COVID-19: April 24th Update
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- NOTO, ITO, TIAO Joint Press Release
- Federal Tele-Townhall For Tourism Businesses
- Adapt 2020: A Webinar Series for Tourism
- Reminders: Surveys, MNRF Requests and Q&A's
- NOTO Thanks You & Welcomes New Members
- Destination Canada Impact Research Reports & Webinar
- TIAC COVID-19 Impact Research Report
- Government Updates
- New Resources Available on 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:
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Indigenous and Seasonal Tourism Businesses Facing Permanent Closure Without Immediate Support
We will continue to press for meaningful support from both Federal and Provincial Governments to help our resource-based tourism businesses through this difficult time.
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Conservative Party of Canada Tele-Townhall
Saturday April 25th, 2020 - 1pm
Tomorrow, there will be an opportunity for tourism businesses to participate in a small business telephone townhall meeting hosted by the Official Opposition, the Conservative Party. Conservative Shadow Ministers for Tourism, Small Business, Rural Economic Development, and Associate Shadow Minister for Finance will be leading the call on
Saturday, April 25th at 1pm EST.
This townhall will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to share their messages on what support is required to help our sector recover. This will be a good opportunity for operators to share the challenges they are facing during this pandemic and what gaps remain in the government programs announced to date.
Please click on the button below to register. Once you have registered, you will receive a call at 1pm ETS that will automatically connect you to the conference.
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Adapt 2020: A Webinar Series for Tourism
By Tourism Excellence North
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This webinar series has be designed to support businesses and communities within Northern Ontario's tourism industry through COVID-19 by providing resources and connections for today and the future. Please view the details for the first two webinars and register if you would like to participate!
For more information contact:
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Enduring a Global Pandemic:
The Latest Government Support and Cash Flow Considerations
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Presented by: Mitchell Grant CPA, CA, Senior Manager of Assurance and Advisory, and Christy McClelland CPA, CA, CRM Senior Manager, Advisory, of Grant Thornton LLP
April 28th 2020 - 1:00pm EST
Learn about the following topics:
Update and overview of government incentive programs
Cash flow management tips, short and long-term
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Presented by: Eva Gutsche, Owner, STEM Consulting & Marketing Inc.
April 29th 2020 - 11:00am EST
This webinar covers the following topics:
Connecting with customers now and until the curve flattens
Creative ways to engage and stay connected
Building community amongst your customers
Having difficult conversations with your customers - deposits, cancellation fee, rebooking fees
Local community support and engagement - Stay visible locally & regionally
Industry examples and case studies
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Reminders: TIAO & NeONT Surveys, MNRF Letters, Q&As
TIAO Survey:
Don't forget to complete TIAO's survey! These regular surveys allow us to collect data on the on-going impacts of COVID-19 on tourism businesses and the data is used to help support our asks to Government.
Click here to complete the survey.
The survey closes Monday April 27th at 8am.
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*Survey for Northeastern Ontario Operators*
Please take a minute to answer NeONT's partnership awareness survey. This will help guide the future direction of NeONT and the type of benefits they will offer their members in the future.
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NOTO Survey Next Week:
Keep an eye open on your inboxes next week for NOTO's survey which will focus on how your businesses have been impacted to date, finding eligibility issues and gaps in the government supports announced so far, and our search for input on what we can do to help support your businesses moving forward.
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Get Your Letters Into MNRF Offices! Help Us Help You!
To assist in our efforts to have LUP, BMA, Baitfish block and other permit fees through MNRF 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).
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.
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.
Please send your requests in to MNRF at your earliest convenience and advise Laurie (
laurie@noto.net
) of any immediate responses you receive to your request.
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Q&As:
Have any COVID-19 related questions? Please visit NOTO's COVID-19 webpage! This page features a Q&A section where we've answered operators questions and concerns on all kinds of topics. This page also features NOTO's asks to Government, Government updates, updates on the border, resources to help businesses affected by COVID-19, and more. If you can't find the answer to your questions through this page, please don't hesitate to contact us via e-mail at
info@noto.net. NOTO staff will do our best to answer your questions.
Click here to visit our website.
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Thank you for your support during these challenging times.
NOTO is a membership based organization that works hard to support the outdoor tourism industry through advocacy and information services. As we continue to work through this pandemic together, our primary focus is to help keep the tourism industry informed on the latest developments, available support programs, and to provide you with resources to help you prepare your businesses for brighter days ahead.
We also continue to advocate on your behalf by pressing Government to provide the
resource-based tourism industry and seasonal businesses with proper supports
as well as to get American business owners across to border to check and work on their camps. We also remain in regular contact with other tourism organizations, partners, and regional tourism organizations to monitor how COVID-19 has impacted tourism businesses across Ontario and to create a strong, unified voice for tourism when we advocate on your behalf.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all NOTO members for their on-going support. Your membership dollars are what allow us to continue the work we are doing on behalf of the industry.
Today, we want to take this opportunity to welcome our newest members:
- Mattawa River Resort
- Caribou Falls Lodge
- Indian Point Camp
- Blue Fox Camp
- Lac Seul Evergreen Lodge
- Moose Haven Lodge
- Cygnet Lake Camp
- Loon Haunt Outposts
What we do, we can't do without you. Thank you all for your support!
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Destination Canada: COVID-19 Impact Reports
Destination Canada have released their preliminary data on the
impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian tourism sector
. One report focuses on sustaining Canada's tourism sector through COVID-19 and another focuses on COVID-19's impact on Canadian tourism domestic travel.
"
As a result of COVID-19, and even with the benefit of government supports for businesses announced up to and including March 27th, 61,000 tourism businesses (57% of total) are projected to fail within the next 60 days, and 1.66 million tourism sector employees could be laid off (~83% of total). Pre-COVID-19, tourism was Canada’s 5th-largest sector, responsible for 10% of Canadians’ jobs and 2% of GDP"
"Existing and recently announced support programs are unlikely to meet the needs of the tourism sector:
- The 3-month 75% wage subsidy does not help tourism companies which are unlikely to yet have had seasonal workers on their payroll; it also does not help tourism companies with the 60- 65% of their expenses that are non-labour, and which are relatively fixed (such as utilities and rent/mortgages)
- Deferrals of GST/HST payments are not helpful when tourism operators are not generating any revenue on which they could pay tax
- The Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Loan Guarantee program for $40B in funding through BDC and EDC is unlikely to be helpful to most tourism businesses, which have limited cash flow to support additional debt; also, in most cases, BDC and commercial lenders do not lend to tourism businesses because of their seasonal cashflows
- Canada Emergency Business Account offering $25B in interest-free loans is similarly unlikely to be helpful to tourism businesses because of their limited cash flow to pay debt"
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Destination Canada Webinar
The next Destination Canada Webinar will take place on April 28th.
Further details on this webinar can be seen by clicking the button below. You can also view the last Destination Canada Webinar featuring an update from Minister Joly on this page as well..
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Tourism Industry Association of Canada COVID-19 Impact Report
TIAC and their partners at Twenty 31 have developed a snapshot report of recent global, regional and domestic tourism health and economic updates. The purpose of this report is to provide insights on a weekly basis of the current impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry. Many key takeaways focus on the potential for the ease of restrictions in late June.
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Government Announcements
Federal:
The
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
will be available on Monday April 27th, 2020 on the CRA website. The Government expects the majority of the applications will be processed by May 5th. An online calculator has been launched to help businesses determine their eligibility and how much they can expect to receive through this program. The government originally said businesses would have to show a 30% drop in revenues when comparing their revenue in March, April or May of 2020 with the same months in 2019. The government has made the following changes:
- To measure their revenue loss, employers will have the choice of comparing their revenue of March, April and May 2020 to that of the same month in 2019, or to an average of their revenue earned in January and February 2020.
- For March, the Government will reduce 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.
- Employers will be allowed to measure revenues either on the basis of accrual accounting (as they are earned) or cash accounting (as they are received). Special rules will also be provided to address issues for corporate groups, non-arm’s length entities and joint ventures. This is because the time between when revenue is earned and when it is paid could be highly variable in certain sectors of the economy.
- Employers eligible for the emergency wage subsidy would be entitled to receive a 100% refund for certain employer-paid contributions to Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan. This refund will apply to the entire amount of employer-paid contributions in respect of remuneration paid to furloughed employees in a period where the employer is eligible for the CEWS. This will make it easy and cost effective for employers to rehire people previously laid off.
- The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy will apply at a rate of 75% of the first $58,700 normally earned by employees.
- For workers: if you work for a company that has been impacted by COVID-19, the Government will cover up to 75% of your salary on the first $58,700 that you earn. That means up to $847 a week.
- The program would be in place for a 12-week period, from March 15 to June 6, 2020.
- The wage subsidy will be available to companies both big and small and across all sectors of the economy, with the exception of public sector entities.
- An eligible employer’s entitlement to this wage subsidy will be based entirely on the salary or wages actually paid to employees. All employers would be expected to at least make best efforts to top up salaries to 100% of the maximum wages covered.
We are aware that even with the new eligibility criteria, many small businesses are still unable to access the wage subsidy. We continue to share which eligibility criteria that are causing operators to fall through the cracks with tourism organizations who have been lobbying at the Federal level such as the Canadian Federation of Outfitters Associations, and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. For those of you who do meet this eligibility criteria, but are not able to show a significant loss for April because your business is not traditionally open in April, we highly recommend you keep this program in consideration for May - June.
The Canada-US border remains closed to all non-essential travel including leisure, recreation and tourism. The extension of this closure will remain in place until May 20th, with possibility of extension upon review. NOTO, along with other tourism organizations continue to press Government to allow American business owners to cross the border.
Provincial:
Ontario has
extended all emergency orders
for another 14 days. The next review will take place on May 6th with possibility of extension. These include the closure of outdoor amenities, parks and recreational areas, non essential workplaces, public places, bars and restaurants along with restrictions on social gatherings and more.
The state of emergency declaration also remains in place with the next review set to take place by May 12th with possibility of extension.
Lodges and camps remain "non-essential" and must remain closed unless you are providing an place to self isolate to an essential worker as stated under
"Short Term Rentals"
. Seasonal campgrounds and trailer parks also remain "non-essential" and must remain closed unless you are providing an area for an individual to self isolate who's primary Canadian residence is their trailer as listed under
"Seasonal Campground Requirements"
.
This week, the Ontario government partnered with the federal government to launch the new
Ontario-Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (OCECRA).
The OCECRA would apply to commercial properties with small business tenants.
Please click here to learn more on this program.
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New Resources on NOTO's COVID-19 Page!
We've recently added some
additional resources t
o this page. The most recent addition comes from the BDC. They've recently developed a business planning tool guide for entrepreneurs and a summary table listing all of the Federal supports and eligibility requirements in one area. Check out our webpage for more information.
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.There are FAQ's with answers and tips from NOTO. FAQs will be regularly updated as well.
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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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