Cancellation of Canadian Respiratory Conference (CRC) 

March 17, 2020

Dear CRC delegates, speakers, poster presenters, sponsoring partners and exhibitors:  The CTS Board of Directors met yesterday to review the options of postponing or delivering the Canadian Respiratory Conference program via videoconference. We thank you all for your patience while we considered these alternatives in response to the advent of community transmission of COVID-19 and the corresponding travel restrictions to protect healthcare professionals and the public.

We considered the timing, required capacity and cost of these proposals. In recognition of the fact that our community is on the front line of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and that these efforts and their ramifications will take priority for months to come, it does not appear feasible to postpone or re-purpose the conference content at this time. CTS is therefore announcing the full cancellation of the Canadian Respiratory Conference.   

Delegate registration fees will be automatically refunded in full by the end of the month. Delegates whose abstracts were accepted will still be published in an online supplement of the Canadian Journal of Respiratory, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and in a PDF publication that will be posted on the CTS website. If you have any questions, please contact crc@cts-sct.ca.

Speakers will be contacted by UnConventional Planning, our conference management firm, regarding cancellation of travel and hotel accommodation.

Sponsors and exhibitors will be contacted directly by CTS regarding refund procedures.  We are grateful that several generous sponsors have agreed to collaborate with us to re-purpose the industry sponsored symposia into future webcasts or online education modules.  We will keep you posted on these developments in the months ahead.

Hotel reservations made in the CRC room block at the Sheraton on the Falls or Crown Plaza will be cancelled by the hotel.  If you made a reservation outside of the room block or at another hotel altogether, you are responsible for cancelling your reservation.

Thank you all for supporting CTS through your intended participation and commitment to CRC 2020.  We also thank you all for your work on the frontlines and for your continued patience while we work through the refund processes. The CTS will continue to provide COVID-19 updates on our website https://cts-sct.ca. 

We look forward to welcoming you back next year to the Canadian Respiratory Conference in Quebec City, April 8-10, 2021.