Industry Committee on Aug. 10th, 2020

[Charlotte Bell]

We have not done surveys specifically on consumer sentiment, because we've been focused on trying to save our industry. Our surveys are focused on trying to figure out where the industry is at. I do know that a number of organizations, like Destination Canada or other pollsters, have done surveys peering into consumer attitudes.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Meetings Mean Business Canada, have you done any surveys on that?

[Clark Grue]

No, we would be the same. The only one I would point to.... The Canadian travel and tourism round table, which a number of us sit on, has looked at some data on sentiment regarding travel across the country. I apologize, but I don't know the stats on it.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Hotel Association of Canada, have you done any surveys?

[Susie Grynol]

We have not specifically surveyed on that topic either, but I know the Conference Board of Canada has, so we'd be happy to send that to the committee.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Let's assume there's a sentiment around hesitancy and lower consumer motivation to be able to fully embrace as we reopen the economy. Naturally, there's a huge impact on the industry and them being another part of the equation and coming out and embracing this reopening. To what extent would all of the recommendations, on which you have spent a lot of time and which are so justified, be impacted?

Association Restauration Québec or Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, do you want to jump in on that one?

[Martin Vézina]

I'll respond in French.

We didn't conduct a consumer survey, but half the restaurant owners that we surveyed said that their sales were less than 40% of what they normally make in June and July. I think that this figure is very relevant. We can really see that consumers are reluctant to go to restaurants. That's why we were recommending—

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Vézina, but could you put your microphone a little lower?

[Martin Vézina]

Okay.

As a result, it may be necessary to implement measures such as the measures that we're proposing to encourage consumption. These measures include suspending the sales tax in the tourism industry to encourage consumption or providing a tax credit.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

I have only about 30 seconds left in my time, and I want to ask a question. I believe that the rate at which consumers will feel confident coming out is going to be an issue and is going to be an ongoing issue for a while.

What measures can the federal government take? What measures can other levels...?

I was hoping you'd put up your hand to answer that question. Thank you. Go ahead.

[Susie Grynol]

First of all, our industry has put in place a program called Safe Stay. It's North America-based. It's incorporating all of the public health recommendations into hotel practices.

But to answer your question directly, one of the things the government can do to help is to help us change the narrative: that you can leave your house and you're not doing to die if you do it. This is something that continues to be.... Look, none of us are suggesting that we want to see an increase. We have to do this responsibly, but I think we've been responsible. I think people can be responsible, and to the extent that the government can support that, it would be helpful.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Thank you.

We now move to MP Patzer.

You have the floor for five minutes.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Before I begin, I want to give a notice of motion, which I will read into the record here:

That, as part of its study on the Canadian Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology invite Daniel Therrien, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, to testify regarding the development and ongoing operation of the recently released contact tracing application.

I will move to my questions now.

This question will go to the Hotel Association or the Tourism Industry Association. Any of you can answer if you want, but I'm curious to know, as far as insurance in your industries goes, whether there have been any issues with that. In particular, I'm wondering about the business interruption insurance. Is there anybody who had applied for that or had that already in the suite of insurance packages that exist?

[Susie Grynol]

I can jump in on that.

Yes, there are two issues with insurance. One is that hotels that had paid business interruption insurance are not getting covered, so that's a big challenge. The other challenge is that the insurance companies are now telling us that, effective December, they are not going to cover us at all because we're too much of a risk.

You can't run a hotel without commercial insurance, so it is a huge issue, but it is a provincial one, and it is one that our colleagues are working on.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Is there anybody else who wants to chip in on that one as well?

[Charlotte Bell]

Essentially, I'm hearing absolutely the same thing.

[Clark Grue]

As am I.

[Martin Vézina]

It's the same thing for restaurants. Not many policies cover the interruption of business.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Thank you for that.

I'm going to move back to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. One of the things we have seen from the federal government is some financial relief for the tourism industry. In particular, $46 million went to Quebec and the Maritimes, but in my province of Saskatchewan we received only $1.5 million for relief within the tourism sector.

I'll just go over some numbers. The percentage of employment in Saskatchewan is 3.2% for tourism, which is actually identical to that for Ontario. That compares to Newfoundland, Labrador, New Brunswick and Quebec. P.E.I. and Nova Scotia are obviously higher on the spectrum than everybody else is.

Why do you think it is that such a huge amount went out east but so little went out west?

[Charlotte Bell]

Thank you for asking that question.

It is an issue we have been raising with the minister and with government. It was very uneven.

I think what happened is that the RRRF program was rolled out but not on a national [Technical difficulty—Editor]. The regional development agencies doled out those funds in those regions. Unfortunately, after everything was said and done, we did see that there were far fewer grants or loans out in the western provinces. We are still working on that with the minister's office to see if there's anything that can be done.

Essentially, each of the RDAs, the regional development agencies, deals with its own stakeholders. There isn't a national set of rules across the board for each of those agencies.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Right. Okay.

I'm wondering, because I have companies like Treeosix in Cypress Hills Park; Harvest Eatery, a restaurant down in Shaunavon; and the Grasslands National Park, which are all award-winning businesses. As well, outside of my riding, up by Saskatoon, we have the Wanuskewin Heritage Park, where, for the first time in 150 years, a baby bison was born on ancestral land. The Saskatchewan tourism industry has so much to offer. It's not just an afterthought; it's something we're extremely proud of around here.

When we're talking to these different industries, I'm wondering whether these people need to apply specifically to these RDAs, or what order works for them to be able to get funding or get a better demand for funding if there's such a small number coming from the RDAs themselves?

[Charlotte Bell]

The individual businesses would have to apply for funding once it's announced, and that did happen. I just heard—in fact, a couple of days ago—that in B.C., for example, there were 42 applications that went to Western Economic Diversification and they were all denied. So it wasn't simply one of the western provinces. We are trying to get to the bottom of this to see if anything can be done to ensure that the western provinces also receive funding, certainly in the tourism industry.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

This is kind of going to my colleague from the NDP. He was talking about the Canada summer jobs program earlier. I have a lot of tourism-based businesses in the riding that specifically utilize that program. Is that something across Canada? Is it a vastly used program across Canada? I mean within the context of tourism per se.

[Charlotte Bell]

I think it's used in certain areas, but it's certainly not at the top of our priority in terms of things that need to be [Technical difficulty-Editor].

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to MP Erskine-Smith.

You have the floor for five minutes.