Thursday March, 10 2022,

EMAIL: UPDATE: Classroom Capacity Limits

Good Morning All

There are many changes happening where training is concerned from a Pandemic standpoint. In consultation with Council’s PHATF, I will be sending out a fully revised Covid-19 Training document within the next few days which will have a number of updates in it. The PHATF will also be distributing a separate comprehensive update for all SJA programs and services in the next few days. Stay tuned.

The immediate news, however is:

• St. John Ambulance in Ontario has been notified by the Ontario Ministry of Labour that classroom capacity limits have been lifted and classroom configuration can return to pre-pandemic levels immediately. This means that, immediately, you can adjust your classrooms and book full classes again.

• St. John Ambulance in Ontario will continue requiring all classroom participants (instructors and students) to wear masks in the classroom until at least April 30^th. We will then assess mask wearing on a month by month basis.

• Until directed otherwise, please continue to request that self declaration forms are filled out prior to start of training.

• Participants may continue to eat in the classroom, but must remain seated and must replace their masks when done eating.

As always, do not hesitate to reach out to me with any further questions or concerns.

Regards

Chris Schmied

Director of Learning, Training and Skills Development

PUBLIC CLASSES:

Feb 10th, 2022 - EMAIL: HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE SPACE

GREAT NEWS

Just 5 minutes ago, we received the Ministry of Labour and W.S.I.B.

APPROVAL TO RENT HOTEL, CONFERENCE CENTRE, LEGION HALL, CHURCH BASEMENT (And Similar) SPACE FOR INSTRUCTION.

The following must be adhered to as well:

• 2 Metre Social distancing must be followed

• Masks must be worn

• Participants in these rental spaces must be dually vaccinated and checked upon entry

As always, do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns

Chris Schmied, Director of Learning, Training and Skills Development

Saturday September 25, 2021

Email: UPDATE: Proof of Vaccination Requirements in Ontario

Good Afternoon

The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (Ontario) have now provided direction with respect to the Proof of Vaccination Requirement Policy that was put in place on Sept 23rd. They have confirmed that training in our branches, remains unchanged, in that those entering our branches, will not be required to show proof of vaccination.

We must continue to screen all attendees to our training as we have been doing using the Covid self screening forms. Existing health and safety protocols remain in place including masks, hand hygiene and social distancing.

The Ministry’s communication does say:

Please note that if in-person training is taking place in a rented facility (e.g. conference centre, banquet hall, hotel etc.), the facility may require a learner to provide proof of identification and of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to gain entry.

Providers must work with the facility to understand the entry requirements and clearly communicate that a mandatory vaccination policy applies at the specific location.

Therefore, if training at a rented facility (Hotel, Conference Centre, Legion Hall etc.) please reach out (in adavnce) to the facility in order to fully understand what their policy is, in regards to vaccination requirements and how it will apply, with respect to the training delivery. In addition, if a hotel, etc., requires proof of vaccination, Branches should reach out to students ahead of their attendance, to ensure they know of this requirement.

Finally, No proof of vaccination is being required for our clients, when attending training at a company site or organization’s site provided the space being used, is their location (used to conduct business) and the organization or company does not otherwise require proof of vaccination.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or to discuss further.

Chris Schmied , Manager of Learning

Council for Ontario

September 17, 2021 Email - Proof Of Vaccination Requirements

Good Morning All

I have received many questions regarding the Provincial proof of vaccination that will start next week.

I have been in contact with both the WSIB and the Ministry of Labour Training and Skills Development as to what this will mean with respect to:

Health & Safety Training in our branches

Health & Safety Training when we rent short term space in hotel and conference centre meeting space.

Their latest answer was:

“Unfortunately, we do not have an update yet. However, as soon as we have an update, we will share it with the providers. We do realize that it is important for providers to know sooner than later due to the administration needed for implementing the new rules. Rest assure we are working diligently to update the providers as soon as possible.”

I will forward any updates as soon as I receive any pertinent information.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any further questions of concerns.

Regards

Chris Schmied, Manager of Learning

Chris.schmied@sja.ca

GREAT NEWS!

As of this Friday July 16^th 2021 the following restrictions are being lifted by the Ministry of Labour Training and Skills Development

• Indoor classroom training capacity of 10
  The specific capacity limit of 10 students per instructional space for indoor health and safety training has been removed and replaced with general capacity limits based on the size of the instructional space, which must include 2 metre physical distancing.
  This means, your classes (as of July 16^th) can be as large as space allows, keeping the social distancing rule in place.

• Training at Third Party Rental space
  The restriction of not allowing training at rental spaces such as Hotel, Conference, Legion Hall Church Hall etc. is being lifted. As of Friday July 16th you may begin training at third party rental spaces with general capacity limits based on the size of the instructional space, which must include 2 metre physical distancing

• Eating in the Classroom
  As previously mentioned, eating in the classroom will be allowed as of Friday July 16^th

As of now, all other restrictions remain in place. We will continue to monitor all restrictions and advise of any changes

As always, do not hesitate to contact me to discuss.

Chris Schmied

Manager of Learning

Council for Ontario

December 21, 2020

Provincewide Shut Down as it pertains to Health & Safety Training

Good Afternoon Branches

This afternoon Premier Ford announced guidelines for a Provincewide Shutdown beginning at 12:01 am on December 26, 2020.

As a result, we will be limiting all in-person class sizes to no more than 10 students and 1 instructor (two instructors are permitted if one is being monitored AND the classroom can accommodate with appropriate physical distancing). This change applies to all Branch in-person training activity across the Province.

Further changes to class sizes or other restrictions will be provided when received.

Please see attached document for further details.

Chris Schmied, Manager of Learning, Council for Ontario

December 11, 2020

Update for MFR Certifications

We have granted an extension for certification of MFR Volunteers to March 31^st 2021. This applies to those MFR Volunteers that had their certification expire after March 1^st 2020. We will again look at the need to further extend certification if need be, sometime in the first quarter of 2021.

Chris Schmied, Manager of Learning, Council for Ontario

September 23, 2020

Update for MFR Certification - Expiry Dec. 31 2020

As the WSIB has granted until December 31st as an extension for anyone whose certificate expired on or after March 1st 2020, we have approval to provide the MFR Certification the exact same extension, to Dec 31^st 2020.

We acknowledge that skill degradation can be of concern and consistent with previous messaging that essential in person training can occur following PHATF guidance and checklist completion.

For initial certification, work is ongoing to scope out final course delivery in our new COVID world.

The PHATF advise not run public MFR courses at the moment, therefore recommendation to postpone until further notice.

On behalf of the Chairman, CEO and PHATF of St. John Council for Ontario,

Kind Regards,

Clare Akintoye

Manager, Community Services

April 24, 2020

High School Graduation Criteria with First Aid/CPR

I have been asked many times over these past few weeks, whether a student with First Aid/CPR Certification as part of the program can still graduate their high school program if they have not yet obtained their First Aid/CPR Certification.

I have now heard from the Ministry of Education regarding this matter:

For SHSM, extensions on students earning certifications are not being considered at this time as it will hold up students earning the SHSM/OSSD. For students who were unable to complete their SHSM/OSSD requirements (including CPR/First Aid which is a mandatory certification for all SHSM students), the override process will be used to grant the SHSM/OSSD without this requirement.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/morestudentsuccess/shsm.html

That said, boards are considering working with their vendors to perhaps “pre-purchase” this training for graduating students enrolled in SHSM who were not able to take the training due to the COVID distancing measures. This should be an individual board decision that is worked out with the board finance and procurement staff and their individual vendors.

On the curriculum front there are a couple of Specific Expectations in the secondary curriculum which includes mandatory learning about CPR/AED. These expectations could be addressed theoretically or virtually and, therefore, the curriculum never mandates that students have to be certified. Any failure to demonstrate a single specific expectation within a secondary course would never be grounds to deny the student a credit. Students are evaluated based on their achievement of the Overall Expectations, not Specific Expectations.

In short, they are stating that no student will be held back from graduation this school year, due to the inability to attain their First Aid/CPR Certification.

Chris Schmied, Manager of Learning, Council for Ontario

April 17, 2020

WSIB Extends First Aid Training Certification to Sept 30th 2020

Please feel free to forward to clients and those who inquire.

In light of Covid19 and the need to demonstrate flexibility, the WSIB has issued the following statement:

1. For First Aiders with expired or expiring certifications the WSIB has extended recertification to September 30, 2020. We will continue to monitor and adjust this date if necessary.

2. To help keep knowledge of First Aid in the workplace at a critical time, the WSIB is endorsing certification and recertification for the knowledge component of the training through blended learning.

Regarding point 1. Those certificates that expire or have expired on or after March 1^st 2020 will qualify. You may be asked to reprint and mail a new certificate to people with the new date of September 30^th on it. This is not necessary. The WSIB suggests that instead, you forward the above text to the inquiry.

Regarding point 2, this (blended learning) does not qualify as a certificate or certification. It simply suggests that blended learning is a great option to keep the knowledge fresh at this time.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any further questions or to discuss.

Chris Schmied, Manager of Learning, Council for Ontario

April 9, 2020

TO: Branch Chairs (for information sharing with your Branch Boards)

Cc: Council Board, Provincial Office Leads, SJA PHATF, Branch Executive Directors/Managers

DATE: April 9, 2020

RE: SJA Ontario Operational Update

Attached: Operations Update Memo

Good afternoon all.

These are certainly trying times and everyday seems to bring new information and challenges. I want to share with each of you the attached operational update (pdf file) and while much of this information is not new to your front-line Executive Directors, Managers and staff, it may be new and certainly insightful for you and your Branch Boards. Please feel free to share this update with your Branch Board members and to reach out to me or any member of the Council Board Executive if you have any questions, noting that SJA COVID-19 specific response questions should continue to be forwarded to coronavirus@sjaoc.ca.

Regards,

Brian J.J. Cole

Chief Executive Officer

April 6, 2020 - March Revenue Sharing and April CRM License Fee

Sent: April 6, 2020 9:12 AM

Subject: March Revenue Sharing and April CRM License Fee

To: St. John Council for Ontario Branch Managers/Executive Directors; Accountants, Bookkeepers and Provincial Office Staff

Good Morning!

As discussed on our Friday conference call, Provincial Office has decided to waive the March Revenue Sharing Expense. Here are the details of how that will be handled:

1. The Revenue Sharing (RS) invoice for March must still be posted as it normally is.

2. A credit note will be issued. Please post it to a new account 4420-xx-xx as Revenue Sharing Rebate.

3. As in February, there is no need to split this amount between Training and Product.

In addition to the reversal of the Revenue Sharing Expense, Provincial Office has also decided that to waive the April CRM License Fee. Please instruct your bookkeepers that this invoice should not be posted to Great Plains. Further details for the Bookkeepers/Accountants will come from Margaret.

Invoices from Provincial Office for Pension, Benefits, stores purchases, etc. still require payment.

We are aware of cost saving measures like a 50% deferral of rent that some branches have managed to obtain and encourage all branches to look for opportunities like these to manage their cash flow.

Take care!

St. John Council for Ontario

15 Toronto Street, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2E3

Update April 2 2020 - Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

To: Branch Managers / Executive Directors-

Re: Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

Please see information below specifically regarding the recently announced Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

• The federal government has announced a wage subsidy of up to 75% of wages. Actual details have not been released as of the distribution of this e-mail.

• The federal government has announced the re-call of parliament to introduce legislation to pass the announced programs. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT YET APPROVED. And when approved payments will not occur for 6 weeks (Mid-May 2020)

• The framework of this plan, based on announcements and news release information is:

• Employers. to qualify, will have to show that their revenue in March 2020 was 30 per cent less than it was in March 2019, and will be required upon demand of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to and must prove and show their revenues are less than 30% or more over the same month period the year prior;

• Employers will apply for the program through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) "My Business Account".

• Employers will be required to apply for each month the program is offered (e.g. March, April, May 2020 - or as long as the program is offered)- demonstrating, revenues in April 2020 are also 30 per cent less than they were in the same month the year prior;

• The CEWS will provide 75% to cover annual earnings up to $58,700 - or $1,129 a week in pre-crisis earnings. So the maximum subsidy for each employee would be $847 a week. All amounts are taxable;

• Employers will need to attest that they're doing everything they can to pay the remaining 25% of employee wages;

• The program is retroactive to March 15, 2020;

• The CEWS benefit is not limited to small and medium-sized enterprises; it will be offered to all companies that have seen that 30 % drop in gross revenue;

• The CEWS has no qualifiers to the amount of staff employed;

• Non-profits and charities are eligible;

• The CEWS is available to all types of corporations in Canada, with the exception of non-taxable corporations and public sector entities like municipalities, public schools and hospitals;

• Significant penalties are contemplated for any business found to have not complied with the program criteria (details are not yet known).

• ? The CEWS will replace the previously announced 10% subsidy program. That program is still in effect. Small businesses can continue to claim the 10 per cent benefit, However, if an Employer qualifies for the larger 75 % subsidy - then the amounts will be adjusted downward to account for any payments made through that separate program.

• Unlike the CEWS, small businesses can claim the 10 per cent subsidy even if they haven't seen a drop in revenue. The maximum subsidy for that previously announced program is $1,375 per employee and to a maximum of $25,000 per employer.

Please note:

• the federal government has stated it expects employers to fund the remaining 25% of employee wages, and if unable, employees would still be eligible to receive 75% up to the maximum amounts of $1,129 a week in pre-crisis earnings / $847 a week;

• The CEWS subsidy does not include subsidy for employer burdens (e.g. CPP, EI, Ontario Health tax, WSIB, and employer benefits costs);

• All wage dollar amounts above the declared maximum CEWS amounts will be fully borne by the employer.

Please contact Paula Anglin, Director Human Resource Development at the Provincial Office with respect to employment related recommendations aimed at preserving cash and setting up your Branch for a successful start up of operations once the emergency measures have ended;

• The CEWS is a program that will benefit employers deemed essential and still operating and provided they can demonstrate a 30% decline in revenues over the same month the year prior;

• If unable to demonstrate a 30% decline in revenues an employer will not be eligible for subsidy;

• An employee paid either regular wages or being paid as part of the CEWS will not qualify for the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB); and

• Any employee who quits or voluntarily leaves their employment will be ineligible for the CERB.

We will continue to share information once it becomes available. Should you have any questions or concerns please contact me and please continue to refer to the updates being regularly released by Council's Public Health Advisory Task Force.

UPDATE April 1 - Additional Information Regarding Certificate Extension

AMFR Certification

Will offer a 90 day extension from date of expiry to our MFRs (volunteers).

Those that require it for federally regulated positions, would need to check with their Federal regulating bodies as to what extensions are available if needed in their workplace. Examples include: Power Generators, Rail, Air, etc.

UPDATE March 31 - Training Operations

As announced in Task Force Memo #12, the Government of Ontario has extended Declaration of Emergency and associated emergency measures until April 13 and the school closures until at least May 4th. It is expected that training operations will remain suspended until at least May 4th. This decision is reviewed on at least a bi-weekly basis. Please refer to the memo for more information.

Performing CPR during COVID-19

The National Training Steering Committee has provided the following direction that is very similar to that previously provided by the Task Force:

Should the need arise to perform CPR during the current COVID-19 pandemic on any individual, the guidelines below should be applied. Please keep in mind that each situation will be unique:

1. The first aider should always protect themselves. This means using the proper personal protective equipment such as gloves and a CPR mask with a one-way valve.

2. If the first aider does not feel comfortable breathing into the patient, while using a mask, they are encouraged to perform hands-only CPR.

3. If you are a healthcare provider, follow your local jurisdiction protocols.

It is worth mentioning that COVID-19, while new, is not the only pathogen that a first aider may come across in a first aid situation. Caution should always be exercised when assisting a casualty due to any number of possible pathogens.

UPDATE March 27 - Information Regarding Certificate Extensions

Regarding First Aid Certificate renewals

For anyone who may require renewed certification, the WSIB will be allowing a 90 extension to get re-certified. This is only for certificates that expired March 1st 2020 or later. The newest statement issued now states: For anyone who may require renewed certification, we will be allowing a 90 day extension until May 30, 2020 to get re-certified. This does not include those who have never certified. No application required for the extension

Regarding Marine First Aid. Both Basic and Advanced Renewals

As of March 16, 2020, the validity of Marine Medical Certificates and Provisional Marine Medical Certificates (Marine First Aid Basic & Advanced), which will expire before September 1, 2020, are granted an extended validity of 6 months (from date of expiry). The individual seafarer will not have to submit an application for the extension.

Regarding Joint Health & Safety Committee Certification

As the Ministry of Labour already has an option to extend certification for a six month period (an application is necessary), there will be no additional extensions provided at this time.

Regarding Blended Learning Classes

Participants who complete the online portion of their blended learning will have 90 days (from the date of completion of the on-line portion) to complete the one day in-class portion of their course.

Regarding IDP Candidates who have not yet been monitored

IDP candidates who have gone through the IDP process, but have yet to be monitored, please note that we are granting a 90 day extension to be monitored.

Regarding: Instructor Certificate Expiry (IDP Renewals)

For all Ontario instructors whose IDP Renewal was due after March 16th 2020, we will grant a 90 day extension (from date of expiry) to complete their IDP renewal.

UPDATE March 26

Temporary Wage Subsidy Update - Covid-19

With respect to the recently announced Federal temporary wage subsidy, Council has been working with our payroll service provider Ceridian to facilitate securing this subsidy. The following is Ceridian’s most recent response to us received earlier this week. We continue to monitor their progress on a daily basis:

“Ceridian will continue to support our clients impacted by covid-19 and will assist them to implement the temporary wage subsidy recently announced by Canada's federal government. At this time, we are awaiting more details to clarify the necessary administrative processes. Information on how to administer the subsidy has not been released at this time.”

If you have any questions regarding COVID-19 related employment programs or matters, please contact Paula Anglin, Director, Human Resource Development directly.

UPDATE March 25

National Plan of Action: Increase Secondary Revenue Streams for Councils

The National Marketing Committee+ has come up with a plan of action to drive more revenue to councils during COVID-19.

We see 3 phases to this plan:

• Website Refocus

  • Make it easier for people to find things SJA can sell today (that are currently hard to find)

  • Visit the updated https://www.sja.ca

• Email Marketing Campaign

  • This will go out to 720,000 contacts & 35,000 corporate accounts

  • Drive clients to the website and increase secondary revenue streams into council bank accounts

  • See example here: http://link.sja.ca/m/1/80936085/02-t20085-3638b1cf7f1f46239dd34160985c58b5/1/1/1

• Social Media Campaign

  • Improve sales, brand awareness and SJA altruism during this time of crisis

  • Improve our mindshare and a positive public mindset for quicker recovery post COVID19

  • Organic content is focused on public services , public awareness, brand awareness, resources pages.

  • For paid social media, driving product sales, online learning, register for future dates.

  • We could reach a broad audience of 25,000,000 across Canada from ages 18-65+ all genders

  • Therapy Dog on FB Live

  • Coming soon

Additional Added a Questions and Answers Section below.

UPDATE March 24

IDP Update:

For those branches that have had IDP candidates who have gone through the IDP process, but have yet to be monitored, please note that we are granting a 90 day extension to be monitored due to the current situation.

Employee Relations - Covid-19

SJA remains committed to all our employees and we will support them in every way we can. Please review the following information regarding ways you can support your staff during this time.

Employee Relations

1. Employee health and well-being is and should be at the forefront given all the recent events.

• Ensure you provide effective communications when dealing with your staff and have a communication plan;

• Remind employees the current events are not their fault – everyone is experiencing the same effects and everyone is reacting to changes as best as possible;

• Remind staff about the “employee family assistance family plan” (EFAP), remind them to access the service if needed; and

• Should your Branch close, develop a plan to maintain regular contact with employees – to “check in” at least weekly.

2. Employees questions regarding job security.

The Ontario government has introduced legislation to amend the [Ontario] Employment Standards Act, 2000, to provide employees with job protection as a result of being affected by the COVID-19 issues. This means employees who are required to self-isolate; employees who feel ill; employees ordered by their employers to remain at home; and most other issues related to employee absences will result in employee and their work positions being protected.

• If an employer has reduced and/or closed its operations and has employees who cannot work from home, those employee are entitled to “protected leave” now defined as “Declared Emergency Leave” (DEL) under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). This protected leave is unpaid, job-protected leave of absence and will continue until the declared emergency is ended by the provincial government. Employees have a right to return to their previous job and may not have their employment terminated while on protected leave.

• Employees who are on a DEL are entitled to continuation benefits (if applicable) during the leave, provided the employee continues to pay their portion of the premiums. Where the is a benefit co-pay (i.e. Employer portion and Employee portion), the Employer should confirm in writing (hard copy or by electronic means) with an employee their agreement continue their benefits coverage by continuing to pay their portion of the premiums.

• All employees on a protected leave – are to be issued a Record of Employment (ROE) in order to allow employees to apply for EI benefits.

3. Employees concerned about their financial well-being due to being laid off from work.

• The Federal and the Provincial governments are still working on monetary packages and details are still not finalized. Advise employees to apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits using their “Service Canada” account (they may have to create an account) as soon as possible. Claims will not be unnecessary delayed due and ROE not being filed by an Employer.

• If the employee does not have access to a computer or are not computer proficient, and if able – allow employees to use company computers, or advise them to call a Service Canada office near their residence.

• Advise employees to speak to their financial institution for options with managing mortgage and other credit payments. Many financial institutions are preparing to provide no-penalty extension periods.

When the state of emergency ends and operations being to start again, expect a slow recovery process. Many employers and employees will have been financially hurt. Please begin to give thought to your Branch recovery plan.

Branches should designate a person to ensure the Branch and equipment are secure and to respond to any premises alarms.

Should you need to begin the lay-off process at your Branch or have any questions or concerns please contact me and please continue to refer to the updates being regularly released by Council’s Public Health Advisory Task Force.

Contact Paula Anglin, Director, Human Resource Development

UPDATE March 17 1700hrs

The council office has received notification from WSIB this afternoon:

"The health, safety and well-being of our employees and the people we serve is our top priority and the WSIB continues to actively monitor the guidance of provincial and national health authorities with regard to COVID-19. To adhere to government guidelines regarding COVID-19, we advise that all First Aid providers suspend in-person courses temporarily to ensure we are practicing social distancing.

For anyone who may require renewed certification, we will be allowing a 90 extension to get re-certified. We will continue to monitor this situation and provide more information if anything changes. Please continue to monitor our website for all of the latest news and updates"

UPDATE March 16, 2020 2130hrs

Effective 1700hrs on Tuesday March 17, 2020 all instructional activities will be suspended until further notice, likely until at least April 6. This decision will be regularly reviewed by the task force as the situation evolves and new information becomes available.

The facilities themselves remain available to MFR and SAR operations and must be prepared to support these operations as required.

Branch staff should consult with their ED/Manager or direct supervisor regarding other branch arrangements.

Refer to Task Force Memo #8 (160320-1) for more information.

Branches should display the following poster at their entrances as as appropriate through their facility. The following link is directly to the poster at the Ministry of Health Website, or click here for a copy we archived. http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/coronavirus/docs/2019_signs_EN_visitors.pdf

Questions and Answers

QUESTION: What is the effective date after which my employee may receive a 90 day extension on first aid renewals?

ANSWER: The effective date for the extension is March 1, 2020. This 90 day extension is for certificates that have expired on or after March 1, 2020.

QUESTION: Is this a rolling extension? Meaning, how long will the extension period last?

ANSWER: The 90 day extension period is only during period where first aid training has been asked to be put on hold. There is currently no resumption date that has been given on first aid training.

Here are two examples:

• If someone's First Aid Certificate had expired on March 3rd, they have 90 days from March 3rd (since it is within the exemption period) to renew their certificate.

• Similarly, if someone's First Aid Certificate is due to expire (in the near future) on April 7th, then they have 90 days from April 7th to renew.