CAEM Toolkit and Resources
CAEM is pleased to provide members with the tools and resources necessary to prepare for a safe, responsible and effective reopening. Please click here and login to your CAEM profile to access and download helpful resources, including a COVID-19 General Readiness Checklist Tool, a Safe Reopening Guideline Template, as well as Exhibitor and Supplier Safety Acknowledgement Forms. We have rolled out these resources for the Alberta market and will be updating and customizing these resources for each of the other Provinces as official government reopening guidelines are released for the exhibition sector.
Federal
Last week, CAEM’s Board of Directors approved a proposal to retain the services of public affairs agency, Crestview Strategy, to help us develop, execute and advocate for sector-specific relief from the Federal Government. Crestview Strategy will be helping CAEM build out a strong narrative with various Ministers’ offices on the significant negative impact that the pandemic has had on the exhibition sector, those employed in the industry, the supply chains, and the thousands of local and small businesses and jobs that rely on exhibitions for survival. Our Federal engagement strategy will be executed along the following timeline:
- Phase 1 (3 weeks) – Research and Data Analysis – a high-level economic impact survey to produce the valuable data and analysis required to develop a tailored ask of Government based on the details of the need and potential impact of funding.
- Phase 2 (1 week) – Proposal and Strategy Development – with the analysis of the economic impact survey in hand, we will build out a narrative illustrating how the exhibition sector has been highly disrupted by COVID-19 while underscoring that this is an industry with unique needs that must be sustained.
- Phase 3 (November 2020 to Spring 2021) – Federal Engagement and Pre-Budget Consultations – a comprehensive outreach to key political advisors at Innovation, Science and Industry; Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade; Economic Development; Heritage; Finance and the Prime Minister’s Office, with the goal of sharing the funding proposal with targeted staff and engaging members of parliament across all caucuses to build noise around the need for industry support.
Ontario
With the help of GR Strategist Amir Remtulla, CAEM’s Exposition Recovery Taskforce recently met with the offices of the Premier, Minister Fedeli and Minister MacLeod, to discuss how we can work together to safely reopen exhibitions in Ontario. During this meeting, CAEM presented why exhibitions should be treated like malls, reaffirming our ability to mitigate risk and control our environment. We re-iterated the need for a clear distinction between exhibitions and other events. And we established the massive economic impact of our sector and the devastating impact the prolonged shutdown of our sector is having on jobs and business solvency in the sector. We will be pressing for a follow-up conversation in November to continue this important dialogue.
Government Updates
On October 8th, the government of Ontario announced that it will be investing $9 million through the new Reconnect Festival and Event Program to support municipalities and event organizers during COVID-19. This funding will be used to maintain public safety requirements and allow people to reconnect with their communities through online, drive-through and other innovative experiences. For more information on the program and eligibility criteria, please click here.
On October 9th, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, announced plans for new federal support programs to help businesses through the second wave of the global pandemic, with an emphasis on supporting hard-hit businesses. Click here to view the full announcement.
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