COVID-19: March 24th Update
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Hello Tourism Operators and Colleagues:
As you have no doubt noticed, things are changing at a rapid pace and we are making every effort to keep you informed. We have had a number of questions from business owners over the last few days and we are working on finding answers to questions that we have not yet addressed in this newsletter. Please stay tuned. In the meantime, this update covers the following:
- Tele-Townhall with Minister Lisa MacLeod **tomorrow**
- Survey Results from last week
- Federal and Provincial Announcements
- Accommodations on the Essential Services List
- Today's FAQ - Work Permits
- NOTO's COVID-19 Webpage
- Federal and Provincial Government Information Links
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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Tele-Townhall with Minister Lisa MacLeod
The Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries will be hosting another tele-townhall with Minister MacLeod
tomorrow (Thursday March 26th, 2020) at 10:30am EST.
Please note, you need to register for this event to receive the call in information.
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Survey Results
Thank you once again
for responding to the surveys that have been circulating. They are critical to informing discussion
s with Government and our tourism colleagues as we work to recommend and develop supports for the tourism industry.
Here are the latest survey results:
National Outfitters Survey - Ontario Results - March 19, 2020
Please continue to answer future surveys as they become available so that we can continue to monitor the impacts that COVID-19 is having on the industry.
Thank you to Destination Northern Ontario, Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) and Canadian Federation of Outfitter Associations (CFOA) for their work on these surveys.
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Federal and Provincial Government Announcements
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Parliament has resumed on March 24th to pass emergency legislature and to discuss future assistance for Canadians and Canadian businesses. We will hear more on new assistance programs for small businesses within the next few days.
In his announcement today, the Prime Minister presented the new
Canada Emergency Response Benefit
which will replace the Emergency Care and Emergency Support benefits announced last week. This benefit will provide a taxable benefit of $2,000 a month for up to 4 months to:
- workers who must stop working due to COVID-19 and do not have access to paid leave or other income support.
- workers who are sick, quarantined, or taking care of someone who is sick with COVID-19.
- working parents who must stay home without pay to care for children that are sick or need additional care because of school and daycare closures.
- workers who still have their employment but are not being paid because there is currently not sufficient work and their employer has asked them not to come to work.
- wage earners and self-employed individuals, including contract workers, who would not otherwise be eligible for Employment Insurance.
The Prime Minister also re-emphasized that the duration of these social distancing measures and closures will be dependent on the actions taken right now. If Canadian's continue to ignore these precautions, the Federal Government will table the Federal Emergencies Act.
The
Federal Health Minister has enacted the Quarantine Act
which makes it mandatory for any international travellers to undergo quarantine. Officials will be taking contact information from returning travellers for Government officials to be able to follow-up. For those exhibiting symptoms when they arrive in Canada, the Public Health Agency will make alternative arrangements for them to get to their place of isolation. This is set to begin at midnight tonight.
In terms of the Provincial Government, Premier Doug Ford has released Ontario's
Essential Services List
. Accommodations of all types have been deemed "essential". The Premier has also announced that
hydro prices will remain on off-peak rates
for the duration of 45 days.
Finance Minister Rod Phillips will be delivering the province’s economic and fiscal update which will contain a significant focus on the response to COVID-19 at 4pm today.
It is to be noted that the Prime Minister and the Premiers have been discussing the potential closure of provincial borders. The Prime Minister has also emphasized time and time again that if Canadians continue to ignore the social distancing requirements, they will enact the Emergencies Act. We are also starting to see several cities within Ontario who are encouraging anyone who travels within the province to self isolate for 14 days.
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Accommodations on the Essential Services List but...
Accommodations have been deemed essential by the Province of Ontario. Here is how accommodations are referred to in this list:
Hotels, motels, shared rental units and similar facilities, including student residences.
Some tourism businesses have called us to ask if this means they can stay open and receive guests.
During these uncertain times, there are many factors to considering when making a decision on whether you feel you should open your accommodations. Here are some points to reflect on based on the Government restrictions and Health Organization information to date:
- Ever changing Government restrictions: As the situation develops and the Governments continue to implement orders and regulatory changes in place to help flatten the curve of COVID-19. More stringent orders seem to be a daily occurrence lately, ie. the number of people who can gather in one area at the same time is regularly shrinking.
- Disinfection & cleaning: Additional cleaning protocols may be required, ie. disinfect frequently touched areas such as door knobs, light switched, tables, counters, lamps, alarm clocks, toilets, sinks, faucets, remotes, and so forth. Always clean counter spaces and tables and wash your hands before and after preparing/eating food.
- Proper protective equipment for you and your employees: Gloves, long sleeves and masks if necessary.
- Encourage proper hygiene: Encourage everyone to wash their hands regularly for a minimum of 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, avoid touching other people, and regularly clean commonly touched surfaces. When possible, provide a "sanitation station" in frequented areas to encourage individuals to disinfect their hands with sanitizer, or wipe down surfaces with disinfecting wipes.
- Limit guest/employee interactions: Modify your services to limit the amount of employee/guest interaction when possible. For example, sitting areas in your dining rooms must be closed, attempts should be made to limit the amount of guests who can wait inside the area for their food, or implement a type of room service to limit the amount of people gathering in one area. For check-ins, place a line of tape on the floor to maintain a minimum 2m distance between the guests and the employee.
- Consider closing large common spaces: Some lodges and resorts have a main lodge or hall where people can gather and socialize. You should consider closing these spaces to guests.
- Line all garbage and laundry hampers: Place plastic bags in all garbage and recycling receptacles. When possible, line your laundry hampers with either a plastic bag or a fabric liner. If you use a fabric liner, ensure you wash this with your laundry each time.
- Designate an "isolation space": If an employee or guest begins exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, ensure you have an area or cabin designated as an isolation space where they can go into self-quarantine. From there, you will need to contact your local health unit to receive further instruction.
It is very likely that the Ontario Government has included accommodations on this list to provide accommodation options to health care and other essential workers or those who have to travel to receive health care themselves when they are not able to go home to self-isolate. This is just an example and there may be other situations where people are looking for other options for accommodations out of necessity. With Federal and Provincial Governments encouraging citizens to eliminate non-essential travel and demanding social distancing thoughts around our social responsibility have to be brought into any decision to open accommodations.
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Today's FAQ - Work Permits
We have been asked to share some of our responses and advice for camp owners with more of you. We will try to do this regularly in our updates. Please note we are not telling anyone what to do or how to run their businesses, we are simply giving people food for thought.
Q. Should I continue my work permit application as a non-resident camp owner?
A.
Yes. We encourage all operators to continue their work permit applications regardless of the current situation.
Please note:
the Government is encouraging all individuals to apply for their work permits online. Due to service disruptions related to COVID-19, they are experiencing difficulties receiving and processing applications submitted by mail or in person at a VAC.
We are optimistic that we will hear from the Canadian Border Services Agency within the next few days that American business owners will be able to cross the USA-Canada border.
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NOTO's COVID-19 Page
We've added a new page on our website 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 surrounding comforting concerned guests, how to market for the upcoming season, encouraging postponing vs cancellations of trips, and what to do about staffing. FAQs will be regularly updated as well.
To visit this page, please click on the button below.
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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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