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Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Neil Lumsden, spoke publicly this week about the steps his office has taken to communicate with the federal Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Randy Boissonnault, on debt relief for the industry. 

Listen to the interview here.

Minister Lumsden has reached out to communicate the needs of the industry, and has sent a formal letter to stress the need for extending the repayment deadline for the CEBA, RRRF and HASCAP loans. Thank you to Minister Lumsden for standing up for tourism business owners in Ontario. 

Debt has impacted the capacity of businesses to operate at full capacity, hire the necessary staff, create new tourism experiences, and build the next attraction. For this reason, TIAO has joined a new coalition formed with national organizations in the visitor economy and small business sectors. Together, we are calling on the federal government to: 

• Extend the zero-interest repayment deadline for the CEBA loan to December 31, 2025;   
• Increase the forgivable portion of the CEBA loan to $30,000 (or 50%) if fully repaid before December 31, 2024, and maintain the current forgivable portion of $20,000 (or 33.3%) if fully repaid by December 31, 2025; and,  
• Modify the RRRF and HASCAP loans in a similar fashion to allow more time and flexibility in repayment terms. 

TIAO will be writing a letter to every Ontario MP to outline these recommendations and the urgent need to address this issue with deadlines coming up December 2023.  

TIAO is aware of impacts caused by the weekly closure of the Burlington Skyway Bridge for maintenance. From July 7 to August 11, Niagara-bound lanes on the Burlington Skyway Bridge are being closed for more than 12 hours each Friday night for bridge repairs, reopening on Saturdays by 9:30am. While critical, these repairs are taking place during the busiest time of the year for Niagara tourism and during busy travel times. With the Burlington Skyway being the most direct route to Niagara, the closures have already disrupted Friday evening and early Saturday morning travel plans for Niagara-bound visitors, workers, and suppliers. TIAO is currently working with the Niagara Falls Canada Hotel Association (NFCHA), the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association (ORHMA), and government partners to come to a solution that will allow the remaining repairs to occur while minimizing travel disruption. Click here to see TIAO’s joint letter to Premier Ford.   

Lastly, please register to join us for TIAO’s most important advocacy event of the year! Exclusive to TIAO Members, Tourism Day at Queen’s Park, happening on Tuesday, September 26th (8-5PM), is TIAO’s annual lobby day event at the provincial legislature. One of the association’s most highly rated events and membership benefits, TD@QP allows tourism industry leaders and stakeholders valuable face time with MPPs, Ministers and other government officials and staff. Read more and register below.

Madison Simmons 
Vice President, Public Affairs 

TIAO continues to keep the pressure on advocating for debt relief to ensure the recovery, growth, and sustainability of Ontario's tourism industry after last month’s release of the TIAC/Nanos research findings. These results renew the case for government intervention. TIAO will be an active member of a new Coalition being formed with likeminded national organizations in the visitor economy and small business sectors to push the messaging and recommendations forward.  

As of this week, TIAO has been advocating for debt relief for tourism businesses for the past 23 months. Last year, TIAO launched a campaign for debt relief, calling on the federal government to extend the zero-interest repayment deadline and to increase the maximum amount of partial loan forgiveness for CEBA and RRRF loans. These recommendations were featured in our blueprint for tourism recovery and growth, outlined in our Federal Tourism Growth Strategy submission, provincial and federal budget submissions, and in our joint 2022 State of the Ontario Tourism Industry Report with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. We know that debt has been consistently cited as hampering the recovery of our member tourism businesses and will continue to prioritize this advocacy file, communicating and reiterating the need with MPs before the return of Parliament in September. 

The TIAO team started off the week by attending the release of the new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy in Niagara Falls. The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance unveiled the new strategy entitled: Canada 365: Welcoming the World. Every Day. 

This strategy is released after almost 12 months of consultations - roundtables and online submissions garnered input from some 400 tourism stakeholders and follows the 2019 plan called Creating Middle Class Jobs: A Federal Tourism Growth Strategy, which identified that the Canadian tourism sector was not reaching its potential. The newly announced strategy uses 2019 as a foundation and incorporates lessons from the past three years of the pandemic. 

TIAO is encouraged to see that the main themes throughout this document are in line with our priorities. We recognize all of our members that contributed by providing feedback and input in the consultation period. If you have any questions or comments on the strategy, please reach out to me at msimmons@tiaontario.ca. We would love to hear your thoughts. 

TIAO also attended the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce’s Spotlight event. Hosted by Niagara College Canada at their Benchmark Restaurant, the event was a great opportunity to discuss the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy with Minister Boissonnault and to reconnect with TIAO members in the Niagara region.    

On Wednesday, TIAO presented its advocacy priorities and vision for the future of tourism in Ontario to the federal Conservative Tourism Caucus Advisory Committee – thank you to co-Chairs MP Tony Baldinelli and MP Blake Richards for inviting us. 

In addition, this week, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development announced a new licensing system for temporary help agencies and recruiters. As of January 1, 2024, temporary help agencies and recruiters will need a license to operate in the province and will need to provide $25,000 in the form of an irrevocable letter of credit that can be used to repay owed wages to employees. Offenders could face up to a $50,000 penalty based on repeat violations – the highest amount in Canada.  

TIAO has advocated for the regulation of temporary help agencies and recruiters to protect some of the most essential workers in the tourism and hospitality industry and to ensure that businesses can make informed decisions when choosing recruitment partners. TIAO congratulates Minister McNaughton on this critical step forward in elevating the standard of recruitment practices in Ontario. 

TIAO would also like to congratulate Neil Pakey and Nieuport Aviaton on the announcement last week that US Customs and Border Protection Preclearance operations will be coming to Billy Bishop Airport. TIAO has been a vocal supporter of this investment and the role it will play in driving favourable economic outcomes that would benefit both Toronto and Ontario.  

Lastly, please register to join us for TIAO’s most important advocacy event of the year! Exclusive to TIAO Members, Tourism Day at Queen’s Park, happening on Tuesday, September 26th (8-5PM), is TIAO’s annual lobby day event at the provincial legislature. One of the association’s most highly rated events and membership benefits, TD@QP allows tourism industry leaders and stakeholders valuable face time with MPPs, Ministers and other government officials and staff. Read more and register below.

Madison Simmons 
Vice President, Public Affairs 

This week, TIAO President and CEO, Chris Bloore, met with the Honourable Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport on the issue of debt load. The Minister has been an advocate on this topic, supporting TIAO’s calls for debt relief for the industry. We thank the Minister for his continued support as we look to alleviate the burdensome debt loads on Ontario tourism businesses and allow them to benefit from rising visitor demand and return to a sense of normalcy in operations. 

Earlier this week, with the support of TIAO and other members of the Provincial and Territorial Tourism Industry Association (PTTIA), the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) released new survey research showing that 45% of Canada's tourism businesses may close within the next three years without government intervention into their mounting debt load.   

Conducted by Nanos Research, the survey found that 55% of tourism sector businesses are not confident that they will have the ability to repay the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), and the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) loans in the next two years. 51% of tourism businesses reported having over $100,000 in outstanding debt from loans, lines of credit, or other credit facilities, with almost one-third (29.7%) of all operators reporting more than $250,000 in outstanding debt.   

Based on these findings, TIAC, TIAO (as a member of the PTTIA), and the PTTIA are calling on the federal government to help address this important issue by:   

• Extending the zero-interest repayment deadline for the CEBA loan to December 31, 2025;   
• Increasing the forgivable portion of the CEBA loan to $30,000 (or 50%) if fully repaid before December 31, 2024, and maintaining the current forgivable portion of $20,000 (or 33.3%) if fully repaid by December 31, 2025; and,  
• Modifying the RRRF and HASCAP loans in a similar fashion to allow more time and flexibility in repayment terms.  

TIAO has been advocating for debt relief for tourism businesses for the past 22 months. Through our meetings with provincial partners, we were able to successfully advocate for the extension of the zero-interest repayment deadline for CEBA and RRRF loans (from December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2023), allowing more businesses to qualify for partial loan forgiveness. But given the slow pace of tourism recovery, this was not enough.  

Alongside TIAC, the PTTIA, and our industry partners, TIAO will continue to advocate for debt relief to ensure the recovery, growth, and sustainability of Ontario's tourism industry. 

Last week, TIAO also met with the Honourable Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Another champion for the tourism industry, the Minister was interested in an update on what the summer is forecasted to look like for tourism businesses. The discussion also covered future portable benefits legislation and how TIAO was working with employers to create a sustainable tourism workforce.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or comments!  

Madison Simmons 
Vice President, Public Affairs 

This week has been another busy one, with the TIAO team on the road.  

We held our Annual General Meeting yesterday in historic Kingston, returning to in-person format for the first time since 2019. It was great to see some of our TIAO members in person to recap TIAO’s 2022 advocacy, programming, and events; hear member input; and give outgoing Board Chair Andrew Weir a proper send-off. Four new members were elected to TIAO’s Board of Directors, to begin serving immediately: Claudia Dessanti, Ontario Chamber of Commerce; Michael Crockatt, Ottawa Tourism; Neil Pakey, Nieuport Aviation; and Paul Di Ianni, Town of Lincoln.

Rebecca Mackenzie, President and CEO of the Culinary Tourism Alliance becomes the new Chair of the organization, and Michael Crockatt will assume role of Vice Chair. The TIAO Board is made up of 14 individuals, each bringing a unique perspective and skillset to the table to advance TIAO’s priorities on behalf of its members and Ontario’s tourism economy.  Read TIAO’s 2022 Annual Report here.

Our AGM was purposefully held prior to the reception of the CGLCC Business Summit 2023, also taking place at the Holiday Inn Kingston-Waterfront. This allowed TIAO members attending our AGM to also attend the reception for the CGLCC’s (Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce) Summit—and perhaps also register to attend some of the subsequent conference sessions to learn more about building and supporting an inclusive labour force, advancing supplier diversity, and the next steps for your business after being Rainbow Registered.  

TIAO is proud to work alongside the CGLCC to help build the most inclusive tourism industry possible. But more so, we stand as an ally in deeds, not just words against bigotry and hate. 

To cap off a busy week, Chris Bloore also spoke at the Tourism Oxford Awards in Woodstock and at Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, highlighting the need for tourism debt relief and TIAO’s continued advocacy with TIAC to extend the upcoming repayment deadline for CEBA and RRRF loans. Congratulations to Meredith Maywood from Tourism Oxford and the other award winners  

As always, thank you for your continued support. And of course, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to send me an email at jng@tiaontario.ca  

Jessica Ng 
Director, Policy & Government Affairs