In the past few weeks, we’ve seen parts of our country and communities opening up and people moving around. While this is encouraging and leaves us feeling a little bit more normal, we know that many in our sector are still struggling with the impact of COVID-19 and economic shutdowns, leaving many unable to resume activities. Since our last TIAC Talk, we have heard from many of you about how important the extension of wage subsidy programs and ongoing government support is to keep your businesses functioning and bring employees back to work. We hear you loud and clear and we continue to deliver that message to government decision-makers. every day. The importance of liquidity and government support cannot be overstated!

TIAC has recently published the results of our latest industry survey which helps us build the case to government that the industry is still in need of financial support. First and foremost, please know that we appreciate the input from the industry. The importance of providing data and information to government on how programs are working – or not – is critical. Thank you to those of you who provided your feedback in response to the survey. We also filed our pre-budget submission to the Parliamentary Finance Committee in which we’ve laid out our key priorities for the government to help the visitor economy in the coming months. Please note that these submissions are required to be very succinct and in no way provide the full breadth of our activities and asks.

This past Monday, I spoke to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (video starts at 12:27), to discuss the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the urgent need for additional support. TIAC’s priority continues to be our work on your behalf to ensure your voice is being heard. As always, please stay safe and let us know what more we can do to help.