At SHARE, our work is devoted to building a better world. We do this by building and mobilizing investor leadership toward a sustainable, inclusive and productive economy.
At the moment, most of the world – and most of the people and organizations we work with – are primarily focused on mobilizing the world’s public health infrastructure to tackle what could be the worst pandemic in modern history. Many in the investor community are also paying close attention to the market and economic aftershocks of COVID-19.
I am writing to you to let you know what we are doing during this uncertain time.
As an employer, we are concerned for the safety and wellbeing of our team. We have been working over the past 10 days to prepare our own continuity plans, and, in consultation with our office health and safety committee, and on guidance from public health officials, we have advised all SHARE staff to work from home for the next several weeks, and to avoid unnecessary travel and in-person meetings. We have secured our IT and other infrastructure to make sure this is possible for all employees. We recognize that school closures in Ontario, and potential school closures in British Columbia will have a significant impact on people’s lives.
For our clients and partners, we will continue to work with you to deliver on the goals and commitments we’ve made to you. One advantage of operating in two primary locations is that most SHARE systems are already cloud-based and our remote operations are already well-established and secure. We will be continuing all SHARE work and services, including time-sensitive matters like proxy voting, for which we have added backup systems in place and experienced staff on hand. We will also continue to be available by email and phone for any inquiries and will be happy, as well, to assist you with any different needs your own organization may have during this time. Please let us know how we can help.
We recognize that this crisis will impact our different partners and clients in different ways – whether you are a foundation that funds service agencies; an Indigenous Trust based in a community that is likely to be underserved by public health responses from the Canadian and provincial governments; or a union whose members work in health and service jobs that will make them particularly vulnerable.
We will also be watching closely for lessons from this experience that can guide us in our work to mobilize for sustainable and inclusive economy – including the capacity of the global community to act collectively to respond to a crisis; the need for government and company responsibility for social infrastructure, and the resilience of our economy and community in times of crisis.
We will continue to monitor the situation and pronouncements from public health authorities to assist in further decisions. In the meantime, however, you can expect no lesser service, commitment and enthusiasm from your partners at SHARE.
If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please don’t hesitate to contact me personally.
Regards,
Kevin
Kevin Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE)
E: kthomas@share.ca
T: +1.416.306.6453
www.SHARE.ca
SHARE’s Toronto office is located on the territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat peoples
