MONTREAL -- The Montreal Chamber of Commerce on Thursday announced that it is cancelling all of its events as of Monday (March 16).

The move was made in the interest of slowing the spread of COVID-19, the Chamber said in a statement.

“We believe suspending our events is the responsible action to take to protect the health of our employees, our members, our partners and the general public," Chamber president and CEO Michel Leblanc said. "Our teams will continuously monitor the evolution of the situation and the recommendations issued by the public health authorities in order to reassess our decisions in real time."

The Chamber said those registered for future events will be contacted with information on how to be reimbursed.

Earlier Thursday, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said the city would decide today on the fate of the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade, which is scheduled to take place Sunday, March. 22.