b'PRESIDENTS MESSAGECLEAR AND PRESENTDANGERT om Clancys 1989 political thriller Clearthe Delta variant. In laymans language, that and Present Danger had nothing to domeans the newest mutation spreads four to with a global pandemic. It did, however,five times faster than the last. The IHU strain underline the importance of taking athat the French uncovered in early January and catastrophic threat seriously.is even newer still had 46 mutations before we The heroes in my story are the men and womenhad even heard of it.in the construction industry who venture out each day to build the homes and hospitals that we cant survive without. And what makesFRANKLY, THE NUMBERS SPEAK construction unique is that we are an essential service and, by extension, that means thatFOR THEMSELVES. I JUST HOPE staying home to wait out the storm is notan option. As I write this message, the number ofGOVERNMENTS RECOGNIZE THE Canadians with COVID-19 roughly doubles every three to four days. It doesnt get any moreSENSE OF URGENCY AND PROVIDE catastrophic than that, and yet constructors face the risk head-on and adapt. Kudos tous all. THE CONSIDERABLE ONGOING Those of you who faithfully read my Presidents Message know well that I have been genuinelyFINANCIAL ASSISTANCE WE WILL concerned about our collective preparedness for the onslaught of industry challenges. That said, I have nothing but admiration for NEED TO GET BACK ON OUR FEETour resiliency. Frankly, the numbers speak for themselves. IWe were lucky when SARS hit in 2003. The just hope governments recognize the sense ofgovernment restrictions legislated on April 27urgency and provide the considerable ongoingwere initially lifted by May 4 in Ontario, and financial assistance we will need to get back onthe hiccups downstream were few and far our feet. My guess is that they underestimatebetween. This time around, all evidence the sectors role in the recovery. Our job is topoints to eradication taking an eternity. In make sure that doesnt happen. fact, technically eradication is impossible. The Speaking of the recovery, I suppose the burningchallenge is herd immunity and the threshold question is whether we will see an end to thefor so-called herd immunity seems to increase COVID virus any time soon. Sadly, the effectivewith time. To the best of my knowledge, this reproduction of Omicron is 4.55 versus .97 forvirus wont stop mutating if we continue to put 8Quarter 42021 BUILDERSDIGEST'