May Update

For many of us we are now entering month three of physical isolation having begun our efforts to reduce the Covid-19 pandemic in early to mid-March. Much has happened in that time including the deaths of many people, Federal and Provincial daily updates, the relief programs for workers, small business, renters, students and others. We are all doing our best to reduce the risk of spreading the virus but there are many hardships along the way. Many people and organizations are suffering and the saying “We are all in this together” couldn’t be said at a more appropriate time. And of course, we have all felt the pain of the mass shooting in Nova Scotia and we grieve with our fellow Canadians in our neighboring province. As a safety organization, we reached out to Safety NS with our condolences.

Safety NL has been very active during the month of April, even though we have not had our offices open to the public or held any of our regularly scheduled courses. A small number of staff members are in the office regularly and others are working from home. We are looking forward to the day when we are allowed to reopen to the public and get our training back on schedule. We have been offering limited training to a few clients during the month through distant learning and webinars, particularly in Business Continuity, Crisis Communication and Pandemic Response. While our driver education program is on hold, we have developed a series of blogs to parents to equip them to take their children out for driving practice until driving schools resume lessons.

We have also met with officials with Motor Registration to explore online options to complete the programs of students who were part way through driving school when we were forced to close and we are exploring options to deliver programs through new methods once the “new normal” takes shape. We want to reassure all our clients, students and parents, that as soon as we can resume business, we will. We also want to reassure you that we are in the same boat as every other driving school. At this point nobody has been approved to do an online graduated beginning driver program in this province. All schools must complete an in-class and an in-car component and go to MRD for a road test. So do not think that if your child was with another driving school, they would be completing their driver education during this time.

Our whole staff from around the province has been holding regular weekly teleconferences to address concerns from the regions and from individuals coping with the business interruptions of Covid-19. We all are kept informed of concerns that parents, students and corporate clients are bringing forward and we are doing our best to address them. We anticipate there will be many changes in the way we do business when the time comes to reopen and to help prepare, we have been involved in our own planning discussions and in discussions with other agencies. Presently we are in the process of acquiring Personal Protective Equipment and we are investigating protocols to protect both students and instructors while this health threat exists. Rest assured we will be prepared to reopen safely and within medical guidelines.

As a country, we will survive this pandemic. It will take time, caution and concern for each other. At Safety NL we are committed to safety for all and ask you to keep that same commitment until this threat has passed. Until we meet again, stay safe!