In Today's Update
- Office Holiday Hours
- Ontario Lockdown Details
- Canada Halts All UK Flights
We will continue to strive to bring forward pertinent information to the tourism industry as it becomes available. We will also do our best to find answers to your questions. Do not hesitate to contact us. We are here for you.
NOTO Contact Emails:
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Office Holiday Hours
NOTO will be closed from December 23rd and reopen on January 4th. The NOTO staff will keep you up-to-date with any important news updates that may surface over this time.
Although things will be very different this year, especially with a second lockdown beginning during the holiday season, we hope you all take some time to unwind and enjoy some quality family time.
We wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.
Cheers to a new year!
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Province Wide Lockdown & New Small Business Support Grant for Those Affected by Second Lockdown
The Province-wide Lockdown will come into effect on Saturday, December 26, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. Northern Ontario will be in lockdown for 14 days and Southern Ontario for 28 days.
Additional restrictions will be put into place to reinforce that Ontarians should be listening to public health experts. Measures include, but are not limited to:
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Restricting indoor organized public events and social gatherings, except with members of the same household (the people you live with). Individuals who live alone may consider having exclusive close contact with one other household.
- Prohibiting in-person shopping in most retail settings - curbside pickup and delivery can continue. Discount and big box retailers selling groceries will be limited to 25 per cent capacity for in-store shopping. Supermarkets, grocery stores and similar stores that primarily sell food, as well as pharmacies, will continue to operate at 50 per cent capacity for in-store shopping.
- Restricting indoor access to shopping malls - patrons may only go to a designated indoor pickup area (by appointment only), essential retail stores that are permitted to be open (e.g. pharmacy, grocery store), or, subject to physical distancing and face covering requirements, to the food court for takeout purchases. Shopping malls may also establish outdoor designated pickup areas.
- Prohibiting indoor and outdoor dining. Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will be permitted to operate by take out, drive-through, and delivery only.
- Employers in all industries should make every effort to allow employees to work from home.
The current COVID-19 Response Framework will be paused when the Province-wide Lockdown comes into effect. The impacts of these time-limited measures will be evaluated throughout the lockdown to determine if it is safe to lift any restrictions or if they need to be extended. Until the lockdown comes into effect on the 26th, the following health units will be moved to the following zones:
- Grey-Lockdown
- City of Hamilton Public Health Services.
- Red-Control
- Brant County Health Unit.
- Niagara Region Public Health.
- Orange-Restrict
- Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health.
- Yellow-Protect
- Timiskaming Health Unit.
- Green-Prevent
- Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development is leading a multi-ministry COVID-19 Safety Team. The team will partner with local authorities to carry out additional enforcement blitzes in sectors where they are needed most.
The New Ontario Small Business Support Grant
Small businesses required to close or restrict services under the Province-wide Lockdown will be able to apply for this one-time grant. Each small business will be able to use the support in whatever way makes the most sense for their individual business. For example, some businesses will need support paying employee wages or rent, while others will need support maintaining their inventory.
Eligible small businesses include those that:
- Are required to close or significantly restrict services subject to the Provincewide Shutdown effective 12:01 a.m. on December 26, 2020;
- Have less than 100 employees at the enterprise level; and
- Have experienced a minimum of 20 per cent revenue decline in April 2020 compared to April 2019.
Starting at $10,000 for all eligible businesses, the grant will provide businesses with funding up to a maximum of $20,000 to help cover decreased revenue expected as a result of the Province-wide Shutdown. The business must demonstrate they experienced a revenue decline of at least 20 per cent when comparing monthly revenue in April 2019 and April 2020. This time period was selected because it reflects the impact of the public health measures in spring 2020, and as such provides a representation of the possible impact of these latest measures on small businesses.
Essential businesses that are allowed to remain open will not be eligible for this grant. More information about the Ontario Small Business Support Grant is available here. Further details, including how to apply, will be announced in January 2021.
Note: NOTO recognizes that this once again will not help our seasonal businesses and are sending in our comments to that effect.
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Canada Stops Flights from UK
A more contagious variant of COVID-19 has be discovered in the UK. As a result, Canada halted flights from the UK in hope to prevent this strain of COVID from entering Canada. This travel ban may be extended as needed. Those who have arrived from the UK over the last few days were subject to heavy screening and stronger scrutiny of their quarantine plans.
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Get Your Safe Travel Stamp!
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) created the Safe Travels Stamp which is an international symbol designed to allow travellers to recognize governments and companies around the world, which have adopted health and hygiene, standardized protocols – so consumers can experience ‘Safe Travels’.
NOTO's health and safety protocols, which have been vetted by the Government of Ontario have been recognized as standardized protocols for this purpose.
If you've implemented our protocols, or any other Government approved protocols throughout your workplace, apply to receive your stamp!
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NOTO's COVID-19 Page
This page was created to keep you informed on the latest developments that may impact/help your businesses. This page features links to our COVID-19 newsletters, Government resources, information that may be useful to tourism operators and links to supports for tourism operators as they become available. This page will be updated regularly during this pandemic.
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Federal & Provincial Government Information
The Ontario and Federal Governments are regularly updating COVID-19 information, travel information, Minister statements, Government initiatives and statistics on their websites. For additional information from the Ontario or Federal Government, please click on the buttons below.
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NOTO is a membership based organization that works hard to support the outdoor tourism industry through advocacy and information services. We do not receive Government funding for operating and rely on annual memberships from tourism businesses, organizations, product and service suppliers, and partners. For more information about membership with NOTO visit noto.ca
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