A coalition of organizations representing the tourism sector says the federal government must keep its wage-subsidy program in place well into next year to help businesses with dire prospects for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
And there is no question, of course, that the industry is one of the hardest hit. Charlotte Bell, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada said on a Zoom conference yesterday that travel and tourism was the ‘first shut and will be the last opened.’
In addition to Bell, the coalition was represented by Susie Grynol, president and CEO, Hotel Association of Canada, Keith Henry, president and CEO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada and Martin Roy, Executive Director, Festivals and Major Events Canada.
Forty different organizations have banded together to form a “coalition of hardest hit businesses” to place public pressure on the Liberal government to rethink the planned phaseout of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program beginning this month.
The program sees the federal government cover as much as 75 percent of wages depending on how much revenue a business has lost due to COVID-19.
But beginning later this month, the government intends to start scaling back the program with an eye toward eliminating it in entirely at the end of the year.
“Winding down and phasing out the CEWS program for all businesses at the same time does not make sense,” Grynol, president of the Hotel Association of Canada, said.
“It must be acknowledged that while some are allowed to recover, others are not and this support program should reflect this reality.”
She said that in a recent survey of tourism-industry operators, the vast majority pegged their ability to remain solvent in the coming months on government supports, given ongoing restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“Our sectors are different, we cannot offer curbside pickup, e-commerce or pivot to manufacturing new products,” Grynol said.
“We are fundamentally people-facing businesses, we bring people together, which limits our ability to function during a global pandemic.”
As of Sept. 13, the federal government says it has provided subsidies worth $35.31 billion to businesses. The Parliamentary Budget Office reported last month that by year’s end, the program could cost as much as $67.9 billion.
The intention of the CEWS program was to keep employees connected to their jobs so they’d be ready to work as soon as conditions improved, but Grynol and others said for the tourism sector, a return to something approaching normal won’t happen until next summer.
“In a post-COVID-19 reality, Canadians will still want a Calgary Stampede, a Toronto International Film Festival, a jazz festival in Montreal, a Carnaval in Quebec, an Ottawa Bluesfest and so on,” said Roy, executive director of Major Events and Festivals Canada
“Festivals and events are part of our identity and we need employees to organize them now and in the coming months.”
The coalition was formed to put public pressure on the Liberal government to take action to extend the program, and is one of several groups who are amplifying their calls for the government to acknowledge the economy is a long way away from returning to normal.
Many eyes are on next week’s throne speech to see how the Liberal government intends to move forward, given the realities of an increased number of COVID-19 cases in Canada and the threat that could pose to economic recovery.
On Thursday, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business issued their wish list for the throne speech as well.
That organization estimates that one in seven businesses are at risk of permanent closures.
They are calling for an expansion to an existing business loan program and an overhaul to rent assistance that would allow tenants to access the funds directly, rather than relying on landlord participation.