Members of the Canadian military and their families will be able to get information and services they need when relocating to the province.
The Ontario Military Families Relocation Hotline - a one-stop hotline that connects Canadian Armed Forces personnel with live customer service agents - provides specialized knowledge about health cards, driver's licences and vehicle registration.
The hotline supplements the government's online resource hub - ontario.ca/MilitaryFamilies - that lets military family members know what key resources are available to them.
The dedicated toll-free number at 1-888-333-8545, available from the United States and Canada, directly connects CAF members and their families with ServiceOntario agents who provide value-added assistance.
"Through our consultations, CAF members and their families told us that getting timely and affordable access to Ontario's public services and information was a big challenge," said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Government and Consumer Services. "Our dedicated priority hotline and online resources make it easy and seamless for deployed military families to quickly get answers to key move-related questions before they come to Ontario."
Military personnel and their families can visit ontario.ca/MilitaryFamilies for up-to-date information about healthcare, education and schools, childcare, driver and vehicle licensing, and job opportunities..
A 2013 report by the Ombudsman for the Department of National Defence found that relocation is a major cause of strain for spouses and children of members of the CAF. Military personnel are transferred three times more often than the average non-military Canadian throughout their careers.
Nine CAF Family Resource Centres across Ontario including North Bay, Borden, London-Southwestern Ontario, Kingston, Meaford, National Capital Region, Petawawa, Trenton, and Toronto also provide comprehensive in-person and online support services and programs.
