At Walters, Health and Safety have always been our primary concerns. With COVID-19 impacting the way companies do business, we remain ever-vigilant in ensuring the health, wellness and safety of our employees, partners, clients and suppliers, as we attempt to effectively minimize impacts of COVID-19. Walters is committed to supporting our clients, partners, suppliers and our team during this time of uncertainty. We will continue to deliver high-quality and reliable service and maintain business continuity.

As we go through this challenging time, Walters has been and will continue to follow the updates and guidelines put forth by the Canadian Government, Health Canada and Public Health Authorities. The situation is changing rapidly and we have made a commitment to ensure open and timely communication to our employees.  In response, we have formed a COVID-19 Response Committee which meets on a daily basis to review and approve any changes to our procedures and communication to our employees.

While our office, plants and job sites remain operational during this time, we have implemented a course of action to help minimize the spread of the virus and the risks to our communities.

These actions include:

1. Limiting visitors to our sites, plants and offices.
2. We have cancelled all company events.
3. We are practicing social distancing to protect ourselves and the people around us.
4. All non-essential travel between Walters Shops, Office and Sites has been eliminated.
5. Anyone who feels they have had a risk of exposure to COVID-19 or are sick, are required stay off work, self-monitor, and self-isolate.
6. All business travel by air is suspended.
7. All staff returning from international travel must self-quarantine for 14 days upon their return.
8. We are staggering break and lunch times to avoid large groups of people and limit the number of people gathered together at one time.
9. For families impacted by the school closures following the March Break, we are offering support which includes working from home, change of shift or financial assistance to cover the cost of childcare.
10. Our office staff is undertaking remote working arrangements and video conferencing where feasible.
11. We are providing additional sanitizing of common areas and bathrooms in our offices, in our plants and on our job sites to prevent the spread of the virus.

As this unprecedented global situation evolves, we continue to adjust our protocols in accordance with the recommendations of local public health authorities to safeguard the health of both our people and communities.

In a recent message from our CEO, Peter Kranendonk to all staff, he shared: “These are unusual and stressful times. Our founder, Walter Koppelaar Sr, lived through World War II. He experienced the type of gut-level anxiety that some of us are feeling – probably more so. But he learned from it and it shaped his commitment to duty, respect, diligence, care, and doing the right thing. My hope for all of us is that we will stay calm, that we will learn our dependence from our vulnerability. I know we will reach out and care for our neighbours and loved ones who may be self-isolating or needing help with groceries, pharmacy pickups, etc. We can pick up the phone and call the people we’ve been meaning to reach out to, to provide a word of comfort, love, and reassurance. Now, more than ever, let’s live our core values and be role models of humility, teamwork and passion. Looking forward to brighter days ahead.”