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Ontario Announces Supports for Students with Special Needs

Ontario's government is supporting students and their families when making requests to bring their service animals into schools and classrooms. Today, the Minister of Education; the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education; and the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, announced a new policy directive in support of Ontario students with special needs to improve their access to service animals in schools.

Investment in Ontario's Francophone Students

The Minister of Education, and the Minister of Transportation and Francophone Affairs announced funding of $26 million for the 2019-20 school year to invest in French-language education in this province.

The ministers also announced the outcome of negotiations with the federal government which will deliver an additional $4 million annually to support French-language education in Ontario. This additional funding will be allocated to school boards and postsecondary institutions in the coming weeks.

This investment will provide the resources to:

Ontario Investing in Community, Culture and Recreational Projects

Today, the Minister of Infrastructure announced that the province is now accepting funding applications for projects under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program's (ICIP) Community, Culture and Recreation (CCR) stream. The funding will go towards investing in community, culture and recreational projects that will help deliver vital services for communities, foster greater social inclusion and improve the quality of life for residents across the province.

Expansion of Student Direct Stream to support Francophone immigration

Canada is making the Student Direct Stream (SDS) available to international students coming from Senegal and Morocco, starting September 9, 2019.

By providing fast, reliable processing of study permit applications, Canada is better equipped to compete in attracting the best and the brightest from around the world.

The more efficient SDS process was launched in 2018 for students applying from China, India, the Philippines and Vietnam, with an average processing time of less than 3 weeks.

The Government of Canada funds City of Toronto initiative to address temporary housing for asylum claimants

The Government of Canada announced today that it will provide the City of Toronto with $17 million in funding to support an initiative to relieve pressure on its shelter system due to the increased number of asylum claimants.

The City of Toronto will lead the initiative, through arrangements with neighbouring municipalities that are willing to work together to strengthen the region’s combined capacity to provide interim housing support to asylum claimants.

The government announced details of the first year of funding under the new $200-million math strategy

Ontario's Minister of Education announced the details of the new four-year $200-million math strategy to get back to basics and make sure students and educators have the math skills and resources to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

The government announced details of the first year of funding under the new $200-million math strategy - beginning with an initial investment of $55 million in the 2019-2020 school year. This investment will support critical programming and resources for students and educators alike, by focusing on teaching fundamentals.

Ontario Government Approves New School for Whitby Students

Ontario has approved a new school building to help create better learning environments for students at St. Marguerite D'Youville Catholic School in Whitby.

The Minister of Education, was joined by the MPP for Whitby, at All Saints Catholic Secondary School today to share how the new school will support families in the growing community. The new facilities will also include a child care room and an EarlyON Child and Family Centre room to provide more families with high-quality child care.

Government of Canada provides funding to Peel to address interim housing shortages

The Government of Canada will provide the Region of Peel with $2.2 million in response to challenges it has faced with respect to providing temporary accommodation to asylum claimants over the last 2 years.

The Government of Canada is committed to orderly migration, which includes helping provinces and municipalities adapt to pressures faced with respect to providing temporary housing to asylum claimants.

Government of Canada provides funding to Hamilton to ease temporary housing pressures

The Government of Canada is providing the City of Hamilton with $220,000 as a result of recent costs incurred by the city in providing interim housing to asylum claimants.

Like many other countries, Canada is experiencing a rise in the number of people claiming asylum. Temporary housing has been a key challenge for many provinces and municipalities, as the demand for shelter space has increased, due to asylum claimants seeking Canada’s protection.

Ontario to seek input on improving the child welfare system

Ontario wants every child and young person to be supported to succeed, and to thrive. The child welfare system is facing challenges - not all children, youth and families are getting the quality of support they deserve, and some children are struggling once they leave care.

Today the Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, announced the launch of an engagement with youth, families, caregivers, frontline workers and child welfare sector leaders to strengthen the child welfare system for children and youth.

Challenges the system is facing include: