Ontario’s Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS) held the first of eight public consultations in Toronto on Wednesday, during Phase 2 of a comprehensive review of the Travel Industry Act, 002 and Ontario Regulation 26/05, which regulates retail travel agencies, travel wholesalers and tour operators in Ontario.

MGCS’ objectives for these sessions is to provide an overview of the government’s review process and to seek input on addressing issues raised by Ontario consumers and travel industry stakeholders during Phase 1 of the review.

In Toronto, a wide range of stakeholders was present, from consumers, lawyers, and writers to tour operators/wholesalers, retail agents and associations representing tour operators, hoteliers and motor coach operators.

“The last time the act was reviewed was fourteen years ago.”, said moderator Michael Schlesinger of Lough Barnes Consulting Group, retained to assist in conducting the review. “There was no iPhone, Jean Chretien was Prime Minister, and Chicago won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.”

Ontario’s Travel Industry Act was designed in a time when most travellers purchased travel services using cash or cheque through a travel agency operating out of a storefront.  But times have changed and it’s estimated that 73 per cent of bookings were made online in 2015/2016 versus 2002, when online travel was in its infancy. Today, a whopping 97 per cent of transactions were paid via credit card.

In phase 1 of the review, consumers and stakeholders raised issues that included

* Outdated consumer protection developed before the market was dominated by online shopping and the use of credit cards
* Burdensome financial requirements under TIA for the majority of registrants, some 93 per cent of which are considered small businesses with less than $10m in sales.
* TICO does not have the enforcement tools that necessary to operate as a modern risk-based regulator
Ontario’s Travel Industry Compensation Fund may not be adequate to protect consumers or fair in its funding model.

One topic of interest was a discussion about the Compensation Fund, with many in attendance feeling that the fund is obsolete and no longer needed given the proliferation of protections offered through credit card payments. Stakeholders offered such suggestion as consumers being given the option of paying into the fund, copying the funding model for Quebec’s Compensation fund, or having a private insurance company develop a new insurance-type model.

interested stakeholders can still participate, either at one of the upcoming Public Consultations, which run through March 9, 2017 or by providing written feedback by March 31, 2017.

For full information on the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services' comprehensive review of the Travel Industry Act, 2002 and Ontario Regulation 26/05, including how you can participate and provide feedback, visit www.ontario.ca/travelactreview.

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