The Ontario government is launching the most significant and comprehensive Child Care Workforce Strategy in the province’s history. Supported by funding through the Canada-Ontario Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, Ontario’s plan will deliver increased wages to Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) and a multipronged strategy to recruit and retain qualified educators.

THORNHILL— The Ontario government is making it faster and easier for people to connect to primary care, especially in northern and rural areas, by continuing to boost the number of spots available to train new nurse practitioners. Working together with Ontario universities across the province, 121 additional training positions have been added to the Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program this year, helping to grow the nurse practitioner workforce for years to come.

The Ontario government will soon introduce legislation that, if passed, would require employers to include expected salary ranges in job postings, giving workers more information to make informed decisions in their career search. In addition, the legislation would make Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to require businesses to disclose if artificial intelligence (AI) is used during their hiring process.

The Ontario government is introducing new legislation to continue leading the country in ground-breaking protections for workers. These proposed changes expand on the historic measures in the Working for Workers Acts, 2021, 2022 and 2023, which are helping millions of people in Ontario earn bigger paycheques and supporting newcomers in building the province.

The Ontario government is investing $4.3 million in four innovative training projects to help 356 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members prepare for in-demand jobs and transition to civilian life. Every year, 8,000 Canadian Armed Forces members are released from service.

The Ontario government will soon introduce legislation that would, if passed, support injured workers by enabling “super indexing” increases to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) benefits above the annual rate of inflation. For an injured worker who earns $70,000 a year, a two per cent increase could mean an additional $900 annually on top of cost-of-living adjustments, which were 6.5 per cent in 2023.