CAEM Update-October 12 – Ontario Lifts Capacity Limits

Federal 

• On October 7 we asked you to take less than 2 minutes to send a letter to your MP to ensure the Liberal campaign promise of a fixed cost relief program for hardest hit businesses comes to fruition.  If you have not done so already, please support CAEM and the Hardest Hit Coalition's work to make sure our industry has the support it needs to begin the long road to recovery.  We encourage you to send letters using your residential address, business address, as well as the address of the venue where you host your events. The more letters sent means the government will hear loud and clear how important these supports are to our sector's survival. 

• In line with the work of the Hardest Hit Coalition, CAEM is also sending congratulatory letters to every elected MP across the country along with our updated brief outlining the need for fixed cost support for our sector at the rate promised in the Liberal campaign platform. Please take a moment to read these documents here.

Provincial

ON

• Late in the afternoon on Friday, October 8th, the Ontario government announced it was cautiously lifting capacity limits in select settings and one of those settings is meeting and event spaces.  Effective Saturday, October 9th capacity limits were lifted to allow 100% capacity in settings such as concert venues, theatres, sports arenas, film sets and meeting and event spaces.  There is a caveat on indoor meeting and event spaces in that they will still need to limit capacity to the number that can maintain physical distancing.  The full press release is available here.

  The Order in Council for this change can be found here.  At this point the regulations have not been updated to reflect this latest order but we anticipate they will be shortly  The link to the regulations can be found here.  

• It is important to note that even with the proof of vaccination program in place, and the increased capacity limits, that Ontario remains in Step 3 of the Roadmap to Reopen which means the mask mandate for indoor spaces remains in place, as well as the requirement for contact tracing, and a safety plan.  You will find the requirements laid out in Schedule 1 of the Rules for Areas at Step 3 and at the Roadmap Exit Steps.

  To assist in the creation of a safety plan you will find a tool created by the government here.

  As always CAEM will monitor the regulations and ask the government for clarification as required. 

• Ontario Tourism Recovery Program (OTRP) – in our last update we let you know we would be raising the issue that once again our show producer and supplier members have been explicitly excluded from provincial funding.  We heard back from the Director of Investment and Development at the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism & Culture Industries letting us know that  “…eligibility decisions prioritized regionally important businesses to ensure funding delivered the greatest impact possible.  In the commercial events industry, this meant supporting conference centers and venues that are key to regional employment. We anticipate that by ensuring the viability of these businesses, the events industry will benefit overall.”   After receiving this response we have sent a letter to Minister Lisa MacLeod further explaining the key role trade shows and consumer shows play in the tourism economy.  The letter is available here.

IMI Covid-19 Recovery Report

For the past 19 months, independent marketing consultancy IMI has conducted interviews will well over 1.5 million people ages 13+ from across the world to better understand consumer attitudes and behaviours to help navigate through the pandemic.  You will find their most recent report here and visit their website to see the full range of reports.