Last week’s updates from UBC
- January 25: UBC Bulletin: Claiming home office expenses — updated CRA guidance
- January 22: President’s Blog: Weekly Update
Updates on UBC’s response to COVID-19 are at covid19.ubc.ca.
Managing your mental health
HR has collected mental health resources to help you manage our ups and downs. Our VPFO HR staff is always available for a confidential conversation.
- January – March: Through the Lens: A series of interactive workshops designed to enhance UBC’s understanding of diversity, while offering practical ideas for creating a more equitable and inclusive campus.
- February 19, 22, 25: Adaptive Resiliency by Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute
Operations updates
Facilities
Building Operations, Energy & Water Services and Infrastructure Development
- Building Operations Safety Plan updated: The safety plan for Building Operations (Version 5) has been updated. To view all COVID-19 Safety Plans for Facilities, please visit the Facilities website.
- Hot Lunch with John Metras: Join this month’s Virtual Hot Lunch on Wednesday January 27 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. with featured speaker John Metras, Associate Vice-President, Facilities. For registration, please visit the Virtual Hot Lunch registration webpage.
- Berwick Building remains a core building to maintain: A new lease has been executed for childcare services in the Berwick Building, and units may receive requests for service. If you receive a service request for this building and are uncertain whether it is something you should be working on, or whether it may fall under a portion of the lease agreement, please contact Facilities Manager, Jeet Amritsar directly for clarification.
Finance
Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury
- Claiming Employment Expenses: The CRA has announced two new ways employees may be able to claim home office expenses for the 2020 tax year. Updated information is available on the Finance website.
- UBC’s Budget Process: Financial outlook meetings to discuss budgets with each faculty and administrative unit will be taking place throughout February. Meetings to update various UBC community groups (including AVPs, Deans, the Senate, and student leadership) have also been set.
Operations & Advising
Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services
- BC COVID-19 Immunization Plan: B.C.’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan was launched on January 22. For information on the four phases of the COVID-19 Immunization Program, please visit the BC Centre for Disease Control website.
- Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) program: As part of the TDG program, Transport of Dangerous Goods Inspectorate plans to inspect shipping/receiving areas at UBC Vancouver this year via Zoom. Pierre Tanguay and Anastasia Kuzmin from SRS’s Health & Safety team will be helping to facilitate these inspections and providing support to ensure that our clients are ‘inspection ready’.
- Contaminated site regulations overhaul: Effective February 1, 2021, the BC Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy will implement a more robust and streamlined process for monitoring contaminated sites in the province. SRS’s Environmental Protection team is working with UBC Office of the University Counsel and Campus & Community Planning to define the regulatory implications from this significant change and develop a strategy for the new process roll-out.
- Building design for hazardous waste room: SRS’s Environmental Protection team has been working closely with the project design teams for the new Gateway Building and School of Biomedical Engineering Building to ensure the design of the hazardous waste storage rooms and access/loading areas are operationally appropriate for the type of use expected.
- VPFO HR on-site support schedule this week:
- January 25: Matt Furgal, Gregor Macdonald
- January 26: Sonia Lachar, Kasia Burza
- January 27: Rachel Lau
- January 28: Matt Furgal, Gregor Macdonald
- January 29: Sonia Lachar, Kasia Burza
Other notable updates
Share your thoughts on the UBC Today website
The Internal Communications team invites you and your colleagues to share feedback on UBC Today, the dedicated website for faculty and staff. A 5-minute intercept survey will be available on every page of the UBC Today website from January 18 – 29. Your feedback offers valuable insight to help shape UBC Today and we appreciate your participation.
UBC recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2021
UBC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2021, for the ninth consecutive year. This special designation recognizes the employers that offer the nation’s best workplaces and programs for young people starting their careers. To see why UBC was selected for this award, view the announcement on the Focus on People website.
Data Privacy Week @UBC, January 25-29
Join the Privacy in the post-secondary education sector keynote event on Thursday, January 28 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. with speaker Michael Envoy, Privacy Commissioner of BC to learn more about the nuanced and multi-faceted topic of privacy implications for institutional activities in higher education. For registration, and more Data Privacy Week events, please visit the Privacy Matters website.
Helpful news
Some interesting news articles people have found informative, helpful, or fun! These are provided for information and entertainment only. Unless noted, UBC doesn’t specifically endorse or supply this content.
- Snowmageddon 2021 may not have arrived, but winter cabin fever is real. Here are 101 things to do when you’re stuck at home from Time Out magazine (the one you always find in your hotel room in a strange city). Looking for things with the kids? Here are 87 family activities to help you avoid coronavirus cabin fever courtesy of Today’s Parent magazine.
Have an article for your peers? Email communications@vpfo.ubc.ca.