Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback with regards to the conservation agreement for boreal caribou in Ontario.

The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) is the authoritative voice of the tourism industry in Ontario. We represent 200,000 tourism businesses and over 400,000 jobs in every corner of our province. The businesses we represent include resource-based tourism operators, short-term accommodations, transport operators, food and beverage, culture and heritage, and attractions across our vast industry. Our businesses have been among the hardest hit in Ontario, enduring two years of revenue losses, job losses, and mounting debt. As such, we would like to thank the Government of Ontario for continued support of our industry through COVID-19 relief programs and regulatory changes which have reduced the burden on small businesses while supporting their capacity to generate much-needed revenue.

TIAO has worked collaboratively with this government to support the commercial capacity of our businesses within a framework of sustainable tourism. As such, we would like to ensure that the incoming conservation agreement for boreal caribou actively takes into consideration any potential impacts to commercial activity. Ontario is home to approximately 1,600 resource-based tourism (RBT) businesses located primarily in Northern and Central regions of the province. RBT operators depend on the natural environment to sustain their businesses, provide good-paying jobs, and contribute to local economies. In support of our operators and alongside our partner Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario (NOTO), we outline the following areas of concern:

- While conservation efforts for caribou should be enacted—and is supported by operators, who seek to ensure the future availability of game populations—all RBT operators on the land should have the opportunity to provide feedback to ensure their interests and concerns are sufficiently heard.

- In the event the Ministry considers the creation of designated protected areas, we must ensure that businesses that have been on the land for generations are not negatively impacted.

TIAO echoes NOTO’s recommendation to ensure that any change in landscape designation should go through the ERO process for consultation to ensure that tourism values are considered and understood. There must also continue to be recognition given to tenure holders and agreements when reviewing changes to landscape designations.

Thank you for considering this response. We look forward to continuing to work with this government to create a more favourable environment for tourism and hospitality businesses in Ontario, supporting the recovery of our industry. Thank you again for the opportunity to participate in this consultation.

Yours sincerely,

Jessica Ng
Director, Policy and Government Affairs
Tourism Industry Association of Ontario
jng@tiaontario.ca