Two projects in Ottawa will support rehabilitation to local parks, while two others will support much-needed improvements to local community centres. In Prescott, the governments have funded construction of an all-year, multiuse recreational complex.

The city has 21 construction projects planned for 2021 at a combined value of $76 million with another 11 carrying over from 2020.

The second group of essential workers who cannot work from home includes various construction and related disciplines. Waterloo Region advises pre-registering now, and cautions that wait times could be as long as six weeks.

In a special report, Bonnie Lysyk took aim at overcrowding, poor ministry oversight, and a severe staffing shortage that existed even before the pandemic struck. 

Ontario recorded 245 workplace deaths in 2020, including five in just a week in the construction sector last December.