Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to be able to present two petitions today on behalf of independent travel advisers in my constituency.
The petitioners would like this House to know that there are 12,000 independent travel advisers across Canada who have been largely without income for more than a year because of the implications of the COVID travel restrictions due to the pandemic. Many federal assistance programs such as CEBA, CERS, CEWS and the RRRF exclude the majority of these small business owners, leaving them to slip through the cracks.
The first of these two petitions ask the Government of Canada to provide sector-specific funding for independent travel advisers and extend the qualifications of the RRRF in urban areas to include sole proprietors.
The second petition I am presenting to the House today is very simple. These independent travel advisers are asking that the CRB for travel advisers be extended six months past the lifting of all travel advisories, as the income they specifically receive is 100% based on commission, and it takes approximately that long for them to start receiving those commissions.