Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to support the motion, as it is one of great importance not only to my constituents but in fact all Canadians, as we look to address and combat the impacts of COVID-19.
We are now eight months into this enduring pandemic, with no immediate end in sight. That is why it is so troubling, as Canadians wait for the Liberal government to announce an economic recovery plan, one that lays a path forward without compromising health and safety.
While much focus has been on the well-being of Canadians, as it rightly should be, our Canadian economy also deserves attention. In particular, it has been Canadian workers and small businesses, especially in the restaurant, hospitality and travel and tourism sectors, who have been hardest hit.
As member of Parliament for Niagara Falls and special adviser to the leader on tourism recovery, I have held many Zoom meetings with business leaders and other travel and tourism stakeholders to hear their concerns, challenges and what it is they need to survive through this pandemic so that they can one day achieve recovery.
There are increasing concerns, frustrations and anxiety from these stakeholders who are waiting on the promised extensions and amendments to key support programs, including the Canada emergency wage subsidy, the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program and the Canada emergency business account.
The longer the Liberal government delays, the more concerned these stakeholders become, the greater their frustration mounts and the higher their anxieties rise. It is by no coincidence the Liberals announced Bill C-9 merely one day before we were about to begin debate on this very important motion. As with many of the key economic programs it has developed, the government has come to the table a day late.
Many of these stakeholders also point to the existing federal government policies as a source of their troubles and frustrations. Although we must talk about the needed legislation to support small businesses, we must never lose sight of the source of their desperation in the first place. It was the design flaws in these Liberal programs that added to the confusion, burden and negative consequences suffered by many in our travel and tourism industry.
What is needed now is a way forward, a plan for recovery that does not compromise the health and safety of Canadians. In fact, research conducted by McKinsey & Company, in collaboration with Destination Canada, indicated that without government investment 61,000 tourism businesses are projected to fail and 1.66 million tourism sector employees could be laid off.
It is incumbent on our federal government to get business supports right and implemented in a timely manner. It must also present a much-needed tourism recovery plan. This plan is long overdue. Many stakeholders have emphasized how far behind Canada is compared with some other countries like the United Kingdom and countries in the European Union. This is especially true when it comes to the development and implementation of tools such as rapid testing, which could reduce the negative impacts the 14-day mandatory quarantine has on businesses in the travel and tourism sector.
The “hardest hit” campaign launched by the recently established Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses warns that jobs are at risk if current policies and conditions remain the same. This group is asking for the wage subsidy to remain at 75% until the summer of 2021. I understand the government is proposing a maximum of 65%. Is the Liberal government even listening?
We need to listen to businesses now and deliver the programs they so desperately need to avoid many of them failing and permanently closing. The longer this pandemic drags on, the more apparent it becomes the Liberal government is in a state of policy confusion. Although the policy environment is quickly changing and extremely dynamic, the Liberal government fails to keep up, consult, adapt and change with it.
This is even more frustrating to see when we know of businesses and industries that are desperately trying to forge ahead with their own responsible solutions in the interest of their very own survival. According to Restaurants Canada, its membership has invested over $750 million in training, sanitizer stations, PPE, air purification systems and other protective equipment, all designed to provide the highest levels of safety to their customers. Despite these investments, this sector has seen a loss of 188,000 jobs and recent closures could see that number rise by another 100,000 jobs.
We can also look at the rapid testing pilots under way in our aviation industry to see the innovative leadership taking place there as well. Great work is being done by private sector actors at the international airports in Toronto and Vancouver. Work on innovative solutions like these is very much needed and needed now. Solutions could be achieved so much quicker if these industries had a willing and enthusiastic federal government partner to work with.
The first wave of COVID-19 has slammed our Canadian tourism and travel industry. The sector was hit first, it was hit hardest and it will take the longest to recover. Casualties from this pandemic are not just measured by those infected by this virus and the lives sadly lost. They are also measured by the livelihoods destroyed when businesses are forced to permanently close through no fault of their own.
How many more sacrifices can Canadians be told to make by the Liberal government as it continues forward without any plans for a recovery or any sense of urgency in providing the promised supports businesses need to survive?
I come from a tourism community where 40,000 people work in this sector. There are over 16,000 hotel rooms in our riding to accommodate the over 14 million visitors who traditionally would visit each year. Most of these people have been out of work since March. Their employers are heavily leveraged, they have spent their reserves and now face increased insurance premium renewals, some running at double and triple regular rates.
These challenges are not just happening in Niagara but across our entire national travel and tourism industry. In fact, Destination Canada is even forecasting that we should not expect to see a recovery to 2019 tourism levels until 2024. In its October 2020 “State of the Industry” report, it says that this would be a catastrophic loss for our economy. This would be devastating for the almost one in 10 Canadians who work in our travel and tourism industry.
Considering the dire strait of travel and tourism across Canada, it is only appropriate that my colleague from Calgary Rocky Ridge has introduced this timely opposition motion. The motion is very important. What it asks of the government is urgently needed, and urgently needed now.
As Parliament, we need to do more to support measures that adapt us to live safely and responsibly in a COVID world until we have a vaccine ready. This means balancing health and economic interests without compromising the safety and well-being of Canadians.
It also means supporting our small businesses, including those in the travel and tourism economy, with the programs they need to survive and to provide these programs in a timely manner. We also need to do more to support timely investments in innovative solutions to mitigate and manage the risks of COVID-19.
We need the federal government to present a sector-specific tourism recovery plan so our travel and tourism businesses can get through this pandemic together. We need the federal government to move quicker and to be there for Canadians when it is needed.
I have one additional quote from the same Destination Canada report, which says, “We need to help provide a light at the end of the tunnel-the November to March months are some of the lowest in terms of overall visitation. Many businesses are facing decisions on whether to stay open over the next months.”
This is a call to action and so too is our motion. Canadians want to get back to work and they are looking to Parliament for timely and critical solutions. Now is the time to deliver.