CAEM Update – April 13 2022

The Federal Government tabled its 2022 Budget on April 7^th – A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable.  As you know CAEM, as part of the Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses, actively advocated for the extension of the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP), but unfortunately this campaign was not successful.  CAEM expressed their disappointment through the statement we released late last week which can be found here.

Thank you to all who participated in the most recent Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses letter writing and social media campaign.  Although we were not successful in getting the extension to the THRP, the campaign did succeed in pressuring the government to re-open the Canada-US border and was successful in getting the testing requirement dropped for fully vaccinated travellers entering the country.  The campaign also successfully shone a light on the labour crisis the tourism industry is facing, and Budget 2022 committed to invest in the Temporary Foreign Worker program to deal with backlogs and to make tourism a priority sector for this program.  Please take a moment to read the Coalition’s impressive campaign report here.

Tremendous progress has been made over the course of the last two years by CAEM towards getting our industry recognized as a key player not only in the tourism economy but the overall Canadian economy.  The recognition our industry received by being specifically included in the eligibility criteria of the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, is a significant milestone and will permanently entrench our sector when it comes to the broader definition of tourism.

CAEM continues to meet with politicians and senior policy advisors in key Federal Ministries to raise our industry’s voice to ensure we are recognized for the significant role we can play in Canada’s economic recovery.  In recent weeks we have met with senior policy advisors at the Ministry of Tourism and Associate Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Employment Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, and the Prime Minister’s Office.

While public health restrictions have been dropped in most provinces, CAEM continues to monitor the situation and endeavours to keep our COVID-19 web page up to date.

BC  

• As of April 8^th, proof of vaccination is no longer required to enter public spaces, including trade and consumer shows.  A reminder that capacity limits were lifted in BC on February 16^th and the mask mandate was lifted on March 11^th. More information here.

Ontario

• Chief Medical Officer Kieran Moore held his first press conference in over a month on April 11^th and announced the province would not be reinstating the mask mandate at this time. A reminder that capacity limits and proof of vaccination requirements were lifted on March 1st, and the mask mandate was lifted on March 21^st. More information here.
• As we reported in our March 30^th update  CAEM has met with the Ontario Liberal Party Campaign team to discuss the importance of our industry in Ontario’s economy and to encourage investment in our sector as we rebuild.  This same message is being carried to the governing Conservative Party as well as the NDP.One of CAEM’s many advocacy successes has been the partnerships we have built with key industry associations.  One of those association is the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO).  We have collaborated with TIAO throughout the pandemic to advocate for our industry’s reopening as well as inclusion in provincial funding.Like CAEM, TIAO is meeting with all political parties in advance of the Ontario provincial election and has recently launched a Pre-Election Survey to help gather data to better advocate on behalf of the tourism sector.  We encourage all CAEM member and stakeholder organizations operating in Ontario to fill out this survey to ensure the voice of our industry is represented and heard. You will note in Question 4, which asks which sector you operate in, that trade shows/consumer shows are included, so please choose this option.  Please do not hesitate to share this survey with team members and other pertinent contacts and colleagues.

  Complete the survey here

PEI 

• On April 6^th, capacity limits were lifted for organized gatherings, including trade and consumer shows.  Proof of vaccination was discontinued on February 28^th; however, the mask mandate is expected to remain in place until April 28^th.   More information here.

Quebec

• The Quebec government announced on April 5^th they would be extending the mask mandate until April 30^th.   A reminder that trade shows can operate at full capacity and that the proof of vaccination program was lifted for retail businesses as well as trade and consumer shows on February 16^th.
  More information here.

Registration for CAEM's Annual Conference is now open! 

Register by May 4th and SAVE!

You do not want to miss this opportunity to reconnect with colleagues from across the country to share best practices, explore new products and services, and experience top notch education.  Register today to take advantage of the early bird rate savings!

Not currently a member of CAEM?  We are pleased to let you know that CAEM Initial Membership is included in the Non-Member Registration rate.  By taking advantage of this rate, CAEM membership for the balance of the year is included.

Non-Member Expo Rate: $840  Non-Member Associate Rate: $1080
For more information, please reach out to the CAEM office.

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We cannot wait to connect in Hamilton – June 26-28!