ACTA Pushes Provincial Governments in Ontario, Quebec, and BC for Agency Relief

After helping to secure some aid from the Canadian Federal Government, including an extension to the CEWS and changes to CERS, the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) this week announced that it would now turn its attention to provincial governments.

ACTA on Thursday said it was making urgent requests to Ontario, Quebec, and BC for aid and relief for its hardest hit members.

While most of the requests are unique to each province, ACTA is pushing each of Canada’s provinces for a full 90% rent subsidy, including for the prior months when the subsidy wasn’t applied, as rent regulations, according to ACTA, are under provincial jurisdiction and the CERS changes were made federally.

“ACTA is asking provincial governments to recognize that travel agencies have been effectively shut down since March,” ACTA said.

In Ontario, ACTA is pushing for the provincial government to waive all of TICO mandatory consumer compensation fees and renewal fees for 2021, something it says will help its Ontario members “with their fixed expenses in a near zero revenue situation.

In Quebec, ACTA has been lobbying the Office de la Protection de Consommateur (OPC), the Quebec Ministries of Justice and the Economy, and the Premier’s office to waive all OPC fees for 2020 and 2021; to formally allow FTCV and the coverage of ETC claims against the Quebec consumer compensation fund; to protect agency commissions on consumer refunds from the fund; and more.

And, in British Columbia, ACTA is pushing the BC Premier, Minister of Public Safety and Consumer Protection BC to first, waive all consumer protection BC fees for this year and next; remove the minimum working capital requirements; and reduce the security deposit by 75% on a temporary basis.