Canadian COVID-19 Update | Wednesday, April 22
April 22, 2020
TIAC’s Work
- TIAC’s President and CEO, Charlotte Bell, was featured today in the Financial Post speaking on the plight of COVID-19 on the tourism sector, and what needs to be done for relief
- TIAC’s President and CEO continued conversations today with ISED and other government stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of liquidity for our industry and ensuring tourism businesses are able to access relief measures.
- TIAC has recently been informed of the opportunity for tourism businesses to participate in a telephone townhall meeting hosted by the Official Opposition this weekend. Conservative Shadow Ministers for Tourism, Small Business, Rural Economic Development, and Associate Shadow Minister for Finance will be leading the call on Saturday, April 25 at 1pm EST/10am PST.
- Please note that TIAC advocacy work remains non-partisan, this townhall is an opportunity for stakeholders to share their messages on what support is required to help our sector recover.
- This will be a good opportunity for TIAC members to share the challenges they are facing during this global health pandemic, and what gaps remain in the government programs.
- To participate in the town hall, please sign-up here: https://www.conservative.ca/cpc/small-business-tele-town-hall/. You will receive a call on Saturday at 1pm EST/10am PST that will automatically connect you to the townhall.
In case you missed it …
- Our partners at Destination Canada have released their preliminary data on the impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian tourism sector: https://www.destinationcanada.com/en/coronavirus-updates/covid-19-research
- The online application portal to access the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) will be available on Monday April 27th on the CRA website:
- The majority of applications will be processed by May 5th with cash flowing to businesses shortly thereafter. TIAC will be sharing details on how to access the portal as soon as it is made available.
- An online calculator has been launched to help businesses determine their eligibility and how much they can claim through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).
- We continue to collect responses for our survey in collaboration with McKinsey & Company and Destination Canada to assess recovery measures to help the tourism sector when the COVID-19 crisis subsides. The survey closes on April 23, 2020.
- Please know that each entry is captured and reported to government officials and decision- makers daily. Your continued participation and input are vital. Thank you to everyone who already participated. Please see the survey details & link below.
Government Announcements
- Today, the Prime Minister announced $9 billion in funding to support students across the country. This program includes a new Canada Emergency Student Benefit that will provide $1,250/month to current post-secondary students, as well as those starting in September and those who graduated in December 2019.
- Part of this funding also includes a commitment to create over 75,000 student jobs for struggling and frontline sectors.
- TIAC will be looking into the details for the program to see if TIAC members can take advantage of these new job placements.