve the families of essential and critical service workers.

Child care is offered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at no cost for qualifying families

A blue plastic cup, filled with coloured pencils, sits on a desk in a classroom. In the background, there are empty chairs at a desk, and books in cubby holes.
Two more child care centres are being opened this week in central Toronto to care for the children of essential workers. (David Donnelly/CBC)

Toronto announced Monday that it's opening two new child care centres to serve the families of essential and critical service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As in the city's first four emergency child care centres, which opened on March 31, care is being offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week at no cost to qualifying families.

In a statement, the city said it has received more than 800 applications for emergency child care since March 26 — and has placed nearly 200 children in one of the centres. About 70 per cent of those applications came from front-line health care workers. 

The first of the two new centres, at 34 Bathurst St., opens Monday. The second, at 1125 Danforth Ave., will open later in the week. 

All six Toronto centres are located inside existing city-run licensed child care facilities, and are staffed by City of Toronto child care workers. 

The emergency child care is being funded by the province.