Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair and committee members, I want to thank you for inviting our association to appear today.
Yes, I've been here before, and I'm here again. The Tourism Industry Association of Canada, or TIAC, is the national voice of the tourism industry and has been actively calling for sector-specific support for the tourism economy since the onset of the pandemic.
We were pleased to see specific mention and support outlined for tourism in last month's budget, and we are here today to discuss the work still to be done if we want Canada's tourism economy to regain the momentum we had prior to the pandemic.
The budget proposed many supports that impact our sector, but today I will focus on a few pertinent measures, including the tourism relief fund and the Canada emergency rent and wage subsidies.
The $1-billion package of tourism supports over three years is very promising, but we are still working to understand the details around these supports and how they will be administered to truly recognize the help they provide to tourism. The same understanding applies to the proposed funding for the festivals and events. We need to make sure the unique needs of our industry are met. The $500-million tourism relief fund through the regional development agencies will be a great help to businesses if this money is grant funding and if we encourage a national approach to the administration so that RDAs follow the same policies across the country.
We want to ensure that all sectors within tourism have access to these funds, including business events, anchor attractions and fly-in fishing camps. We cannot ask businesses that have been forced to close and that have generated little to no revenue over the past 15 months to blindly undertake more debt without any road map to recovery and with no ability to forecast.
We continue to work with government on these details and we ask that the tourism industry be consulted prior to the details being finalized. As we have seen with HASCAP, there are unique situations for tourism businesses that must be accounted for. The HASCAP program was an extremely welcome program; however, industry feedback suggests that the program has not been utilized as predicted due to challenges like debt service ratio issues, which are prevalent in our sector, with large capital assets like boats and float planes. We ask that this issue be looked at and remedied before the deadline.
We have seen that the lack of access is exacerbated with regard to indigenous tourism businesses, and we must make sure, moving forward, that the necessary financial support for indigenous tourism businesses also rolls out effectively and ensure that access through aboriginal financial institutions is secured.
The emergency wage and rent subsidies have been a lifeline to so many of our businesses, and while we welcome the extension of the programs, the impending fall timeline and the decline in support levels are big concerns for our industry. Our businesses will not be in a place where support is no longer needed as of September or even November. Some sectors such as the cruise industry are completely shut down until at least spring of 2022. In addition, many of our members are seasonal businesses that must be accounted for with support programs. Their means and timing of revenue generation are different from those of most others, and they are looking at a second summer season being lost.
The new Canada recovery hiring program is positioned as somewhat of a bridge from the declining subsidy programs; however, the timing requires that businesses be reasonably financially sound by June in order to take advantage of the program. Additionally, as most tourism businesses now have limited or no cash flow or reserves, they may simply not be able to afford workers even if the 50% subsidy is in place. That being the case, we are strongly recommending that the CEWS and CERS programs continue for tourism businesses at existing levels for as long as they are needed, taking into account that these are seasonal businesses; that the tourism relief fund be administered through the RDAs under a national approach as grant monies; and that HASCAP be amended to allow for tourism businesses with debt service ratio implications to qualify.
As we look ahead, our number one priority is getting back to business at full capacity. When we compare proposed supports in the budget to the timeline of proposed declining supports for businesses, we see that they don't match up. We are asking government to put a line in the sand and to name a target date for border reopening, which will include a definitive plan for proof of vaccination for international travel, testing requirements and elimination of quarantines. Our businesses do not turn on with the flip of a switch. We need time to recontract, remarket, retool and rehire, and we need time behind the scenes to do things like test the rides at the amusement parks that have been closed for a year, fill the splash park pools and retrain pilots.
TIAC recommends that Canada work with counterparts on solutions to ensure that we are on board with the global system and that we remain part of the seamless traveller experience.
We are also advocating for a “one Canada” travel policy. We ask the government to work with the provinces and territories to open their borders and avoid interprovincial travel testing and quarantining, which will provide confusion to both domestic and international travellers.
Finally, changing the narrative and supporting consumer confidence will be a critical piece. As we see case counts decline, we are asking government to lead the way to the return to travel and to encourage Canadians to travel within Canada. When restrictions are adjusted, our businesses will be ready to offer services and experiences while following all of the necessary health and hygiene protocols.
Much investment and creativity has gone into preparing for a recovery. The tourism economy is ready to put Canada back on the map as a competitive destination.
Thank you.