Dear Institution Contacts,
This letter follows from the announcement by Premier John Horgan, with Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, on May 6th 2020. Under B.C.’s Restart Plan, government will work closely with public health officials, businesses and labour organizations to lift restrictions in phases, gradually allowing for more social and economic activity, while closely monitoring health information to minimize the risk to the public.
Individual sectors in our province are being asked to develop enhanced protocols aligned with the Public Health and Safety Guidelines to inform their safe and measured approach to moving forward. I am writing to let you know how the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training will support your institutions while a safe operating plan is developed to guide B.C. post-secondary institutions.
To help the post-secondary sector develop its safe operating plan, Ministry staff will meet with sector representatives during the coming week to start discussing a proposed approach to complete this work.
My team and I are committed to working with representatives from Private Training Institutions, Private Degree-Granting and related institutions, to support the industry as it translates the guidelines into a post-secondary sector-wide plan. During this process, if there is need to engage with the Provincial Health Office, it will be done through the ministry.
Businesses and organizations that are not covered by a Provincial Health Office order may re-open or continue to operate, but they will be expected to adopt and implement sector safety plans as they are finalized.
Please find attached the following Go Forward documents to assist with this process:
Thank you for your support and collaboration in these extraordinary times. If you have any questions, please direct them to AEST.ADMGovernanceLegislationandCorporatePlanning@gov.bc.ca.
Sincerely,
Tony
Tony Loughran
Executive Lead, Governance, Legislation, and Corporate Planning
Ministry of Advanced Education Skills and Training