The annual Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR) conference, originally scheduled for Feb. 8-10 in Edmonton, Alta., will take place as a virtual event due to surging Omicron cases. This marks the second consecutive year that the event has been held virtually because of Covid-19.
“After a thorough review of current and future health risks, advisories to limit domestic and international travel, Federal and Provincial models indicating significant increase of Covid-19 positive tests over the next three weeks, consultation with the CAAR Executive Committee Board of Directors and CAAR staff, CAAR has decided to cancel the in-person 2022 CAAR Conference scheduled for Feb. 8-10, 2022, in Edmonton, Alberta,” the organization posted on its website.
“We are disappointed with the cancellation of the in-person conference for a second year in a row, [but] our industry safety and potential disruption of business operations overrides the benefits associated with hosting an in-person conference,” the notice stated. “Registration refunds will be processed in the coming weeks leading up to the conference for the difference of our in-person and virtual fees. Thank you for your patience and your support as we navigate through this situation.”
CAAR said the virtual conference will feature educational keynote and concurrent sessions, with agenda details to be released soon. The speaker slate includes Michael Kirwin, Canadian Federation of Independent Business; Chuck Penner, LeftField Commodity Research; Josh Linville, Stone X; Derek Rolstone, Stone Strategies; Karen Haugen-Kozyra, Viresco Solutions; Ted McKinney, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; Gord Kurbis, Canadian Grains Council; and Dan McTeague, Canadians for Affordable Energy.
More information is available at https://caar.org/caar-conference.