One of the city’s largest tech conferences is joining the growing list of local events and institutions that will require participants to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend in person.
Organizers of SaaS North said this week they’re expecting everyone who comes to the conference scheduled for Nov. 17 and 18 at the Shaw Centre to have received two shots.
“Our SaaS masterminds are fully vaccinated – and you need to be too if you’re coming to SaaS North,” a mass email notice distributed to Ottawa’s tech community said Wednesday, adding that proof of inoculation may be required for participants to gain entry to the event.
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“Our expectations are that the onsite experience for SaaS North attendees will be similar to ‘normal’ by the event date,” a statement on the conference’s website says, urging attendees to “check back periodically” for updates on health and safety protocols.
SaaS North’s announcement comes as the University of Ottawa and Carleton University said all students and staff will need to be fully vaccinated as a requirement for returning to campus this fall.
This will be the sixth edition of the popular tech conference, which is jointly run by the Kanata-based L-Spark accelerator and Cube Business Media. Last year’s event was staged virtually due to restrictions on public gatherings aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
This year’s list of scheduled speakers includes Hootsuite CEO Tom Keiser, Klipfolio founder and CEO Allan Wille and Lightspeed chief revenue and customer officer JD St-Martin.