COVID-19 Update
In Today's Update

  • A Message from NOTO's Executive Director
  • NOTO participates in AMO 2021
  • NOTO's Canada-US Border Crossing Survey
  • Purolator Drop Boxes for COVID-19 Tests
  • SCAM WARNING: COVID-19 Emergency Order Isolation Notices
  • Federal Election Confirmed
  • Promises Made to Date Regarding Tourism
  • Ontario Pauses Reopening, Mandatory Vaccines in High Risk Settings
  • Reminder of Why Health & Safety Protocols Remain Important
  • TIAO Calls Next Week
  • Northwestern Ontario Fires: Implementation Order Notices
  • Tourism SkillsNet North
  • Forestry Notices
  • Safe Travels Stamp
  • Renew or Join NOTO! - Early Bird Rates Extended!

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:
Kate Boissonneault - kate@noto.net
Laurie Marcil - laurie@noto.net or 705-499-7556
A Message from NOTO's Executive Director

We are pleased to hear that some of our members are seeing some guests return without issues at the border or with random testing. We hope that as more guests arrive and have their long-awaited vacations in Ontario they will return home and share their stories and help rebuild the confidence in others who opted to wait.

I want to assure you that this week as I participated in over 10 meetings with Provincial Ministers and/or their senior staff and my message was clear that Northern Ontario's Resource-based Tourism Sector is NOT in recovery. We need more support from both Provincial and Federal Governments.

Thank you to all of you who are continuing to share with us your guest experiences as they enter Canada again or even their reasons why they are choosing not to or why they are ineligible to. All of these details are critically important to our continued advocacy efforts on your behalf. Please be sure to complete our brief survey included in this newsletter to help us.

We were pleased this week to work with one of our members, MPP Rickford's Office, the town of Fort Frances and CBSA to ensure that there was a Purolator drop box installed in a easy location in Fort Frances. We are working Heather Bot From Algoma Region to find an appropriate solution for the Sault Ste. Marie crossing as well. We are seeking anyone who has any potential solutions for Pigeon River crossing as well. Please reach out to me if you have suggestions for an appropriate location or solution.

It is hard to believe but it is time to plan for NOTO's AGM already! As most of our members know, 1/3 of our Board seats are renewed each year through an election process. Therefore there will be 4 or more opportunities for NOTO members to put their name forward for a seat on the NOTO Board. Please consider putting your name forward and watch for the upcoming call for nominations which will arrive in your inbox this week.

Plans are underway for another virtual training week that will replace Destination Northern Ontario and NOTO's annual Northern Ontario Tourism Summit. We will be circulating more details about the event shortly. In the meantime, please mark your calendars for November 16th to the 19th, 2021.

As we take some time to prepare for the week ahead, I hop you are all able to take some time to refresh and recharge.

Be well,
Laurie
NOTO Participates in Tourism Delegation at the 2021 Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference
On Monday and Tuesday this week, Executive Director, Laurie Marcil participated in TIAO's tourism delegation made up of over 10 representatives from sectoral and regional tourism organizations at the 2021 AMO Conference. This strong group of representatives met with 16 Provincial Ministers and/or their senior staff over the two day delegation meeting schedule.

Here are some of the main issues that were pressed during these meetings an through TIAOs comprehensive briefs that were circulated to appropriate Ministries:

  • The massive labour shortage issues within tourism and the need for more support to encourage people to come back to work as well as new interest for tourism as a career.
  • Support from the Province for changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and the LMIA exemptions
  • An immediate roll-out of the $100M that was set aside in the Provincial budget that has not been dispensed yet.
  • Waiving all land tenure and other crown permit fees for 2022.
  • Provide financial relief for tourism businesses who have taken on debt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Ensuring that Government understands that we are by no means in recovery mode and that non-repayable financial support must continue to be offered.
  • Ensuring that Ontario has the transportation infrastructure required to meet future tourism needs.
  • Support for Francophone and bilingual tourism partnership initiatives between SÉO and the education and sector tourism network.
  • Develop regulatory changes to address high commercial insurance rates

There was much more that this group brought forward. NOTO was very proud to be part of this tremendously knowledgeable and passionate group of tourism representatives. We are also very grateful to Chris Bloore, Jessica Ng, Carol Greenwood and Maxine Morrell-West for their hard work in organizing all of these meetings and countless briefs that allowed us to represent the industry with professionalism and strength.

NOTO would also like to thank all of their colleagues that participated as well. It is always empowering to know that you are not alone in your advocacy efforts and that you have the support of others along your journey.

We are looking forward to working with TIAO and this tourism delegation to follow up with these Ministries and ensure we can obtain success for tourism businesses in our sectors.
Canada-US Border Crossing Survey

NOTO is conducting a survey focusing on the reopening of the border for fully vaccinated Americans.

It's officially been two weeks since our industry has been able to open it's doors and welcome fully-vaccinated Americans back into Canada.

We want to know what requirements have caused guests to cancel/move their bookings, how many new bookings you may have gotten, how crossing the border went, if you and your guests have encountered issues with random testing, and so forth.

This survey should only take 5 minutes of your time. This first survey will remain open until Wednesday, August 25th.

Your participation and feedback is greatly appreciated! The data collected will help us with our advocacy efforts with regards to the random testing logistics and the continued need for financial support.
Location Pin 2
Purolator Drop Boxes For COVID-19 Tests

With some work and support from NOTO, Camp Narrows, MPP Rickford's Office, the town of Fort Frances and the CBSA, a Purolator dropbox has now been set up at North Air Taxi in Fort Frances. Guests can do their test after crossing and drop of their tests then head onto their vacation destination. They are working on a second drop box in Rainy River.

Algoma Country has also advised us that there are two Purolator drop boxes in Sault Ste Marie. If travellers need any assistance with locating these boxes, they can call Algoma Country toll-free at 1-800-263-2546. They're happy to help!

  • 40 Industrial a Ct A, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6B 5W6 - located outside the entrance
  • Hours are Monday to Friday 9 am - 5:30 pm. Tests must be put into the dropoff box, they cannot be given to the staff, the staff will not accept them. If a test kit is put in the dropoff box on Saturday or Sunday, the dropoff box will not be emptied until Monday. There is parking located at the building.

  • 421 Bay Street, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1X3 - outside the Station Tower
  • The dropoff box is picked up daily from Monday to Friday. If a test kit is put in the dropoff box on Saturday or Sunday, the dropoff box will not be emptied until Monday. You can pull over to the side of the road to access the dropoff box. There is a parking lot next to the building or park at the Station Mall directly across the street for guests who have a trailer and need additional space to park.

If you are an operator located in an area without a Purolator drop box or access to Purolator's pick-up services, you can call Switch Health at 1-647-977-1030 and they will assist you with organizing a third-party pick up.

We have heard that wait times with Switch Health to get a nurse on the line for the random testing is starting to become much more reasonable so we hope this is a better option for US guests.

We know that these tests feel useless but we need to consider the data that they are collecting and understand that this data collection will help us to move away from future testing for our guests.

Please let us know if there are other possible solutions for other parts of the North that are finding submitting tests are a challenge through Purolator or their third party. We would like to try to help.
Scam Warning: COVID-19 Emergency Order Isolation Notices

We have been made aware that some travellers have been receiving notices from an agency pretending to be the Government of Canada. These e-mails are typically prefaced with the following message:

Dear (name of traveller),
We are forwarding you important information you need to know about your travel.
Regards,
Visa Processing Department
www.travel-healthdeclaration.com -> not a legitimate Government of Canada website*

This message is followed by screenshots of the original message that the ArriveCAN app would give travellers when the all the emergency orders and mandatory quarantine applied to all individuals who entered Canada.

Please note that the website travel-healthdeclaration.com is not a legitimate Government of Canada website. In the event that the person selected for random testing tests positive while in Canada, an agent from Public Health will call them directly with further instructions.
Federal Election Confirmed

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Governor General on Sunday, August 15th to request the dissolution of Parliament and we have now entered the 36-day election campaign with voting taking place on September 20th, 2021.

We will now shift our focus to ensure that the tourism industry remains one of the top issues at the forefront. We need to continue to reinforce that reopening does not mean recovery, and that our industry continues to face uncertainties and the need for additional support as we begin to enter the 4th wave of the pandemic.
A Summary of Tourism Promises Made to Date

As we enter the election period, NOTO would like to keep the industry informed on the promises made regarding tourism that would benefit our sector. This summary includes items discussed during live events as well as information pulled from the platforms of each political party.

Liberal Party:
If re-elected, the Liberal Party promises to:
  • Extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program to March 31, 2022
  • Provide Canada’s hard-hit tourism industry with temporary wage and rent support of up to 75% of their expenses between September 2021 until May 31st, 2022 to help them get through the winter. Businesses must experience a minimum 40% revenue loss to qualify.

Read more about the Liberal's promises released to date by clicking here. The Liberal Party's full platform has yet to be released.

Conservative Party:
On Monday, August 16th, the Conservative Party released their Full Conservative Plan. From that plan we noted the following components that may impact the tourism sector.

Support programs - If elected, the Conservative Party promises to:
  • Wind down emergency COVID support programs in a responsible way as Canadians are vaccinated and the economy re-opens.
  • Create the Canada Job Surge Plan: paying up to 50% of the salary of new hires for six months following the end of CEWS. The government will pay at least 25% of the salary of a net new hire, with the subsidy increasing up to a maximum of 50% based on how long the new hire has been unemployed. The salary maximum will be the same as for CEWS.
  • Create the Dine and Discover Program: provide a 50% rebate for food and non-alcoholic drinks purchased for dine-in from Monday to Wednesday for one month once it is safe to do so.
  • Launch the Explore and Support Canada initiative with a 15% tax credit for vacation expenses of up to $1,000 per person for Canadians to vacation in Canada in 2022
  • Eliminate the escalator tax on alcohol.
  • Canada Investment Accelerator: getting companies spending money and creating jobs by providing a 5% investment tax credit for any capital investment made in 2022 and 2023, with the first $25,000 to be refundable for small business.
  • Rebuild Main Street Tax Credit: providing a 25% tax credit on amounts of up to $100,000 that Canadians personally invest in a small business over the next two years, to get money flowing into main street businesses and create jobs.
  • Main Street Business Loan: providing loans of up to $200,000 to help small and medium businesses in hospitality, retail, and tourism get back on their feet, with up to 25% forgiven. 
  • Reform BDC to ensure that its loan programs are accessible to small businesses.  This will include broadening BDC’s mandate to have it guarantee a portion of loans that Canada’s banks make to small business, in the same way that CMHC guarantees mortgages.   
  • Launch a Super EI that temporarily provides more generous benefits (75% of salary instead of 55%) when a province goes into recession (a 0.5% increase in the unemployment rate, as defined by the “Sahm Rule”). EI will return to normal levels once the recession is over, as evidenced by three months of job gains.

Border measures - If elected, the Conservative Party promises to:
  • Deploy rapid testing at all border entry points and airports to screen new arrivals. Everyone entering Canada (by land as well as by air), irrespective of their vaccination status and whether they are considered an essential worker, will be required to take a rapid test and possibly a PCR test upon arrival.
  • Develop a clear, evidence-based strategy for re-opening our border with clear timelines and metrics. Restore urgency, rationality, and consistency to border regulations.
  • Quickly close the border to travellers from hotspots where new variants are detected.

Supporting Rural Canada - If elected, the Conservative Party promises to:
  • Ensure that rural Canadians have their voices heard and their concerns addressed whether they live in rural Nova Scotia, or rural Saskatchewan, or a remote community in Northern Ontario, or anywhere else in the country.
  • Building digital infrastructure to connect all of Canada to High-Speed Internet by 2025
  • Appoint a Minister of Rural Affairs to Cabinet.
  • Set aside a portion of federal infrastructure funds for projects in rural areas.
  • Ensure that Canada’s tourism strategy supports rural tourism and encourages Canadians and visitors from around the world to explore remote parts of the country, including the hidden gems that are off the beaten path.

Read more about the Conservatives' platform by clicking here.

NDP:
If elected, the NDP promises to:
  • Make changes to EI: To help make ends meet while on EI, the NDP will create a low income supplement so that no one who is relying on EI regular or special benefits to stay afloat receives less than $2,000 a month. The NDP would also make EI available to people who quit their jobs to go back to school, to provide necessary childcare, or to protect their health or the health of immunocompromised family members. To help Canadians in seasonal industries, the NDP would bring back the former Extra Five Weeks pilot project and make it permanent.
  • Put in place a federal minimum wage starting at $15 an hour and rising to $20 an hour, indexed to the cost of living.
  • Ensure the small businesses wage and rent subsidies continue until small businesses are able to fully reopen.
  • Put in place a long-term hiring bonus to pay the employer portion of EI and CPP for new or rehired staff.
  • Put an end to gouging by capping high credit card merchant fees at a maximum of 1%.
  • Recognizing that a shortage of workers is a major barrier for many small businesses operating in rural areas, the NDP would make important new investments in training Canadians and boost support to traditionally underemployed groups, ensuring that they can access good jobs that pay a fair wage.
  • NDP will also work to restore the Ontario Northlander to support the crucial transportation link for communities and businesses alike in Northern Ontario.
  • Deliver high-speed rural broadband to all communities in Canada without delay, and ensuring that reliable cell phone service is expanded to every area of Canada – while keeping rates affordable for families and businesses.

Read more about the NDP's platform by clicking here.

The Green Party has yet to release a platform. The People's Party of Canada does not have any plans in their platform to support tourism industry.
Ontario Announces Pause in Reopening, Mandatory Vaccination for High Risk Settings
Earlier this week, the Province announced that it will pause the province's exit from the Roadmap to Reopen, mandate mandatory vaccines in high risk settings (hospitals, home and community care service providers, ambulance services, retirement homes, etc.), and make third doses available to Ontario's vulnerable population.

These measures were put into place in response to the rise in Delta variant cases in Ontario. While the province has reached the exciting milestone of more than 81 per cent of Ontarians aged 12 and over having received a first dose, and is expected to reach its target of 75 per cent vaccinated with a second dose later this month, out of an abundance of caution the government is pausing the exit from the Roadmap to Reopen. This means that all current regulations under Step 3 will remain in place until further notice.

The Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts will continue to monitor the data to determine when it is safe to exit the Roadmap and lift the majority of public health and workplace safety measures currently in place.

In the meantime, NOTO will continue to emphasize that reopening does not mean recovery. We will continue to highlight the struggles the resource-based tourism industry continues to face and the urgent need for additional financial support. With two full tourism seasons lost or substantially reduced for most, many do not have the funds to survive another season of restrictions and lockdowns.

We encourage operators to continue to share with us your stories. We want to know the struggles you may have faced, if you were successful at accessing the domestic market, how the Canada-US border reopening has affected your business, or if you are still struggling to fill vacancies and continue to face financial hardships. These stories greatly help us in our advocacy efforts.
Reminder of Why Health & Safety Protocols Remain Important

COVID-19 cases around the globe are beginning to rise again as we approach the fall and winter seasons. However, one thing has changed; the Delta variant is now the main driver of these outbreaks. This is why continuing to follow strict health and safety protocols remains important.

Why is this important you may ask? According to the CDC:
  • The Delta variant is highly contagious, more than 2x as contagious as previous variants.
  • Data suggest the Delta variant might cause more severe illness than previous strains in unvaccinated persons. 
  • While unvaccinated people remain the greatest concern, individuals infected with the Delta variant, including fully vaccinated people with symptomatic breakthrough infections, can transmit it to others. CDC is continuing to assess data on whether fully vaccinated people with asymptomatic breakthrough infections can transmit.
  • Fully vaccinated people with Delta variant breakthrough infections can spread the virus to others. However, vaccinated people appear to be infectious for a shorter period of time. 
  • Previous variants typically produced less virus in the body of infected fully vaccinated people (breakthrough infections) than in unvaccinated people. In contrast, the Delta variant seems to produce the same high amount of virus in both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people. However, like other variants, the amount of virus produced by Delta breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people also goes down faster than infections in unvaccinated people. This means fully vaccinated people are likely infectious for less time than unvaccinated people.
  • Given what we know about the Delta variant, vaccine effectiveness, and current vaccine coverage, layered prevention strategies are needed to reduce the transmission of this variant.

Please continue to do your part to stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure you are implementing appropriate health and safety protocols.
TIAO Calls - Tuesday August 24th

This week we will be joined by special guest, Hassel Aviles, Executive Director at Not 9 to 5. Hassel will share resources and guidance to ensure workplace & mental health safety.

Not 9 to 5 is a non-profit global leader in mental health advocacy for the foodservice sector. Through practical education and meaningful community-building, they are reimagining the industry by breaking stigmas and fuelling hope.

Their vision is a safe, supportive workplace for all in consideration of both physical and mental health. 
COVID-19 Northern Ontario Tourism Update Call
Tue, Aug 24, 2021 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (EDT)

You can also dial in using your phone.
Canada (Toll Free): 1 888 299 1889

Access Code: 754-822-389
COVID-19 Ontario Tourism Update Call
Tue, Aug 24, 2021 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM (EDT)

You can also dial in using your phone.
Canada (Toll Free): 1 888 455 1389

Access Code: 583-325-949
Changes to Implementation Orders in the Northwest
A Message from the Ministry

Hello Industry Partners,
 
I’m writing today to share another update regarding the current fire situation in the Northwest region and to inform you of changes to the Implementation Order impacting industrial operations.
 
As you are aware, the Ministry is carefully monitoring the situation, including weather patterns and availability of firefighting resources to assess current and future risk. Our goal is to ensure that businesses can get back to operations, while ensuring the safety of the public and protecting our natural resources, during this unprecedented fire season.
 
The number of active fires is close to the 30-year max and is remaining steady. The potential for ignition by lightening remains high through the southern parts of the region around Fort Frances and Kenora, and has returned to normal for the northern, central and eastern parts of the region. 
 
As a result of our most recent assessment, the current Implementation Orders restricting certain activities associated with industrial operations will be lifted effective 12:01am on August 18, 2021. As a result, operations can resume in accordance with the Modifying Industrial Operations Protocol (MIOP) for the forest industry and the Industrial Operating Protocol (IOP) for other industrial operations.
 
I trust the resumption of your activities will be good news. Please understand though, that while we are able return to the MIOP and IOP processes, the Ministry will be continuing to monitor fire activity, weather conditions and patterns and resourcing on a daily basis and may be required to re-introduce restrictions if warranted. We continue to see varying levels of risk across the region in terms of existing fires and potential for new ones. It is critical that both the ministry and industry partners recognize the speed at which fire hazard can change due to the drought conditions, and that we remain nimble and flexible in responding to the evolving situation. We ask you to continue to exercise exceptional caution when operating in forest areas and to follow all requirements as identified in the MIOP and IOP. Please have your Fire Preparedness Plan ready and available when conducting very high and high risk activities as per the MIOP and IOP.
 
For your reference here are the links to the Industrial Operating Protocol: http://www.affes.mnr.gov.on.ca/extranet/bulletin_Boards/Protocol_manual.pdf
 
If you require additional information about your operations and the ongoing fire situation please do not hesitate to reach out to Michael Gluck, Regional Director Northwest Region at Michael.gluck@ontario.ca
 
On behalf of the Ministry, we truly appreciate your continued support and patience.
Have You Hired New, or Re-Hired Employees Since June 2021?

Tourism SkillsNet North will help train both new and re-hires, and also provide operators with a 30% wage subsidy of up to $3,000 per employee.

If you are using this program to re-hire employees, please ensure that both you and the employee are registered to participate in the program and let NOTO know the name of the employee so that we match them to your business right away. NOTO will then send you a placement confirmation form that will need to be completed.

If you are seeking to fill vacant positions, NOTO will send you a list of potential trained candidates which you can then interview and choose from. Once you and the employee have confirmed the placement, you will receive a placement confirmation form from NOTO.

Once the placement period is near completion, NOTO will then send you the steps to claim the wage subsidy. We will need pay stubs and additional information at that time.

Tourism SkillsNet North (TSNN) was designed to identify specific workforce labour gaps, train up to 300 potential employees and match them with available job opportunities within Northern Ontario’s tourism sector.

To register for this program, please click on the button below.
Forestry Notices

NOTO would like to take this opportunity to remind operators of the importance of staying up-to-date on the forestry activities happening in your region. We encourage all operators to take some time to review Forest Management Plans (FMP) and to participate in the consultations to ensure your business values are respected in the development of an FMP.

The latest notices NOTO has received are listed below:
  • Lac Seul Forest: Inspection of Draft Contingency Plan (Closes October 5th)
  • Nipissing Forest: Inspection of Approved Minor Amendment (Closes August 31st)
  • Whiskey Jack Forest: Inspection of Approved Major Amendment (Closes September 3rd)

To view the notices and to participate in the consultation, please click on the button below. To receive notices for your Forest Management Unit directly in your inbox, register an account on the ministry's forestry website by clicking the button below as well.
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’.

In Ontario, the Safe Travels Stamp are administered by TIAO. NOTO's health and safety protocols, which have been vetted by the Government of Ontario have been recognized as standardized protocols for this purpose.

The application process is now online for easier delivery.
Renew Your Membership or Join NOTO!

NOTO has extended the early bird membership pricing for the remainder of 2021!

  • Entry Level: $452.00
  • Bronze: $621.50 NOW: $593.25
  • Silver: $734.50 NOW: $706.25

  • Basic: $621.50 NOW: $593.25
  • Bronze: $779.70 NOW: $734.50
  • Silver: $1,367.30 NOW: $1,299.50

Associate Membership: $423.75

Public Membership: $73.45 

Prices listed above include HST. To renew your membership or to join NOTO, please click on the appropriate category link above to access the membership form. Completed forms can be printed and mailed to the NOTO office, or scanned and emailed to kate@noto.net or laurie@noto.net.

Thank you for your support!
NOTO is a membership based organization that works hard to support the outdoor tourism industry through advocacy and information services. We rely on annual memberships from tourism businesses, organizations, product and service suppliers, and partners to continue our work. For more information about membership with NOTO visit noto.ca