Statement from OSC COVID-19 Precautions and Measures

In the last week, we have seen the global concern about COVID-19 and its presence in Canada grow. We want to acknowledge that, above all, the health and safety of each other and our communities is most important. We have all been advised to practice social distancing to help flatten the curve, where public gatherings are discouraged and travel is to be avoided. In response, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster has postponed our participation in upcoming conferences and in the delivery of in-person events for at least the next month, and, in some cases, beyond. This timeframe may be extended as we continue to monitor the situation and follow the guidelines set by governments should they change over time.

For the protection of our team, members, and partners, we would like to share the following:

• While our team is accustomed to working virtually, effective today our employees have been encouraged to work from home until further notice.
• Work related travel, both domestically and internationally, has been suspended for OSC employees until further notice.
• We will work together with project teams to understand any impacts and develop solutions to support continued project advancement.
• Participation in and delivery of in-person events has been cancelled until at least April 17, 2020 (subject to extension as required for precautionary measures)
• In the days and weeks to come, we will communicate any further decisions on future in-person events.

Our team will fully leverage the technology we have available to us to facilitate planned information sessions, workshops, and meetings to continue to engage and collaborate with you. This is a challenging time for all of us, where we must adjust the way we do our work and take care of each other. For the foreseeable future, we will update our website news section every Monday morning highlighting any further changes to operations and events, and any other precautions we are taking in response to the pandemic.

During this time, we acknowledge different organizations will face different challenges. Despite those differences, we all are in this together. If there is something we can do to assist your organization, please let us know.