Message from the President – April 28

Posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2020

Dear Colleagues and Learners,

I would like to acknowledge that today is the National Day of Mourning in Canada. On this day, we remember workers who have lost their lives, been injured or become ill due to work-related incidents — our flags have been lowered to honour these individuals. We also pay tribute to their families, whose lives have been changed forever. I know I speak on behalf of our Algonquin College Executive and Leadership Teams when I say that we believe every employee has the right to a safe workplace, and that we should all take a moment today to reflect on what this day means.

As we enter our seventh week of isolation and physical distancing, I wanted to connect with everyone regarding the latest news from Premier Doug Ford about the gradual reopening of our province, and what that might mean for Algonquin College. I realize many had hoped to hear specific dates from the Premier but as he noted, this framework was intended to provide a road map, not a calendar. As we heard at yesterday’s press conference, Ontario will need to see “a consistent two-to-four week decrease in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases” before restrictions can be lifted, and even then, this will be done in a step-by-step process in several different phases and will depend on many other factors. You can read the full report here.

What does this mean for our College? It means that, for our health and safety, we must continue the course of physical distancing for as long as it is required. The investment of time will pay off in lives saved.

In the document released yesterday, the government noted that the perseverance of the people of Ontario has always been our province’s strength. Here at Algonquin, I believe we have many complementary strengths, not the least of which is our ability to find innovative solutions to the challenges we face. As we have done for the past six weeks, we will continue to find new ways to help our learners achieve their academic goals in this new environment. The evolving nature of the pandemic and fluidity of the situation means that this will not be easy. Like the province, we will have to reflect and revise our recovery plans on an ongoing basis, ably guided in our efforts by our strong teams. Now more than ever, our College must continue to be a leader in personalized, learner-driven education.

We are at a critical crossroad. Under the guidance of public health authorities, and with our new provincial roadmap, I believe we are on a strong, steady, and safe path to a time when we can all be together again. Until then, I know you will keep finding innovative and creative ways to connect, teach, learn and care for one another.

Sincerely,

Claude Brulé

President and CEO

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