C-19 BULLETIN - April 8, 2020

Government Announcements

Today, the Federal Government discussed pending changes to the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program. The Prime Minister also recognized the barrier to receiving these supports for businesses.

  • To measure their revenue loss, it is proposed that all employers have the flexibility to compare their revenue of March, April and May 2020 to that of the same month of 2019, or to an average of their revenue earned in January and February 2020.

  • For March, the Government proposes to make the CEWS more accessible than originally announced by reducing the 30% benchmark to 15%, in recognition of the fact that many businesses did not begin to be affected by the crisis until partway through the month.

  • Charities and not-for-profits can choose to include or exclude any government funding when showcasing loss year over year. 

  • Significant changes were made to the Canada Summer Jobs program to help students. The government will now give a subsidy of up to 100% to cover the cost of hiring students and extend the time for job placement until the winter.

  • Businesses will also be able to hire students on a part-time basis for those that have had to scale back operations.

  • The government is calling on the opposition parties to join and get this legislation passed. Cabinet will be meeting this afternoon to discuss the upcoming reconvening of Parliament
______________________________________________________________
Harbour Air Flight Update

With the announcement from other essential travel services that they are temporarily cancelling certain routes, we have received a flood of requests to assist. In particular, between Nanaimo and the Sunshine Coast as well as Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver. By flying these routes directly, guests needing to travel between these coastal communities can do so without having to travel through Tsawwassen.

Daily flights (beginning April 13th, Monday – Friday) between Nanaimo and Sechelt are currently available to book online. These flights will connect with the four daily flights between Nanaimo and Vancouver that began on April 6th, creating seamless travel for people who need to get to the Sunshine Coast.

Please visit the website for more details: www.harbourair.com/covid-19-flight-update

Please note, these flights are to support essential travel for a community that now has limited options. Harbour Air has opened up this service to support front-line workers and essential travel. If you do not need to travel, please stay home.
_______________________________________________________________
Crime Prevention During Business Closures

Our partners at Tourism Vancouver shared these resources today from the Downtown Vancouver BIA. They could also be used by other communities around the province.

  • Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) has provided a list of crime prevention tips for business owners to consider during a time when many businesses have had to temporarily close due to the coronavirus pandemic.

  • As an added resource, the DVBIA has created a suggested checklist for businesses to follow to learn how to perform a security audit and how to ensure businesses are secure using long-term measures.
_______________________________________________________________
British Columbia Aviation Council Update

The British Columbia Aviation Council (BCAC) is currently working closely with three groups: Air Operators, Flight Training Units and the Airports to identify the impacts COVID is having. In addition, what these groups need to survive and then rebuild is being identified and communicated to governments and other organizations. If you are a member of these groups and are not on the invite list, please email [email protected] . You do not have to be a BCAC member to participate. Airports meet Wednesday at 9am, FTUs on Tuesday (time tbd) and Air Operators Tuesday at 2pm.

Read the latest BCAC newsletter for more details.
_______________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, ITAC has made the difficult decision to postpone this year’s International Indigenous Tourism Conference that was going to be held from September 29th to October 1st in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

_________________________________________________________________
Our industry is full of innovative, caring and helpful people.
Share your stories with us and we will share them here in our daily bulletin.

Our friends at Tourism Dawson Creek shared this list of questions to help with
feeling gratitude during this trying time.
Feel free to send us your ideas on what information would be valuable for TIABC to share through our COVID-19 Bulletin going forward. Drop us a line at [email protected].