Volunteers, it’s hard to know what to share of Gallery business in this time with you, but in the spirit of our community, I thought it best to share that Stephan made the difficult to place all part-time staff on Declared Emergency Leave (see below). Many volunteers work with part-time staff, so in that spirit, sharing Stephan’s full update, below: – Holly

Hello Everyone,

I apologize for sending this message late in the afternoon. I recognize that you are eager to receive an update from the AGO.

Things are changing so rapidly, it has been incredibly difficult to anticipate the impact that this crisis will have on so many things. COVID-19 is affecting every aspect of our lives and has been stressful for everyone.

Throughout this situation, we have worked to make the best decisions possible, with ever-changing information. These decisions have been extremely difficult, but were made with two goals in mind: first, to protect the health of our employees, volunteers and public; and second, to protect the financial health of the AGO so that when we do re-open, we will be in as strong an economic position as possible – including the preservation of as many jobs as possible.

We simply do not know at this time how long our federal, provincial and municipal officials will keep a state of emergency in effect, or how long physical distancing will be required. This means that we can’t be certain when the AGO will once again open to the public.

We anticipate restrictions will be in place for months, not weeks. After much deliberation and consultation, I believe that the best course of action at this time is to plan to re-open to the public on July 1. This could change – it could be sooner, it could be later.

With the AGO closed to the public, our ability to generate revenue has been dramatically impacted. Simply put, we very quickly have found ourselves in a deteriorating financial position.

Today, I have made the difficult decision to place all part-time employees on Declared Emergency Leave, effective Monday March 30. The Ontario government created this new program three days ago to protect employees’ jobs during the Leave and to allow them to apply for Employment Insurance Benefits without a waiting period.

After reviewing all options, including the federal government’s recent announcements to help employers and employees through this crisis, and having discussions with both UNIFOR and OPSEU, consulting legal counsel, I believe that this is the best course of action at this time.

We are enacting this Declared Emergency Leave now to make sure we can preserve and protect jobs in the longer term – so that when we re-open, as many jobs as possible will be available. We will need to have funds readily available to pay for labour.

Changes in circumstances must shift our actions or timeline, as required. In the coming days and weeks, we should know more about what lies ahead, including the impact of closure on our exhibition and program schedule. For example, this past week it became clear that Picasso will not open this summer. We are in a series of complex negotiations with multiple museums about all of the upcoming exhibitions. We will update everyone as this information becomes available.

The announcement today will be hard for many of our colleagues. I know that you will have many questions. Please reach out to your Leadership Team member at any time.

Sincerely,

Stephan