15 March 2022
Jenica Atwin, MP, Fredericton
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Re: Support for the Hardest Hit Coalition Budget Recommendations
Dear Jenica,
At their request, I am writing today provide the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce’s support for the budgetary requests (details below) put forward by the Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses – which represents a broad cross section of the tourism and hospitality industry. While many businesses have suffered due to Covid, tourism and hospitality are truly among the hardest hit of the hardest hit. The impact on businesses and employees has been devastating and relentless.
If not for the government support programs, many would not be still in business today. As you can imagine they have depleted savings, cut costs to the bone, and have reached debt limits – then they were rocked by Omicron. And while most other segments of the economy have started to recover, tourism and hospitality continues to suffer from the lingering effects of omicron-related cancellations, while prospects of future bookings remain in limbo due to ongoing border and travel restrictions.
The Coalition is concerned that the Tourism Hospitality Recovery Program was designed pre-Omicron and has not been adjusted to reflect the current reality. In March this program will be cut in half while many businesses in this sector continue to bleed cash and will struggle over the spring to build back.
The sector is also concerned that it will be difficult to ramp back up to normal operations when many staff members have moved to jobs in other sectors. It’s difficult to attract staff back when the industry has been so deeply destabilized and continues to face uncertainty about the international recovery process.
The Hardest Hit Coalition’s budget submission, which aims to address critical flaws in the Tourism Hospitality Recovery Program can be found here. Highlights include:
• Reverse 50% wind down and maintain full subsidy rates until program is no longer needed.
• Extend program to September 2022
• Adjust eligibility for seasonal businesses
• Lower qualifying revenue loss threshold to 20%
The Hardest Hit Coalition is also calling for:
• A clear and predictable plan to open the border
• A dedicated labour strategy for the tourism and hospitality sector
• remove barriers, like pre arrival testing for fully vaccinated travellers, at the border
The government has helped to keep the sector alive this far; now they need to make it through the spring to get back on their feet, bring employees back to work, and position operations for the critical summer months ahead.
Please call on the Minister of Finance to give Canada’s hardest-hit businesses the support needed to survive and build back.
Sincerely,
Krista Ross, CEO, Fredericton Chamber of Commerce