Dear BCBC Partners and Members, Friends of the BCBC,
Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, our lives have been turned upside down. Several aspects of our lives suddenly seem insignificant. The Raptors, the Maple Leafs or the Toronto Blue Jays are no longer a subject of conversation. We are suddenly facing issues that are much more serious than who won last night’s game. Our economy, which we considered strong a few weeks ago, is in danger of collapsing. The closing of our borders and the confinement measures require us to adapt our daily lives to the requirements of this new status quo.
On the other hand, today’s situation has given us an opportunity to discover how powerful and resilient we are as a community and how humanity is able to quickly adapt to this new way of life. International cooperation is strong and new information technology is being used to support, and even save, lives in a way we have never witnessed before.
The BCBC is at the heart of exchanges, cooperation and mutual aid, particularly between Europe and Canada. We will make sure to check in with our members and network and circulate any message that is directly or indirectly related to the pandemic and which we think could be helpful to you, our community members. As of now, you may find at the end of my message some resources provided by our partners that I hope you will find useful.
Moreover, if you have come across any articles, videos or announcements that could be of interest or help to our members at this time, please do not hesitate to forward them to our Director Michelle Willer (Michelle.Willer@BelgiumConnect.com), who will make sure everyone can benefit from them.
As a business network where mutual assistance is one of the key values, we are as ever at your disposal to assist. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you – and stay healthy!
Sincerely,
Xavier Van Overmeire, BCBC President
SHARING SOME RELEVANT INFORMATION
As mentioned above, you can find herein some relevant resources and information that our partners have generously shared with us. Do not hesitate to come back to us with additional relevant information to be shared with the BCBC community.
- CIBC: Covid19 – Economic Perspective audiocast with Bejamin Tal, Deputy Chief Economist, CIBC Capital Markets. To access the audio cast: call 905-694-9451 and enter passcode 5635832# (in English, audiocast aired on March 30th, 2020).
- Dentons: Covid-19 info Hub: Excellent Guides & Global resources, including Labour & Employment Responsibilities, by Country & Province/Region (in English).
- Mazars: Curated material, including information on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (in English & French).
- Degroof Petercam: Degroof Petercam’s Youtube Channel featuring info and advice on the economy, market changes, investments and support sources (in English, French & Flemish).
- Aline Ayoub HR Consulting: Great article on Best Practices for Employers and Support for Employees during this time (in English).
BCBC Partners & Sponsors