ACTA Celebrates Good News For Advisors “On Several Fronts”

ACTA says the past week brought some much-needed good news for Canadian travel advisors from the federal government, Ontario government and Ontario’s travel regulator TICO.

“Our advocacy for government support continues to strengthen throughout the COVID-19 health and economic crisis,” said Wendy Paradis, ACTA President. “We are pleased that our advocacy was successful with the federal government, the Ontario government and TICO.”

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ACTA lobbied both TICO and the Ontario government for relief from registration fees for another year, work that was rewarded this week with a third consecutive year of registration fees and Travel Industry Compensation Fund payments being waived.

“We are pleased that the Ontario government gave additional exceptional funding to TICO so that fees could once again be waived for a third year,” said Paradis.

“Removing this financial barrier will make a significant difference for many Ontario travel agencies, and ACTA is thankful to the Government of Ontario and Ross Romano, Minister of Government and Consumer Services for unlocking funding to TICO in support of this fee waiver,” she added.

ACTA says it is also lobbying the governments of British Columbia and Quebec for fee waivers during the COVID-19 crisis.

In another win for the industry, the Government of Canada announced extensions to the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) and Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) loan repayment deadlines.

“The COVID-19 crisis is lasting much longer than we all anticipated and ACTA is advocating for further loan forgiveness to support industry survival,” said Paradis.

ACTA says it continues to advocate for independent travel agent financial support, and continues to seek clarity on independent travel agent access to the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB), which provides $300/week to eligible workers in a lockdown region.

During the holidays, ACTA submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Tourism -- the Independent Travel Agent Relief Program (ITARP) -- which pushes for equality in terms of financial support for independent travel agents and other small businesses.

The agency organization says ITARP is being considered by the Ministry of Tourism, who are interested in finding solutions to support independent travel agents.

With rent and wage subsidies scheduled to drop significantly starting in March, ACTA says it is advocating for the extension of the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program wage and rent subsidies at the highest levels to support travel and tourism business survival.

Details on the various programs are as follows:

CEBA/RRRF Loan Repayment Extension

-- The repayment deadline to qualify for partial loan forgiveness is extended by a year to December 31, 2023.

-- For the CEBA, repayment on or before the end of 2023 will result in loan forgiveness up to 1/3 of the total value (up to $20,000).

-- Outstanding loans after 2023 will be converted to a two-year term loan with interest of 5% per year, to be paid in full by December 31, 2025.

-- No new applications for CEBA or RRRF loans are being accepted at this time.

TICO Fee Waiver

-- TICO annual registration renewal fees and Compensation Fund contributions owed from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 are waived for travel agencies and wholesalers.

-- The waiver applies to all those who are licensed with TICO as of March 31, 2022.

-- Registrants are still required to complete and file a Registration Renewal Form and

-- Compensation Fund Form (Form-1), but no payments are owed.

Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit

-- The CWLB is not a sector-specific program, and is available to all Canadian residents. Individuals must determine personally if they meet the criteria established by the Canada Revenue Agency.

-- Furloughed travel agency employees and independent travel agents are encouraged to contact the Canada Revenue Agency to discuss their personal eligibility: 1-800-959-8281