C-19 BULLETIN - August 17, 2020

Provincial Government Update

The Province has taken steps to protect people from legal proceedings for civil damages that result from transmission or exposure to COVID-19. This coverage can give comfort to people that they have protection from civil proceedings as BC restarts its economy and we collectively continue on the path towards recovery. The protection covers both paid and unpaid positions, and is available to businesses and non-profit services with a community benefit, such as community recreation or leisure activities. It is important to note, however, that the protection only exists if the person has followed all emergency and public health guidance, or reasonably believes that they have done so.

For more information, please visit: 
BC Creates New Infrastructure Program for Arts and Culture Venues

To help improve spaces for artists and cultural activities, organizations can get support through the new $2-million Arts Infrastructure Program.

The BC Arts Council will administer the program. Arts and cultural organizations, including Indigenous groups, will be eligible for up to $75,000 to improve arts and culture spaces or $40,000 to buy special equipment to support art programming.

Applications will be open from Monday, August 17th to October 19th.

For more information, please visit: 
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Recap of Today's TIABC/Ministry of Labour Webinar on Temporary Layoff Extension Application Process

Earlier today TIABC co-hosted a webinar with the Ministry of Labour to share information with over 30 industry stakeholders on the Temporary Layoff Variance application process.

The session was presented by Danine Leduc (Assistant Deputy Minister) and Rebecca Johnston (Acting Director of Program Management), both with the Ministry of Labour.

This process is called a variance because it amends part of the Employment Standards Act. Variances allow work situations that don't strictly meet BC employment standards but follow their purposes, such as an extension to a temporary layoff.

Employers and employees can apply together to the Employment Standards Branch for a variance to extend a temporary layoff. Applications submitted by August 25th will be processed before August 30th.

The presentation shared by the Ministry of Labour can be downloaded here.
For more information, please visit:
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Federal Government Update

On Friday, Minister of Transport, Honourable Marc Garneau, announced Canada’s Flight Plan for Navigating COVID-19, which is the foundation for Canada’s current and future efforts to reduce the public health risks of COVID-19 while travelling by aircraft. This action plan puts in place a multi-layered system of safety measures to support public health by protecting air travellers and air industry workers from COVID-19. The Government of Canada has worked with public health authorities, counterparts around the world, and industry partners to develop a plan for COVID safety in air travel that is aligned to emerging global safety standards and best practices.

Key changes apply to all aspects of air travel, including in airports and aircraft. They include travel restrictions; mandatory use of face masks for passengers and crew; mandatory health checks by air carriers prior to passenger boarding; temperature screening at the busiest Canadian airports and at points of origin for all incoming flights to Canada; restricted services and passenger movement during flights; and enhanced cleaning and sanitation protocols and practices.

In airports, these designs and measures include enhanced air conditioning and filtration systems; frequent cleaning of high-touch areas; new touchless technologies to scan boarding passes; and physical distancing measures. Modern passenger aircraft also offer a unique environment with design characteristics that reduce the risk of viral transmission. The air is exchanged at a high rate with HEPA filtration in most large commercial aircraft. Further, the potential spread of the virus between rows is reduced by the high seatbacks and the fact that almost all passengers are seated in the same direction.

These measures prioritize the safety and security of travellers and industry employees, and have positioned Canada as an international leader in reducing the risk of contracting COVID-19 while travelling by air. To date, the Government of Canada is not aware of any cases attributed to passenger-to-passenger transmission on a flight to or from Canada. However, work continues with the provinces and territories to strengthen contact-tracing processes to reduce and quantify the risk of COVID-19 transmission during air travel.
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BC Weekly Domestic Overnight Visitor Insights
February 4 - August 9, 2020

The Measuring Canadian Travel Patterns dashboard, created by Environics Analytics, helps the Canadian travel and tourism industry understand the impact of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to domestic overnight visitors within Canada, its provinces, territories, and tourism regions.

The dashboard compares visitor travel patterns (to prior weeks in 2020 and year-over-year 2019), as well as compares different regions to assess the impact of the pandemic on Canadian travel patterns and identify when visitors start to return to BC's respective tourism regions.

Note: British Columbia declared a provincial State of Emergency on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.

The week of April 19 (Week 11) saw the largest drop in domestic overnight visitors in British Columbia, dropping 81% from the previous year. Findings are consistent across all BC sub-regions.

While overnight travel is significantly down compared to 2019, an upward trend in movement and overnight stays on a week over week bases was apparent during Weeks 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26 and 27.

All of the BC Regions saw an increase in visitation from Week 26 (July 27-August 2) to Week 27 (August 3-9) with the exception of Vancouver Coast and Mountains .

• The Thompson Okanagan, Cariboo Chilcotin Coast and Vancouver Island saw an increase in visitation over British Columbia during Week 27 (August 3-9).

• The Kootenay Rockies, Northern BC and Vancouver Coast and Mountains saw a decrease in visitation compared to BC during Week 27 (August 3-9).

Download the full report here.
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BC Hotel Association Pulse Check

Since the initial impact of the virus was felt, the BC Hotel Association (BCHA) been regularly collecting data and tracking progress to quantify this changing landscape. In order for us all to better understand the ramifications the pandemic has had and action relevant change, we must continue to update this information.

Below is a 5 minute survey for accommodation providers in BC. Your responses will help the BCHA continue to advocate for the issues that matter most to you and allow them to spotlight the severe impact COVID-19 has had on our industry, actioning real change.

Take the survey here:
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BC Wine Institute Proposes Name Change
for Upcoming AGM/Town Hall

BC Wine Institute (BCWI) Annual General Meeting (virtual) 
BCWI will be hosting their virtual AGM on September 1st at 10 AM. As quorum is critical to proceed, the BCWI encourage all members to join and participate. Please register your virtual attendance no later than August 21st.

Proposed BCWI Name Change Virtual Town Hall
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Tuesday, August 25
Included in the BCWI AGM package mailed out this week is a motion for a membership to vote on the name change from “British Columbia Wine Institute Society” to “Wine Growers British Columbia”. 

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BCHA, go2HR and ABLE BC Webinar

The BC Hotel Association (BCHA) will be hosting a webinar and open forum in collaboration with go2HR and BC’s Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE BC) and will feature Phil Eastwood, a leading expert in workplace conflict related training.

Wednesday August 26th @ 1:00PM (PT)
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Small Business BC Webinar

During COVID-19, business owners have been looking at different ways to cut costs and become more efficient. What if it was possible to achieve this goal while helping to reduce transmission of COVID-19 at the same time?

Delivered by Sam Thomas, Principal and Kootenay Branch Manager of Prism Engineering, and Tiago Pereira, Energy Solutions Manager at FortisBC, attendees will learn practical steps for making the workplace safer, while also saving money in our “new normal.” We’ll also be covering tips for making your space cost-effective, COVID relief incentives for small biz and plumbing/environmental controls.

What Will I Learn?
Best practices in HVAC and safety during COVID-19 reopening
How to develop a pandemic response plan
Steps to prepare your business for a potential second wave
Identifying opportunities for increased energy efficiency in your business
Available rebates and energy saving resources from Fortis BC

Wednesday September 2nd @ 10:00am (PT)

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****NOTE: TIABC's C-19 Bulletin is now published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

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.