It’s a time of re-beginnings, as the Province of Ontario announced that Ottawa is one of the regions that will move forward to Stage 3 of its reopening framework, effective July 17th. Most businesses and services, and public spaces, can gradually reopen -with public health and workplace safety measures and restrictions in place. Indoor gathering limits will increase to 50 people and outdoor gatherings to 100 people – with a two metre separation to be maintained (this also applies to tour and guide services). In addition to the exhibits at museums and heritage attractions, sites and institutions that were permitted to reopen in Stage 2, high-contact surfaces such as interactive exhibits and displays may now reopen -and must be cleaned and disinfected frequently. In addition to the services resumed in Stage 2, libraries may reopen for all on-site services, as long as materials that are circulated, returned or accessed within the library are disinfected or quarantined before being recirculated. For more information, please read the media release here and visit the Reopening Ontario website.
The Capital Heritage Connexion continues to support and advocate for the needs of our Heritage sector and community during these challenging, changing times, including making a submission to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs regarding its study of the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the Culture and Heritage sectors. With the crisis easing and the Province’s ‘Stage 2 Re-opening’, we were pleased to hold our first Capital Heritage ConneX check-in on June 11th. This enabled our Members to share information on re-tooling for re-opening and optimizing on-line engagement -with discussion prompters from the McCord-Stewart Museums in Montreal and Goulbourn Museum in Ottawa.
And now, as we move into Phase 3 Re-opening, our next ConneX session will take place today, July 16th, focusing on reimagining revenue generation (events, activities and streams) with discussion prompters from the Canadian War Museum and the Diefenbunker Museum. Registration closes at 10:45am today! The ConneX sessions are open to our Members and new Members can now join for free.
We’re very pleased to welcome aboard the following new valued Members: Aboriginal Experiences, Global Centre for Pluralism, Indigenous Walks, North Lanark Historical Society/Regional Museum, OC Transpo, Patrick Chisolm, Emily Weedmark, Meghan Walsh and the Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival. We encourage you to visit their websites to learn more about their offerings and support them as they pivot forward through these pandemic times.
Catherine Lindquist,
Executive Director