Paul Arvanitidis

Financial support program during tariff crisis Ministerial Directive that Land Border Duty Free Stores are understood as "export" in all departments without exception. Wherever regulation or legislation indicates "export", land border duty free is understood as included. Alignment of tobacco excise tax with other export industries The creation of a tourist HST rebate program to encourage foreign tourists to shop more in Canada while visiting. Proposals related to the Customs Act and Duty Free Regulations as it applies to the licensing of land border duty free stores, Obtain a Canadian Food Inspection Agency ruling that alcohol sold in 1 litre bottles at Duty Free Stores is for Export and exempted from CFIA rules for internal Canadian alcohol sales. Encouraging greater action by government to address the prevalence of contraband tobacco products in Canada.

Affordable Housing Supports - as an industry, tourism is disproportionately disadvantaged to other sectors of the economy given a high housing price to income ration and therefore requires purpose-built policies and incentives to ensure the sector's future success. Sustainable Tourism within Canada's National Park System - TIAA's interests relate to sustainable investment within national parks, support of Indigenous tourism development, policy and strategic alignment between the ministries of ISED and ECCC in support of the aims of national parks to protect and present these places to Canadians. Canadian Wildfire Preparedness and Response Strategy - TIAA advocates for the establishment of a National WIldfire Task Force that aims to create a non-military forest prevention and firefighting force. TIAA also advocates for the design and funding of a program that provides predictable and scalable financial supports to individuals, businesses and communities impacted by the effects of wildfire TIAA is interested in the working with the Government of Canada to advance its federal tourism goals, as articulated in the Canada 365: Welcoming the World. Every Day. The Federal Tourism Growth Strategy TIAA is interested in ensuring that any proposed changes to labour and immigration policy support the unique needs of the tourism industry, by sector, by region and, by season. TIAA is interested in any proposed changes to policy that positively/negatively impact the ability of small-to-medium-sized tourism enterprises to compete for tourists on a regional/international scale. TIAA is interested in any changes to transportation policy or regulation that positively/negatively impact Canada's ability to compete on an international level for visitors. TIAA desires to see the cost of air travel become more competitive relative to other global markets by reducing fees, levies and taxes on air travel. TIAA desires to see Canada's tourism industry become a zero-rated export product by removing the GST on tourism products sold outside Canada to global tourists. TIAA aims to see improvements to the visa application process, ensuring that the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) is available to low-risk countries. Discussions regarding the state of Canada's (and Alberta's) visitor economy amidst growing inflationary, interest rate and supply chain pressure

Promoting Business Sustainability and Industry Competitiveness – TIAC promotes optimal forms of government intervention that support the competitiveness of Canada’s tourism companies via public grants, tax credits, repayable financing contributions and policies and programs that augment entrepreneurship, innovation and commercial protections. During this critical period as the sector looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, TIAC is working to ensure that government loans provided through the CEBA, RRRF, HASCAP and related initiatives have an optimal impact through guidelines and repayment conditions that are conducive to business growth. Improving Access for Visitors to and within Canada – TIAC supports the efficient movement of travellers to and within Canada through enhancements to the visitor visa process in order to meet international demand for travel to Canada. TIAC also works to ensure that regulations and policies related to transportation, air travel, waterways and ports of entry are developed and implemented to optimally connect, and not impede, domestic and international travellers to urban and rural destinations, key attractions, sporting events, and business meetings in Canada. Developing and Promoting World-class Tourism Assets – Ensuring Canada maintains and promotes the development of world-class tourism assets requires considerable investment from both public and private sources. TIAC advocates for continued investment, particularly in respect to under-serviced communities, and effective promotion of existing assets as well as the development of new, more competitive ones for both Canadian and world travellers to discover and experience. TIAC’s efforts on this front include monitoring and raising policy issues that directly affect Indigenous tourism development with a goal of empowering Indigenous communities in generating their own economies while also providing Canadians and foreign visitors alike the opportunity to connect with Indigenous peoples and to experience their unique and diverse culture in a deeply meaningful way. Building a Regenerative and Inclusive Tourism Industry – TIAC works with government to support a tourism sector that is more resilient, sustainable, and equitable through priority investment in regenerative tourism and specialized recruitment programs for equity seeking groups. Attracting and Retaining a Sustainable Tourism Workforce – TIAC supports the creation and optimization of policy and programs aimed at addressing the significant labour shortages that now exist in the tourism sector due to the affects of restrictive public health measures, border closures, and increased operational costs that were related to the COVID-19 pandemic. TIAC also advocates for a strong tourism workforce via regulations and policies in regard to immigration, including issues related to pathways to permanent-residency and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.