May 27th 2020

Dear Members, Partners and NOTL Community,
 
As we slowly come out of the outbreak, there is plenty to do. The Chamber and Tourism NOTL Team continues to monitor and provide updates and curated information on the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Information is always available and if you need any of the past newsletters please send an email to Nicole Cripps at chamberevents@niagaraonthelake.com
 
Surveys are essential tools to know the state of the economy and to be able to advocate in the right direction. Tonight we ask you again to fill the Niagara Region Survey, the deadline is Monday June 1, it will only takes a few minutes but the wealth of knowledge that we can collect is precious; it is the best mean the Region has to know where it can help.
 
We are going to get out of this and our destination will prevail but a “New Normal” is awaiting us and we all need to collaborate.
 
Be well and stay healthy
 
Eduardo R. Lafforgue and The Team at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce and Tourism NOTL
The Niagara Economic Rapid Response Team have launched the next COVID-19 Business Impact Survey

This survey will help us assess the economic impact of COVID-19 on Niagara businesses, as well as help us understand what measures are necessary for economic recovery planning and activities going forward.
 
We would greatly appreciate it if you could circulate it to your members. I am also happy to share the results with you once completed. We know that tourism has been disproportionately hard hit by COVID-19 and the results from this survey will help advocate for resource and support for tourism businesses. 
GNCC Shop Local Page
The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce has put together a fantastic page to help "Shop Local" in the Niagara Region. Please check it out and help support our local businesses. Also if you would like to list your business please click the link below.
Travel, Tourism And Hospitality Sector Last To Fully Recover From COVID-19 

Our survey with Statistics Canada revealed that the travel, tourism and hospitality sector will be one of the last to fully recover as consumers face new, post-COVID, realities. The federal government has taken some action to help firms whose businesses are primarily seasonal through the form of a $1-billion regional relief fund. This funding will clearly help but, inevitably, businesses in this sector will require more targeted support. We are working to ensure they have the resources they need to get through this period of uncertainty.
Joint Letter To Prime Minister Justin Trudeau On Restarting Canada’s Tourism And Travel Sector
On May 26, 2020, an open letter was sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging the federal government to take measures to restart Canada’s tourism and travel sector. The letter was sent on behalf of Canada’s Tourism Roundtable, which includes the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC), the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), the Canadian Airports Council (CAC), Meetings Mean Business Canada, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, the Toronto Region Board of Trade, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and Tourism Toronto.
Facebook Canada Launches Grant Program And New Supports, Totalling Nearly $3.5 Million For Small Businesses

Small businesses are the pillars of our communities and, right now, they need everyone’s support. Today, Facebook Canada launched a program with nearly $3.5 million in support for small- and medium-sized businesses in the Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal regions. From grants and virtual training to enhanced resources and new product features, this is Facebook Canada's way of giving a hand to those who give our communities so much. The deadline to apply for the grants is Tuesday, June 2. 
COVID-19 Webinars
Ontario Re-Opening for Business!
Speakers:
  • Hon. Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance, Ontario
  • Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, Minister Without Portfolio, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reductio
 
Moderator:
  • Diane J. Brisebois, President & CEO, Retail Council of Canada
 
Date: May 28, 2020
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm ET
Join us for a special event where the speakers will highlight some of the learnings & best practices they have put in place from a health & safety perspective.
Bravo Niagara! joins global virtual charity concert "United in Music" led by Maestro Shlomo Mintz to aid the UN Refugee Agency's COVID-19 response
  
“This is a great example of organizations coming together creatively across the globe to support refugees, and we are enormously grateful to Maestro Shlomo Mintz, Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts, and all the brilliant musicians who have come together from all over the world to collaborate to raise funds for UNHCR’s COVID-19 response.”
 
-Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Contribute To The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) Consultation 

The Government of Canada is reviewing the CEWS program, and input from businesses is required to inform potential changes to the program to best meet the needs of businesses and their staff. You can participate via a short online survey or by email. Deadline to participate is June 5, 2020.
What is required from landlords and tenants for the CECRA application?
 
  • It is one application that covers April, May and June. It looks to see whether the average revenues for all those three months are 70% or more below the baseline (Forecasts will be accepted for June).
  • Requires landlord application, a rent reduction agreement(s) and landlord and tenant attestations. Portal will be available 24/7 and template documents are available 
  • Landlords must agree that the rent that is forgiven, reduced and will never be recoverable or collected through significant or disproportionate rent increases.
  • Tenant attestation covers rent cap of $50,000, enterprise size of $20 million or less and 70% or greater revenue loss when compared to the same months last year or the average of January and February 2020.
  • Non arms-length parties need to show a valid lease and attest that the rent is not above market value.
Retail Council of Canada takes fight for rent moratoriums national
RCC is actively leading regional campaigns across the country, in collaboration with coalitions of local and national industry associations, calling on provincial governments to take immediate action as June 1, 2020 rent payments rapidly become due. From coast to coast, RCC is working to ensure government does not sit by idly during this time of crisis - rent relief remains a critical, priority issue for our retailers big and small.
 
In addition to  yesterday’s letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford  and RCC’s  press release , this morning, Alberta Premier  Jason Kenny received this letter  from Alberta business association partners. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe will be receiving similar letters later today. Quebec Minister of Economic Development, Pierre Fitzgibbon, in a press conference today, mentioned his concerns around evictions and that his government was looking into regulations that could support moratoriums.
 
RCC has also been reaching out to government leaders and media to reinforce the immediate need to put in place temporary commercial eviction protection for tenants who were in good standing with their landlords prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, or a commitment to put a moratorium on eviction applications and hearings until August 31, 2020, to match the end of the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program.
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Business Community Chat
Next week please join us at 10 am Tuesday for a conference call style chat with fellow members of our Niagara-on-the-lake business community.
This will give you an opportunity to speak with others and share your stories and experiences during this challenging time.

Click below to register for the chat.
Please do so by 9 am on Tuesday morning .

We look forward to chatting with you!
Niagara Grape and Wine Cancel June Wine Festival
The TD Niagara Jazz Festival presents the 
'LIVEStream.LOVE.JAZZ.Series'
 
This Week on Friday, May 29 from
 7:00-8:00 pm:
 
LIVEStream.LOVE.JAZZ.Series #20 with Roy Patterson
 
Attend this performance on YouTube Live:

Attend this performance on Facebook Live:

This week on Saturday, May 30 from 7:00-8:00 pm:
 
LIVEStream.LOVE.JAZZ.Series #21 with The Vaudevillian
 
Attend this performance on YouTube Live:

Attend this performance on Facebook Live:


New PPE Matchmaking Portal Connects Producers With Businesses In Need

As our economy begins to reopen, many businesses will need to access personal protective equipment (PPE) to help keep their customers and staff safe from COVID-19. Sourcing masks, hand sanitizers and gowns is often challenging, especially for businesses that are new to purchasing this type of equipment, especially with unprecedented global demand for PPE. 

  • RRP Canada is free to use and provides a matchmaking service to ‘connect the dots’ between manufacturers and businesses in need of PPE. PPE products on the Rapid Response Platform include hand sanitizer, surgical masks, N95 masks, surface sanitizer, face shields and gowns.
Photo by Tony Chisholm