As the COVID-19 vaccine supply expanded in April, the Ontario government partnered with local public health units and businesses in ‘hot spot’ communities to vaccinate their essential workforce.

This public-private partnership represents an intersection between employee wellness and corporate social responsibility and will be the focus of a Brock University online panel discussion Wednesday, June 9 at 11 a.m.

Ken Chan, Brock University’s Vice-President. Administration.

Ken Chan, Brock’s Vice-President, Administration, will lead the session as part of the Business Breathers series facilitated by Goodman Group, the Goodman School of Business’s community-focused learning and development services provider.

Chan, who recently joined Brock, worked as the Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force Secretariat at the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General prior to his arrival at the University.

“This innovative approach has enabled employers to vaccinate their essential workforce through onsite workplace clinics while providing surge capacity to the public health system,” Chan said of the public-private partnerships. “By vaccinating their own employees, these businesses have enabled vaccination slots to be opened up to others.”

The webinar titled “Employee Wellness and Corporate Social Responsibility in the COVID-19 Era: How companies stepped up to vaccinate their essential workforce and the community” will feature a panel of business leaders who collaborated with governments to vaccinate their essential workers.

Premier Doug Ford meets with vaccination staff at the clinic set up by Bruce Power.

Business leaders on the panel include:

• James Scongack, Executive Vice-President for Corporate Affairs and Operational Services, Bruce Power
• Leslie-Ann Vezina, Director of Employee Travel and Recognition, Air Canada
• Vanessa White, Chief Human Resources Officer, Maple Lodge Farms

Each panelist will speak on the importance of vaccinating their employees at the workplace, what stood out for them about the process and how they were able to support the vaccination of the broader community through their vaccination programs.

Chan has broad and diverse leadership experiences in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He has also served as the Assistant Deputy Minister for Transformation and Delivery at the Ontario Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. Prior to joining the provincial government, Chan was head of Canadian public affairs at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a global biotech company headquartered in Boston. He is currently a part time Global Executive PhD student at ESCP Business School in France.

Maple Lodge Farms is among three organizations that will share their experience vaccinating employees at their workplace during a Brock webinar Wednesday, June 9.

Everyone is welcome to attend the free Business Breathers webinar. It will feature a 30-minute panel discussion, followed by a 15-minute Q&A period. Topics in this series focus on leadership, management and innovation as well as the financial and social impacts of trending topics. Interested participants are asked to register online. A confirmation email will provide a link to access the webinar at the date and time of the event.

Upcoming Business Breathers:

Reframing Negotiation: How to get better outcomes through the art of feminine negotiation
Cindy Watson, Founder of Women on Purpose
Wednesday, June 23 at 11 a.m.