This message was sent to ##Email##
To advertise in this publication please click here
|
.ASSOCIATION NEWS
Week Four: A Message from the President
OMCA
I’m humbled by the level of support and engagement of the OMCA members and want to assure you that the team is working hard to find policy solutions that benefit our members. With business owners and operators still in the unbearable position of being unable to plan for the future of their businesses, it will be critical that governments provide clear guidelines and milestones for the reopening of our economy. It’s impossible for business to operate and plan for their future without this clarity. OMCA will continue to push for extended government supports and access to liquidity, while influencing policies and regulations that effect our members. This week, we saw rapid tests being made available to businesses, climbing vaccination rates and case counts in most regions are beginning to drop. We are cautiously optimistic that soon we will move away from province-wide orders that force businesses to close and restrict people’s movements and are hopeful that we can open to localized travel sometime in the early the summer. Should you have any questions or suggestions for OMCA, please feel free to reach out to me directly at vince@omca.com. Take care and stay safe.
|
|
.INDUSTRY NEWS
Greyhound Canada to cut all bus routes, end operations
Global News
Greyhound Canada is permanently cutting all bus routes across the country, shutting down the intercity bus carrier’s operations in Canada after nearly a century of service.
The motor coach company says its remaining routes in Ontario and Quebec will cease permanently on Thursday.
|
|
Response to Grey Hound Canada shut down
OMCA
“Today’s announcement that Greyhound Canada is ending operations is a major blow to Canada’s ability to connect people and communities. It highlights the need for specific government support for private motor coach providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic” stated Vince Accardi, President of Motor Coach Canada and the Ontario Motor Coach Association.
Countries around the world are safeguarding their ability to connect residence and communities by providing specific economic relief for transportation service providers. Last week the U.S. Department of Treasury release the details of their Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) Grant Program. The $2 billion program will provide grants to eligible motorcoach companies and other transportation service providers that have experienced annual revenue losses of 25 percent or more as result of COVID-19.
|
|
Government of Canada increases access to COVID-19 rapid testing for workers
Government of Canada
Testing and screening, in combination with personal public health measures and vaccination, are important tools to protect Canadians and help limit the spread of COVID-19. Some studies suggest that up to 50% of COVID-19 transmission could be caused by people without symptoms. Testing and screening are important tools to help reduce the risk of outbreaks, quickly identify and isolate cases, and limit spreading in workplaces and the community.
|
|
Tourism Industry Association of Ontario announces new President and CEO
Tourism Industry Association of Ontario
The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Christopher Bloore as the organization’s new President and CEO starting May 17, 2021. His appointment comes after an intensive search led by TIAO’s Board of Directors in partnership with executive search firm Boyden.
|
|
New Chair for TICO
Travel Industry Today
The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) has announced that Michael Levinson has been appointed by the Minister of Government and Consumer Services as next Chair of the Board of Directors. Effective May 11, 2021, Levinson will assume the role of Board Chair from Jean Hébert whose term has expired.
|
|
Canadians need clearer guidance on what to do post COVID-19 shot, experts say
Global News
Half of Canadians will soon be partially protected against COVID-19, as the vaccine rollout enters full swing — but there still isn’t a lot of information on how much people who have received one vaccine dose can ease up on pandemic restrictions.
As of Wednesday, about 15.5 million Canadians had received at least one dose of a vaccine, representing about 41 per cent of the entire population, according to COVID-19 Tracker Canada.
|
|
When will the Canada-U.S. border reopen?
CBC News
Travel across the Canada-U.S. border could resume by late summer or fall, according to the cautious estimates of some experts, but they say the process will be complicated.
The border has been closed to nonessential travel like tourism and recreation since March 2020, and the closure agreement between Ottawa and Washington is expected to be renewed on May 21.
|
|
World's biggest economies bet vaccine passports can save tourism
Bloomberg
The world’s most powerful economies agreed to back plans for so-called vaccine passports in a bid to pull the travel and tourism industry out of a pandemic-fueled slump.
Tourism ministers from the Group of 20 threw their weight behind the new certificates, stressing that a resumption of normal activity for the sector is crucial to global economic recovery, according to Italian Tourism Minister Massimo Garavaglia.
|
|
More needs to be done: G20 nations ponder pandemic travel
Travel Industry Today
Government ministers attending a virtual G20 nations meeting in Rome recently agreed that “more needs to be done” to address the crisis in tourism caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. What that is remains to be seen, though recognition of a universal standard for vaccinated passengers is one measure gaining ground.
|
|
Clear safeguards needed around technology planned for border checkpoints
CBC News
As the European Union lays out its long-awaited proposal for regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI), Canada is signalling a very different approach when it comes to potentially high-risk uses of AI-driven technologies. As part of the newly released 2021 budget, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) is receiving $656 million to be spent in part on technology such as facial recognition systems at the border.
|
|
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
