TIAC is working to keep the continued pressure up after the launch of the #OpentheBorder campaign earlier this month. We are calling on the federal government to commit to a plan for reopening the Canada-U.S. border.

With vaccinations rising and case numbers going down, we must now pivot to more forward-thinking policies, and talk about safely reopening the border, ending the extreme financial crush that has devastated the tourism economy in Canada.

As other countries start welcoming travellers to their countries, Canada has fallen behind.  We must prepare to open the border quickly and safely, and in turn restart our visitor economy. Without question, now is time for the federal government to put in place an evidence-based plan to reopen the border to restart travel.

Equally important is the need for federal leadership on travel within Canada. Canadians should be able to freely travel across our country. In the absence of a nation-wide plan, we are seeing a patchwork of policies roll out provincially that creates confusion for travellers.  Provinces are filling in the gaps - resulting in potentially 13 different travel policies – a result that is unnecessary and cumbersome. 

Canadians deserve a single national policy approach to travel that clarifies the country’s policy on vaccination certification, our international border, unvaccinated minors, partially vaccinated Canadians and other critical details that require national leadership.

As a part of this campaign, TIAC has been hosting a number of Parliamentary and Congressional panels with advocates to discuss border reopening. The first took place on June 10th, and included TIAC’s Beth Potter, MP Wayne Easter, Congressman Brian Higgins, and political reporter Althia Raj.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOY7_JWZ1J4

Our second took place June 17th with TIAC’s Beth Potter, MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Congressman Chris Jacobs, Tori Barnes, Executive Vice President of the U.S Travel Association and Susie Grynol, President and CEO of the Hotel Association of Canada.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU_s8FvYR2A

Complementing this campaign, TIAC President and CEO, Beth Potter, took part in a press conference with the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, further calling on the federal government to release a comprehensive national reopening plan to lift border restrictions, announcing criteria for opening the Canada U.S. border, and to implement a vaccination certification program to allow entry to international travels.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyU53co6FZc

After the first week of the campaign, we have garnered over 300 distinct media mentions across Canada and the U.S. TIAC was covered in numerous publications from CBC, Global News, and CTV in cities across the country, as well as on BNN Bloomberg and the Toronto Star.

CTV News: ‘The industry has been crushed:’ Tourism advocates launch campaign to reopen Canada-U.S. border

CBC News: Tour operators press for timeline for reopening land border

Please stay tuned via TIAC’s social channels for information on our next panel. We invite you to support our efforts by sending a letter to your MP at www.openuscanborder.ca

Please send an email to Madison Simmons, Director of Government Affairs at TIAC, at msimmons@tiac-aitc.ca if you would like your organization’s logo to be featured on the microsite in support of this campaign.

TIAC’s National Cruise Committee

The National Cruise Committee launched earlier this month . The Cruise Committee was created to drive awareness, education and advocacy for support and funding that is needed for the Cruise Supply Chain businesses to ensure continued operations, to ensure a successful cruise industry return, and readiness of the Cruise Supply Chain for 2022. The TIAC National Cruise Committee is comprised of representatives from the five cruise regions; Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Northern Canada.

The Committee has met twice over the past month strategizing on advocacy efforts. A letter was sent on behalf of the committee to the Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, which resulted in committee members meeting with the Minister’s staff to discuss the importance of clear commitment to industry of the rescinding of the current ban set for February 2022 to allow for the industry to prepare.

Funding Programs

Government support is still top of mind following the 2021 budget, and TIAC continues to meet with key officials to learn more about the roll out of proposed support programs, and ensuring tourism businesses’ unique needs are considered. We remain focused on advocating for the continuation of the CEWS and CERS programs for the hardest hit businesses, and the effective roll out of the tourism relief fund.