In Today's Update
- NOTO's AGM & Elections Update
- Provincial Gov. News: Avoid non-essential travel, changes to energy assistance, Toronto, Peel Ottawa & York re-enter stage 2
- Federal Gov. News: Changes and extensions of various programs
- TIAO Calls Tuesday Oct. 20th
- Few reminders: Northern Ontario Tourism Training Week & Twin Otter Aircraft Operators Survey
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:
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Congratulations
Kate and Trevor!
We are pleased to share that Kate Racicot was married to her highschool sweetheart and best friend Trevor on October 10th in a beautiful outdoor ceremony.
On behalf of the NOTO Board and staff we congratulate Kate and Trevor on their recent wedding and wish them a long and happy life together.
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NOTO Annual General Meeting & Elections
NOTO's AGM will be hosted virtually this year on November 26th, 2020 as part of the Northern Ontario Tourism Training Week.
All of the documents to be discussed in this agenda will be sent along with the meeting link shortly!
If you are not a member of NOTO but you are interested in the work NOTO does on behalf of the tourism industry, you are more than welcome to join us!
The election process will also be held electronically this year. In a similar fashion to last year's AGM, all members will be able to vote in advance through an electronic ballot which will be sent directly to your inbox in the upcoming week. As per NOTO's constitution, members will also be able to vote on the day of the AGM and will also be permitted to run off the floor for vacant seats on NOTO's board of directors. Directions on how this will be accommodated will follow soon.
For information on regional vacancies, please contact our Executive Director.
Stay tuned for more information!
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Provincial Government Updates
The Chief Medical Officer of Health is urging all Ontarians to:
- Limit trips outside of home, except for essential purposes only such as work where it is not possible to work from home, school, grocery shopping, medical appointments, and outdoor healthy physical activity. In addition, travel to other regions in the province, especially from higher transmission to lower transmission areas, should only be for essential purposes;
- Practice physical distancing of at least two meters with those outside your household;
- Wear a face covering when physical distancing is a challenge or where it is mandatory to do so; and
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly;
- Follow gathering limits and rules.
- Download the new COVID Alert App on their smart phone.
Also announced this week, t he government has revised the eligibility requirements for the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business (CEAP-SB). Small businesses who made partial payments on amounts owing before the COVID-19 emergency period are now eligible for the CEAP-SB one-time on-bill credit to help pay down electricity bill debt. The expanded eligibility also eliminates the requirement for residential consumers to be unemployed when applying for CEAP. Local utilities will re-assess previously rejected applications and start accepting new applications on October 16, 2020.
Ottawa, Peel, York and Toronto Move Back to Modified Stage 2 Regulations:
These regions now have to comply with modified Stage 2 restrictions that will remain for a minimum of 28 days. Measures under a modified Stage 2 include:
- Reducing limits for all social gatherings and organized public events to a maximum of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors where physical distancing can be maintained. The two limits may not be combined for an indoor-outdoor event;
- Prohibiting indoor food and drink service in restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments, including nightclubs and food court areas in malls;
Closing of:
- Indoor gyms and fitness centres (i.e., exercise classes and weight and exercise rooms);
- Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments;
- Indoor cinemas;
- Performing arts centres and venues;
- Spectator areas in racing venues;
- Interactive exhibits or exhibits with high risk of personal contact in museums, galleries, zoos, science centres, landmarks, etc.;
- Prohibiting personal care services where face coverings must be removed for the service (e.g. makeup application, beard trimming)
- Prohibiting personal care services where face coverings must be removed for the service (e.g. makeup application, beard trimming);
Reducing the capacity limits for:
- Tour and guide services to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors
- Real estate open houses to 10 people indoors, where physical distancing can be maintained.
- In-person teaching and instruction (e.g. cooking class) to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, with exemptions for schools, child care centres, universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, private career colleges, the Ontario Police College, etc.
- Meeting and event spaces to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, and
- Limiting team sports to training sessions (no games or scrimmages).
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Federal Government Program Updates
Canada Recovery Benefit Now Available: For those of you are looking for a replacement of the CERB or that need support to replace your wages for the off season but do not qualify for Employment Insurance, the CRB may provide that support. The CRB provides $500 per week for up to 26 weeks for workers who have stopped working or had their income reduced by at least 50% due to COVID-19, and who are not eligible for Employment Insurance (EI). It will operate similar to EI in that you will have to apply for each period. You may now submit an application to this program. Click here to learn more!
CEBA Extension & Changes: The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is expanding existing funding for businesses. Businesses will be able to access an interest-free loan of up to $20,000, in addition to the original CEBA loan of $40,000. Half of this additional financing would be forgivable if repaid by December 31, 2022. Additionally, the application deadline for CEBA is being extended to December 31, 2020.
Changes to Rent Assistance: The new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy will provide simple and easy-to-access rent and mortgage support until June 2021 for qualifying organizations affected by COVID-19. The rent subsidy would be provided directly to tenants, while also providing support to property owners. The new rent subsidy would support businesses, charities, and non-profits that have suffered a revenue drop, by subsidizing a percentage of their expenses, on a sliding scale, up to a maximum of 65 per cent of eligible expenses until December 19, 2020. Organizations would be able to make claims retroactively for the period that began September 27 and ends October 24, 2020.
A top-up Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy of 25 per cent for organizations temporarily shut down by a mandatory public health order issued by a qualifying public health authority, in addition to the 65 per cent subsidy. This follows a commitment in the Speech from the Throne to provide direct financial support to businesses temporarily shut down as a result of a local public health decision.
CEWS Extension & Changes: The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) is being extended through June 2021. We now have more details on the changes made to the CEWS extension to November 21, 2020. For seasonal businesses in our tourism sector these changes mean that you will likely still qualify for the CEWS at the 75% depending on the revenue drop you have experienced this year.
For periods 5 through 9 (July 5 - November 21), the following changes have been made:
- You can use the current period's revenue drop or the previous period's, whichever works in your favour
- For periods 5 and 6 (roughly July and August), if your revenue dropped at least 30%, your subsidy rate will be at least 75%.
- Even if your revenue has not dropped for the claim period, you can still qualify if your average revenue over the previous three months dropped more than 50%
As you review your options through the online CEWS calculator, we would appreciate hearing whether these changes help. To see more detail on these changes and to find the CEWS calculator go to:
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TIAO Calls - Tuesday October 20th
COVID-19 Northern Ontario Tourism Industry Update featuring IPSOS Reid Consumer Sentiment Latest Survey Results
Call Time: 11:30 am
Access Code: 181-465-597
Dial in: +1 (647) 497-9373
COVID-19 Tourism Industry Update featuring IPSOS Reid Consumer Sentiment Latest Survey Results
Time: 1:00 pm
Access Code: 406-543-701
Dial in: +1 (647) 497-9391
Thank you,
The TIAO team.
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SAVE THE DATE!
Building on 80+ years of successful fall conferences for the outfitting sector, the Northern Ontario Tourism Summit was developed as a partnership event between Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario (NOTO) and Destination Northern Ontario (DNO) to bring together tourism businesses, organizations and suppliers as well as all levels of government at a single event to find solutions to challenges facing the industry.
This fall, we will be introducing a virtual training week in lieu of our traditional summit to engage with industry across the North. The safety of the tourism industry remains a top priority while ensuring we deliver the most up to date and value information for the success of businesses in the Region. We look forward to continue on building new partnerships, new opportunities and exciting developments for 2020, together.
This year, registration is free to all industry partners, so you can focus on operations, saving money and staying safe.
What you can expect from the Northern Ontario Tourism Training Week...
- Practical & interactive online workshops
- Latest marketing and branding trends
- Virtual product development training
- Virtual Networking opportunities
- Industry Leader Awards Announcements
- Connect with operators, industry professionals, and business owners.
- Share information with like-minded individuals while building your network
- Access exclusive training opportunities tailored for tourism stakeholders in the North.
- Online training workshops and information sessions
Mark your calendars now for the week of November 23rd to 27th
& watch for more details to come.
Registration will be available soon!
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National Survey for Twin Otter Aircraft Operators in Canada
New Transport Canada regulations are of concern for operators of air service operators that operate Twin Otter aircraft across Canada and therefore the Canadian Federation of Outfitter Associations (CFOA) is conducting a survey to assess the impacts of these regulations. While my outreach to our industry in Ontario hasn't revealed any operators of air service providers that operate Twin Otter aircraft I want to be sure we don't miss anyone therefore we are sharing this survey link within our industry.
If you or anyone you know operates Twin Otter aircraft, please pass on the link below:
Survey Deadline is October 18th
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NOTO's COVID-19 Page
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.
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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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