COVID-19 Update | Friday, March 27 (Canada – PM)

March 27, 2020

TIAC’s Work

• Today’s official announcements “to help small businesses keep more employees on payroll” represent a significant win for the industry, with new measures responding in large part, to the ongoing push TIAC has been making to Government seeking support for our members. We also launched a joint campaign with our partners at Restaurants Canada and Hotel Association of Canada over the past few days to gather as many industry signatures as possible to support our proposal to Minister Morneau. As of today we have collected; 4,358 signatures on the petition and 1,851 letters were sent to MPs
• Today’s announcements are a win for our industry as we continue to weigh in with the Minister’s office on details and in determining what constitutes a “qualifying business”.
• As TIAC continues to work with the Minister of Economic Development and the Minister of Finance on concrete relief measures, we will ensure the interests of all tourism businesses, including associations and indigenous businesses are taken into consideration and lead to broad access to the programs announced.

Government Announcements

• Today, the Prime Minister announced significant new measures that will help small businesses keep more employees on their payroll.
• Specifically, the Prime Minister announced that the Government of Canada will now cover 75% of wages for qualifying businesses, up from the previously announced 10%. This will be backdated to March 15, and more information on which businesses qualify and how to apply is expected to come by Monday.
• The Prime Minister also announced a new Canada Emergency Business Account that will see banks offering $40,000 loans guaranteed by the government to qualifying businesses. Loans under the Canada Emergency Business Account will be interest-free for the first year, and will also see $10,000 of the loan forgiven if certain conditions are met. Again, more details are expected Monday.
• The Prime Minister also announced that the Government of Canada is providing an additional $12.5 billion to Export Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada to help SMEs with cashflow requirements. 
• Finally, the Prime Minister also announced that businesses will be able to defer GST and HST payments until June.
• Related links:
  • https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/03/27/prime-minister-announces-support-small-businesses-facing-impacts
  • https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/03/additional-support-for-canadian-businesses-from-the-economic-impact-of-covid-19.html

Workforce Support Measures: Frequently Asked Questions 

• Download document
  • *Please note that:
    • this document is temporary, additional information will follow next week
    • all final versions of related document are kept by Tourism HR Canada  
    • http://tourismhr.ca/resources/coronavirus/

OECD Policy Note: Summary–predictions on impact of COVID-19 on the global tourism economy 

• Today, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a comprehensive report looking at the estimated global impact to international tourism as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report outlines key figures showcasing the considerable impact industry all across the globe. 
• The report estimates that “even when tourism supply chains start to function again, demand-side recovery will take some time”. 
• The full report, including an analysis of international policies to provide tourism industry relief, and a sector-by-sector look at these global implications, can be found here. 
• Report link