C-19 BULLETIN - June 19, 2020

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Province Transitions COVID-19 Border Screening to Federal Government

In early April, the Province introduced COVID-19 border screening measures, unprecedented in Canada, to help ensure British Columbians returning home from international destinations had the support they need to manage self-isolation plans and keep B.C. communities safe.

While these border measures were pioneered in BC, other provinces, the federal government and all Canadians have benefited as similar measures have since been implemented nationwide.

Following the current transition period with the federal government, BC will end provincially led border check points tomorrow, (June 20) but federal screening measures currently in place will continue. Service BC will also continue compliance and wellness checks to ensure travellers can effectively maintain their 14-day self-isolation.

Province Extends Temporary Rental Supplement

The Government of British Columbia is extending the temporary rental supplement (TRS) until the end of August 2020 to continue to support renters and landlords.

It will also maintain the moratorium on rent increases and evictions for non-payment of rent, while enabling other notices to end tenancy to resume.

People who have already been approved for the TRS do not need to reapply. They will receive an email asking them to confirm they plan to live at the same address through July and August. New applications will also be accepted until Aug. 31 and will be eligible for a supplement for the month they are received and all subsequent months.

The moratorium on evictions has been in effect since March 30 and will continue for non-payment of rent. As the province moves forward with BC’s Restart Plan, the ban on evictions for reasons other than unpaid rent will be lifted later this month.

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Kootenay Rockies Businesses, DMOs and Chambers Provide Recommendations to Government on How to Help Their Region

Several community DMOs and chambers of commerce in the Kootenay Rockies region have written Premier Horgan to draw attention to their concerns and critical needs:

The letter states, "As a rural part of the province that is heavily reliant on tourism, most specifically from Alberta, and serviced by small and medium sized enterprises, the current plan addressing reopening and COVID-19 are not adequate and is causing the our industry to feel unheard and in distress."

Below represents a list of issues and proposed solutions follow."

Read the full letter here
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East Kootenay angling guides have written to the Minister of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development, requesting various fees be forgiven in order to save their businesses:

"We are a dedicated group of East Kootenay Angling guides who have been community based, small business operators, and are currently suffering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please understand, as independent business owners, we are not used to hand outs, stimulus packages, etc. and are happier working and looking after ourselves and our employees. It is unfortunate that the COVID pandemic has shut down our ability to operate our spring seasons and now into our main summer season. It has become difficult to sit idle when we watch other industries being handed money and our requests for relief have gone unanswered as individuals. Well, we have united and as a group, we are asking that Rod Day fees, tenure fees and licensing fees be forgiven for the current and following seasons ."

Read the full East Kootenay Angling Guides letter here
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Safe Passage to Cap's Class of 2020

 During this unprecedented time where the majority of graduation ceremonies are taking place online, Walt Judas addressed the Class of 2020 tourism graduates at Capilano University yesterday. Watch his presentation here:

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Conference Board of Canada Research Confirms Drastic Losses in Direct Employment and GDP for Indigenous Tourism Due to COVID-19

Conference Board of Canada research conducted in partnership with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC), shows that, compared to 2019, Canada’s Indigenous tourism sector will experience a 65.9% decline in direct GDP (down to $555 million) and a 59.4% decline in employment (down to 14,624 jobs) in 2020, due to COVID-19 and the global tourism industry grinding to a halt. These findings reflect the perspectives and business realities of Indigenous tourism operators who participated in a recent wide-scale survey of the sector.

This is in stark contrast to 2019 when over 36,000 people worked in the Indigenous tourism sector, and its direct economic contribution exceeded $1.6 billion in GDP. The Conference Board of Canada research estimates that around 714 Indigenous businesses could be at risk of closure in 2020-2021.

Download the full report here
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The 2020 Shutdown:
How Deep is the Economic Hole?

While pandemics are precedented, worldwide social lockdowns and economic shutdowns are not. Both the BC and Canadian economies have been hard-hit by the closure of non-essential businesses to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. As the provincial and national economies struggle to emerge from their temporary freeze, the global recession will be a drag on all-important export industries.

The World
Under a best-case scenario, global GDP declines by 6% in 2020 and rises by 5.2% in 2021.

Canada
Under the OECD’s scenario of no further outbreaks, Canadian GDP would decline by 8% in 2020 and rise by 3.9% in 2021. Canadian GDP is projected to decline by 9.4% in 2020 and rise by just 1.5% in 2021 if a second COVID-19 wave occurs later this year. Canada’s GDP and employment levels will not recover to 2019 levels of activity by the end of 2021 under either scenario.

British Columbia
Turning to BC, expectations are that the provincial economy will shrink by 7.8% in 2020. In 2021, it is forecasted to expand by 4.8%. This is a strong growth number by historic standards, but comes in the wake of a very steep downturn and will only result in B.C. regaining just over half of the economic output lost in 2020.

The magnitude of job losses is especially concerning. Since February, the number of people working in the province has plummeted by roughly 350,000. B.C.’s greater exposure to hard-hit sectors (especially accommodation and food services, and wholesale and retail trade) resulted in the unemployment rate nearly tripling in three months and now sits around 13%. As the shutdown is lifted, employment will rebound significantly. But the process will be uneven and slow. Many businesses will not re-open and several tens of thousands of jobs will be permanently lost.


Learn more at:
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COVID-19 Tourism Workforce Impact Survey

Tourism HR Canada appreciates that tourism businesses have been asked to fill out many survey forms and provide various types of information. However, this research will assist in making policy and program recommendations specific to workforce needs during and post COVID-19.

Your feedback will help to:
  • Determine how deeply the workforce has been affected by COVID-19
  • Assess the effect of government programs like the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RFFF) in mitigating the effects of COVID-19
  • Identify the capacity of tourism businesses to reopen, rehire, and recover as restrictions are lifted
  • Identify the extent to which tourism businesses understand the protocols and policies they are being asked to implement in order to reopen
  • Augment other research and data collected through various means including new data from Statistics Canada.

Take the survey here:   www.research.net/r/Covidworkforceimpact
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TIABC's national counterparts, TIAC have launched a Tourism Recovery campaign seeking government support so Canada has a tourism industry post-pandemic. The work doesn’t stop there. We all need to step-up and convince the government to act, send your MP a letter today : www.tourismcounts.ca

#TourismCounts
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Whistler Live and The Hairfarmers Raise $130,000

Over the past two months, Andrew Bacon, Matthew Carson and Glenn Mishaw of  Whistler Live , along with local cover band  The Hairfarmers, have donated their time and talents to raise over $130,000 (in conjunction with the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation) for local food banks in Whistler, Pemberton and Squamish through three online shows.




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Destination BC Webinars

Destination BC is hosting a series of webinars to support BC’s tourism industry in areas of response, recovery, and resilience from COVID-19. The Road to Recovery webinar series has reached over 1,700 participants since launching on May 12th.

  • June 23: Facebook + Instagram for Travel: Building a Strong Foundation | Register here
  • June 25: Returning to Work: Protecting Mental Health | Register here
  • July 7: Revisiting your COVID-19 Safety Plan | Register here

Watch recordings of previous webinars:
  • May 12: Business After Re-opening: A Look at the Post-closure Traveller | View recording here
  • May 14: Essential Strategies to Innovate your Visitor Experience and Offerings | View recording here
  • May 19: Planning for Doors Open | View recording here
  • May 21: Managing Expectations and Reputation through Effective Communication | View recording here
  • May 26: Using Social Media to Support Re-opening | View recording here
  • May 28: Building a Digital Marketing Strategy for Re-opening | View recording here
  • June 4: ExploreBC… Virtually | View recording here
  • June 9: Restart Safely: Health & Safety Essentials to Support Re-opening | View recording here
  • June 11: Work Refusal & Other HR Challenges Amid the Restart | View recording here

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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 info@tiabc.ca.