Toronto 
If you didn’t know, the Ontario government, on October 20th, announced new support for parents of up to $250 per child to help them offset the costs they may incur in helping their children “catch up ” for classes lost during COVID-19 with additional tutoring supports, supplies or equipment that enhance student learning.
Announcing the payments, Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce said, “It could not be clearer that we must keep students in class without disruption, with a focus on catching up on the fundamentals – reading, writing and math – after two years of pandemic-related learning disruptions. We are expanding tutoring supports, assessing every young child’s ability to read, and hiring more staff to ensure all kids get back on track and ultimately graduate into good-paying jobs.”
“While we have provided over $600 million in learning recovery investments to publicly funded schools, we are also providing parents of all school-aged children direct financial relief that can be immediately reinvested to support their children.”
How much do Parents Get:
Ontario is spending a total of $365 million in direct financial relief to parents.
- Parents with school-aged children up to 18 years old can apply for payments of $200 for each child.
- Parents with school-aged children with special education needs, up to the age of 21, can apply for $250.
Who is Eligible:
Students are eligible if they are:
- $200 payment: enrolled in Kindergarten to Grade 12 and are up to 18 years old
- $250 payment: enrolled in kindergarten to Grade 12 are up to 21 years old and have special education needs
and
- go to a publicly funded school, a private school, a First Nation-operated or federally operated school or homeschooled.
How to Apply for Catch Up Payments:
Those who want to get Catch Up Payments must apply through the Ontario.ca website.
Screenshot: Ontario.ca
Parents should create an online “My Ontario Account” or an account via Verified.Me (Interac/online banking).
Once you create an online profile, you will receive an email to ‘Activate Account’.
Screenshot: Ontario.ca
After you create and activate your account and if your session times out, you will receive a one-time 6-digit pin verification code via email.
Application Process:
Screenshot: Ontario.ca
Parent/Guardian Profile:
After your account is validated, you need to create a parent profile by entering your name, email address, phone, and address.
Child Profile:
Screenshot: Ontario.ca
Step 2 involves creating a child profile, one for each child. For this, you will need to enter:
- Child’s name and date of birth
- Name of the school board and school
- A valid e-mail address
After you submit the details, you will also have to choose between a cheque, Interac (Email Money Transfer) or Direct deposit and provide appropriate information.
Once you have completed the application, you will receive an email with subject line, “Your application has been received/Nous avons bien reçu votre demande.” containing the Application Number and the first two letters of Child / Student’s First Name followed by a series of asterisks (*).
Screenshot: Email received
You will be able to track the status of the application online later by logging into My Ontario Account.
The last day to apply is March 31, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.EST.
When will you receive payments:
The website states, “It will take a few weeks for you to receive your payment. Some applications may take longer to verify and process. If the information you provide is incomplete or inaccurate, your payment will be delayed or denied.”
To Do Canada will update this article with the date our staff received this payment. — Date of application: Sunday, October 23rd, 2022; Email with Interac e-transfer password: November 3rd, Direct Deposit/Payment recieved: November 8th.
Detailed information and the application process are given here.
If you are facing difficulties, you can see the guide here to troubleshoot.
Got an email last Nov 2nd.I updated my son’s birthday how long i’m waiting to receive an email again.
Applied October 21 , everyone I know has received theirs but I have not.
Got an email today with password instructions. The email also said payments should be received within the next couple of days. I applied on Oct 22nd. Today is Nov 2nd.