OSPE - The Voice - June 2020 - 8

ADVOCACY IN ACTION

OSPE's
COVID-19
Response

he emergence of COVID-19 earlier this year
placed a significant strain on the Ontario and
Canadian economies. All levels of government
focused on containment, while attempting
to provide short-term economic relief to
individuals and businesses alike. Now, as industry begins to
reopen, the impact of COVID-19 will continue to be felt by
all Canadians, including our members. While our long-term
advocacy objectives are still a priority, we have also pivoted
to address the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the immediate crisis, our efforts focused on
multiple fronts. The first was to ensure our members
were informed of existing resources and government
announcements that directly impacted the engineering
sector in Ontario. We developed a dedicated resource page
on our website where you can continue to find all COVID-19
information that is pertinent to the engineering community.
On our Society Notes blog, we provided analysis from the
engineering perspective, and parsed government documents
and news releases for relevant information. "Lastly, on our
social media channels, we began sharing information from
across the engineering community. This included any
new industry developments, as well as opportunities for
engineers to volunteer their time, resources, or expertise to
COVID-19 related causes." As the nature and response to the
pandemic shifts, we will continue to provide updates on all
of these channels.
As part of our charitable contribution, alongside Alliance
Creative Marketing and the Ontario General Contractors
Association, OSPE donated 10,000 surgical masks to front
line health workers. On behalf of our members, we hope this
donation shows our appreciation for the vulnerable health
workers currently battling this pandemic.
We also put together a dedicated COVID-19 Economic
Recovery working group, to ensure that issues of importance
to the engineering community are kept top of mind as the
government plans for economic recovery. The group has been

THE VOICE Summer 2020

working to provide government with clear and actionable
recommendations for the immediate, short-term and longterm economic recovery of Ontario and Canada.
One of OSPE's main priorities is to always maintain the
safety and security of our members. When the government
began considering graduated back-to-work plans, OSPE
ensured that engineering voices were heard when crafting
new, COVID-19 related safety measures for worksites.
We have also maintained a focus on the economic stability
of engineers and their organizations. We began lobbying the
government to ensure that contractors, consultants and
owners are legally protected from financial liability in the face
of a force majeure event. Many contractors reported feeling
the pressure to continue operating due to the potential of
substantial financial damages because of the legal liabilities
associated with closing a site. We sent a letter outlining
engineer's concerns to the Attorney General of Ontario, on
behalf of the Construction and Design Alliance of Ontario
(CDAO), and supported by several stakeholders. All new
developments regarding our advocacy efforts will be reported
on the Society Notes blog.
OSPE has also led the development of a COVID19 Infrastructure working group, with the Ministry of
Infrastructure, Labour, Training & Skills Development,
Municipal Affairs & Housing, Transportation, and the
Attorney General's Office. As part of these conversations,
OSPE made recommendations to the economic stimulus
package that ensured that not only was there a "kick start"
to industry provided, but that the long-term socio-economic
feasibility of these projects is guaranteed.

OSPE - The Voice - June 2020

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