At the 11th hour before Canada’s MP’s take a 6-week holiday break, Canada’s Parliament passed Bill C-2, a piece of legislation that creates new support programs for the ‘hardest-hit’ sectors of Canada’s economy, including travel and tourism.
As Open Jaw reported 13DEC, there were fears the bill would not get passed before the holiday, leaving travel agencies high and dry.
Through its Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, the bill will provide up to 75 per cent of a travel agency’s wage and rent costs if the business has suffered a 40 per cent decline in revenue.
Under provisions of the bill, that wage and rent support would be backdated to 24OCT 2021, when earlier support programs came to an end, and will extend until 07MAY next year, although benefits will begin to be clawed back in MAR.
Late Thursday night, the Canadian Press reports that, in one of its final acts before beginning the holiday break, the House of Commons voted to fast-track Bill C-2 to the Senate, which also rubber-stamped the bill into law.
Friday morning, ACTA issued a statement, saying it was “thankful” that Parliament had ensured the bill passed before the holidays, and called on government agencies to implement the support “without delay.”
ACTA’s president, Wendy Paradis, said in the statement, “Travel agencies have been without support since October and still have little to no revenue. The new restrictions and fear about the Omicron variant have jeopardized any hope of recovery this winter.”
She added, “The program will provide critically needed wage and rent subsidies to hard-hit travel agencies through to May 2022.”
But while praising the passage of Bill C-2 and travel retailers for reaching out to their MP’s across Canada to keep their plight top of mind, ACTA again pointed out one of the bill’s critical flaws in terms of supporting travel retailers - that “most independent travel agents are not eligible” for the support in the bill.
“These entrepreneurs have also been devastated by the pandemic and the government must take action,” said Paradis.
“We understand from our meetings with government that delivering sector specific financial support to independent workers is challenging, however the government must work with industry to find a way to navigate through these challenges,” she said.
“ACTA will continue to advocate for a new program that supports travel agency furloughed employees, sole proprietors and independent contractors.”
