Conference Presidents, please share this monthly news with your members to keep everyone connected with what is happening at all levels of the Society. Particular and Central Council Presidents, please share this monthly news with your Vincentian members who may not belong to a Conference.

SPIRITUAL MATTERS
The April spiritual reflection helps us to reflect on what we can do during this time of social distancing. Reach out to denise@ssvp.on.ca should you have questions on spiritual resources.

Another reflection is Lockdown written by Brother Richard Hendrick, OFM.

ANNUAL REPORTS
Thank you to everyone for completing your annual reports. We will share highlights with you next month once we have reviewed the information provided.

COVID-19 We have seen many people coming together during this unparalleled time of need. Prayers, having faith and being united in our actions will bring us through this difficult time stronger than before.

Further to earlier communications, please continue to ensure the safety and well-being of our members, staff, volunteers and people we serve with social distancing, frequent hand washing, disinfecting frequent touch areas, etc. As you know, community meals have stopped and SSVP stores have closed.

I have heard from you on alternative ways of helping our friends in need:

• Home visits – taping the envelope with food vouchers/food cards to the door or when visiting an apartment building, leaving the envelope by the entrance and walking away a safe distance waiting for the person to retrieve the envelope. Remember to still visit in pairs which may mean driving in 2 separate vehicles.
• Food banks – allowing one or two people in at a time depending on the size of your space to receive their food, or putting food on a cart to wheel just outside the door for food pick up and disinfect the cart before using for the next person.
• Making appointments scheduled every 15 minutes for people who call for assistance to attend the parish where a table is set up with food or food vouchers/food cards to pick up; this ensures one person attending at one given time.
• Calling people who have been served in the past to check in and offering whatever support is needed and available in your community.

Please share other ways that you are serving person in need on our Facebook page.

There are a lot of questions on how stores and store employees will survive and manage. Some things to consider:

• Store employees laid off can apply for EI (covers 55% of wages) or if not eligible for EI can apply for the Canada Emergency Response benefit (CERB) which provides a taxable benefit of up to $2,000/month for up to 4 months – the government advises that this web portal to apply will be available April 6.
• Wage subsidy for small and medium-sized businesses, which includes charities - SSVP stores/special works. The federal government announced on March 27 that this wage subsidy will now be 75% for up to 3 months retroactive to March 15, 2020 to keep staff on payroll. Eligibility criteria will start with the impact that COVID-19 has on sales. There are still a number of unanswered questions and more information will be shared once we have a better understanding of this subsidy and the criteria involved to apply.
• If you lease/rent the store space, ask the landlord to negotiate rent over the coming month/s.

In the interim, here are a few strategies that the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul stores can take to make the best out of the current store closure conditions:

• Take care of those repairs that have been delayed;
• Clean the store thoroughly. Do some small paint jobs. Clean out the clutter from the sales floor as well as the back room;
• Dig into those stored or warehoused bulk goods and process everything for the sales floor. Fill those racks during this interim, and be ready to re-open with a full store.

There are two key federal websites being updated on a regular basis:

• Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan
• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Canada’s Response
• Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) has put together information to access income support in the wake of COVID-19
• 211 Ontario is a great resource to check out to be familiar with the various support services available in your community.

If your Conference or Council is in need of financial support to continue serving persons in need, please remember to reach out to the next higher Council including Ontario Regional Council as the need arises in the future. With parishes not celebrating Mass, donations to the Conferences will go down and the need will be greater moving forward. Stores may need financial assistance from their Councils with having to close for a period of time. Please contact linda@ssvp.on.ca if you require financial assistance from ONRC to carry out our mission.

CRA FILING
Please share this important information with your Treasurers. On June 1, 2019, CRA introduced significant changes moving towards digital transformation which includes charities and not-for-profit organizations. T3010 submissions are now to be completed online. Should you have any questions, contact terry@ssvp.on.ca.

For Councils/Conferences who have a CRA number under the umbrella of 132410671 which is related to the National Council, please complete the information in the form and return to national@ssvp.ca.

In light of the pandemic, CRA has extended the filing deadline to December 31, 2020 for all charities with a Form T3010 Registered Charity Information Return due between March 18 and December 31, 2020 https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/charities.html. However, we recommend that if you are ready to file, still go ahead and file rather than leaving it to later.

BISHOP MEETING
In early March, I met with the Association of Catholic Bishops of Ontario (ACBO) to share information about the Society’s works and discuss how bishops can support our work. The meeting was very well received by the bishops and it was evident that they want to hear from the Society within their Diocese on the work being done. How can this be accomplished?

As the Council Presidents in the Diocese of Hamilton met with Bishop Crosby in the fall of 2019 and Council Presidents in the London Diocese are arranging a meeting with Bishop Fabbro, I encourage you to reach out and arrange a similar meeting with the Bishop in your Diocese. It is important to prepare in advance by gathering information from all Presidents on the Society’s work within your Diocese and invite Council Presidents to be part of meeting. Feel free to reach out to denise@ssvp.on.ca for more information on this.

SOCIAL JUSTICE
St. Alphonsus Conference in Peterborough is participating in a "Climate Change Action Challenge". They are sending out a challenge to other SSVP conferences. Are you ready to do your part to combat climate change and save the planet? Please share your experiences on this challenge with jim@ssvp.on.ca.

TWINNING
There is now a new method of payment offered to conferences and councils for sending your twinning funds to the National Council of Canada.

You can now make a payment online using a credit card. The link to make the payment is under the "Members" tab, select “Committee-Resources" and then “Twinning-Resources” or click on this link. A confirmation of payment will be sent to the email address mentioned during your transaction.

Should you wish to continue paying by cheque, please attach a transmission form to your cheque.

NATIONAL COUNCIL
The March Vincenpaul Canada newsletter (English or French) is dedicated to BC & Yukon Regional Council.

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL
The Council General launches the international competition for the writings on Félix Clavé, with entries due July 8, 2020

The Council General shares a letter on having faith during the Coronavirus.

Thank you for all the amazing work you do serving our friends in need. Stay safe and healthy.

Feel free to contact linda@ssvp.on.ca or sarah@ssvp.on.ca at any time should you have questions.

Linda Dollard
President