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Through consulting with all of you, as well as other Provincial and National tourism organizations, NOTO has prepared and sent a request for support for the resource-based tourism industry. We thank those who have taken the time to answer surveys and provide your comments and questions.
Here are the supports we have asked for to date:
- The establishment of a Resource-Based Tourism Emergency Fund to help operators survive this extended period of uncertainty and loss, and to mitigate the impacts on the sector.
- Top-up the Federal Government wage subsidy
- Offset other fixed business costs
- Temporary measures to allow tourism businesses to better manage cash flow, reduce fixed costs, and retain staff during the crisis period, such as: Property/land tax, suspension of tenure fees; loan and lease payment relief; etc.
- Defer Property and land tax liabilities and payments to 2021
- Waive land tenure and other permit fees for 2020 (ie. LUP, BMA and bait harvester fees)
- Correct the Gasoline Tax Rebate application and modify the documentation requirements to better reflect the Gasoline Tax Act so that operators can successfully apply for the rebates.
- Assistance to tourism sector associations who are likely to experience revenue reductions due to declining memberships.
- Continued and enhanced supports for Regional Tourism Organizations whose funding is calculated based on tourism receipts in their regions and will see those numbers plummet this fiscal.
- Stimulus and recovery funding for tourism product investments to ensure the industry can quickly rebound once the outbreak is over; and,
- Assistance to advocate to the Federal Government on further measures to mitigate business insolvency and job loss in this sector.
- Enhance the Federal loan facility
- Defer corporate income tax liability and offer employers a three-year repayment period starting in 2021
As you will note, some of these items have already been addressed as small businesses call for action. Our Governments continue to be updating existing and developing new supports almost on a daily basis. We will strive to get the ear of Government to have the recommendations we have made come to fruition.
NOTO will continue to take these items forward one our own as well as through our tourism partners like Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO), Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and the Canadian Federation of Outfitter Associations (CFOA).
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