October 2021

Friday, October 22, 2021 – The ECA Ottawa Board of Directors unanimously agreed to hold our Annual General Meeting in person on Tuesday, February 22, 2021. The location will be announced shortly. While all members are invited to attend, only those with proof of full vaccination will be allowed to enter the venue.

The federal government is spending $7.4 billion to extend and create new COVID-19 supports for hard-hit businesses and workers that will carry into the spring. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday that as of Oct. 23, new measures will be put in place to replace the broad Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), which expire on Saturday. The new Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program and Hardest Hit Business Recovery Program will take effect Sunday. The Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program will provide support through the wage and rent subsidy programs for other businesses that have faced deep losses, with a subsidy rate of up to 50 per cent.

Instead of issuing a singular federal national COVID-19 vaccine passport, the federal government says that each province and territory will be responsible for issuing a “standardized pan-Canadian” vaccine passport that Canadians can use when travelling. Each province’s system is supposed to have a “common” look and feel, with the expectation that by next month all Canadians will have access to their vaccine credentials from their province or territory, as proof of vaccination will soon be needed in order to board a plane or train in this country. The federal government is promising to promote this system internationally, so that border agencies, organizations, and businesses across the globe will be able to recognize and rely on these passports as Canadian documents because of the placement of a “Canada” word-mark in the upper-right-hand corner.