NOTO COVID-19 Quick Update April 16th

COVID-19: April 16 Quick Update

Today's Short Update

Federal Update: Change in CERB, Canada Emergency Business Account eligibility.
Update on LUP, BMA and Baitfish Harvest fees
A Note from Health Officials on Domestic Travel
NOTO's COVID-19 Page

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.

NOTO Contact Emails:

Kate Racicot - kate@noto.net

Laurie Marcil - laurie@noto.net or 705-499-7556

Government Announcements

Today, the Prime Minister has announced changes to the eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Business Account . The Canada Emergency Business Account will provide interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help cover their operating costs during a period where their revenues have been temporarily reduced. Repaying the balance of the loan on or before December 31, 2022 will result in loan forgiveness of 25 percent (up to $10,000). To qualify, these organizations will need to demonstrate they paid between $20,000 to $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019 . Business owners can apply for support from the Canada Emergency Business Account through their banks and credit unions.

New changes in eligibility were also announced this week in regards to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit . This benefit will provide a taxable benefit of $2,000 every 4 weeks for up to 16 weeks to eligible workers who have lost their income due to COVID-19. Originally, the CERB is available to workers who meet all of the following conditions:

live in Canada and are at least 15 years old
stopped working because of COVID-19 or are eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits
have not voluntarily quit their job
had income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application.

On April 15, the following changes to the eligibility rules were announced to:

Allow people to earn up to $1,000 per month while collecting the CERB.
Extend the CERB to seasonal workers who have exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to undertake their regular seasonal work because of COVID-19.
Extend the CERB to workers who have recently exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to find a job because of COVID-19.

The PM also announced a rent assistance program today. More details on the rent assistance for small businesses is expected to come later, as this program needs to be done with the provinces because they have jurisdiction over rental relationships.

Over the long weekend, the Government was recalled to talk about the new Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy . The Federal Government has finalized some of the details and eligibility criteria for this program. This program will now cover 75% of employees wages. New employees will qualify under this program as well. Businesses must show a 15% loss in revenue for the first eligibility period, and 30% loss in revenue for each eligibility period afterwards. Businesses can now choose to use January and February as a point of reference as opposed to March to show this loss. This program will be available within the next four weeks and will be retroactive to March 15th. NOTO will keep an eye on this program and the eligibility requirements as they continue to be released.

In terms of the Provincial Government, they are currently focusing on providing support to long-term care facilities and protecting seniors. The Finance Minister has also announced that the Province has enabled auto insurance companies to provide driver rebates during COVID-19 . By amending the Insurance Act, insurance companies would be able to provide auto insurance premium rebates to consumers for up to 12 months after the declared emergency has ended. The Government and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) will continue to work together to monitor how the auto insurance sector is responding.

Help Us Help You!

Land Use Permit, Bear Management Area, and Baitfish Harvester Fees

Further to yesterday's request from us listed below we are providing a tool to help you know who to send your email to.

To assist in our efforts to have these fees waived for 2020, we are asking all tourism businesses that have these annual fees to contact your MNRF District office (preferably via email) to request that your fees be waived/refunded (if you have already paid).

Please use the following tool to find your local MNRF contact: www.infogo.gov.on.ca .

To use this tool effectively, please click on "Organization", enter your local MNRF office in the search box (i.e. Wawa), and select "Natural Resources and Forestry" in the Agencies box. Please send your e-mails to the District Manager or to the Resource Management Supervisor in your District.

Ensure that you indicate that your request is due to the impacts of COVID-19 on your business revenues and the uncertainty as to whether you will be able to open for even part of the upcoming season. This will help us to continue our discussions with the Province.

Please send your requests in to MNRF at your earliest convenience and advise us of any immediate responses you receive to your request.

Thank you,

Laurie Marcil - laurie@noto.net

Travelling Within the Province? Some Health Unit Districts Are Calling on You To Quarantine for 14 Days

Although there are no official travel restrictions within the province like there are in Quebec, some Public Health Unit officials are now advising that if you leave the district, you should self-quarantine for 14 days.

Northern Ontario is divided into 7 districts, however the boundaries are not well known by the average person. For example, Chapleau is located within the Sudbury District whereas Killarney is located in the Manitoulin District. Two health units who are advising quarantines for those who leave the district include the Algoma and Timiskaming District Health Units. Other health officials in Northern Ontario are asking people to self-isolate for 14 days if they've traveled to another part of the region.

There is uncertainty that the Provincial Government will move to restrict domestic travel within the province at any time. However, we are beginning to see more health officials publicly announcing non-travel and quarantine requests within their own districts.

The mandatory 14 day quarantine implemented by the Government of Canada is only enforceable by law under the Quarantine Act for those who have recently returned to Canada from another country.

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 Government updates and resources, information that may be useful to tourism operators and links to supports for tourism operators as they become available. This page also features links to our newsletters and FAQs from operators. This page will be updated regularly during this pandemic.

NOTO's COVID-19 Page

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.

Ontario Government

Federal Government

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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