as the former head of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, Val Litwin understands full well the importance of tourism to B.C.'s economy. And with the recent formation of a provincial task force aimed at long-term economic recovery, the resort will have a significant and sympathetic voice at the table.
"A huge part of our advocacy on the task force is speaking up for tourism," explained Litwin, who sits on the task force as the president and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. "For tourism and hospitality, it's been so tough and Whistler feels this more acutely than anyone."
Formed April 2, the Economic Recovery Task Force will help advise the cross-governmental economic response to COVID-19, and includes representatives from B.C.'s business, labour, trade, social service and cultural sectors, as well as First Nations.
One of the biggest things Litwin and the BC Chamber had been pushing for in recent weeks was the relaxing of eligibility requirements to Ottawa's 75-per-cent wage subsidy for businesses. Last week, the feds bowed to the business sector's concerns and reduced the 30-per-cent year over year revenue decline to 15 per cent for the month of March in order to be eligible.
But even with the changes, the program doesn't fairly consider businesses that have scaled up significantly in the last year, posited Paul Kennea, who co-owns Whistler Medical Aesthetics with his wife, Sarah.
"The problem with the wage subsidy is that any business that was doing really well, generally, is going to struggle to show that they took enough of a hit when you compare the numbers," he said, adding that they're not eligible for the subsidy despite seeing virtually all of their revenue disappear in a matter of weeks. Without any major, urgent support, Kennea predicted the business wouldn't last more than three months.
The other major pinchpoint for many is rent, with businesses across the country calling for an emergency commercial rent relief program inspired by a similar initiative in Australia that sees landlords and tenants sharing the burden of financial losses.
In an April 14 press conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noted that Ottawa was working on a commercial rent program, with more details to come, a welcome development for Whistler Chamber CEO Melissa Pace.
"The most important piece that I'm hearing from businesses ... is that we need to put more money in their pockets, and not loans, but subsidies," she said. "Right now, honestly, it's around, 'How do we get through the next few weeks when rent is coming up again on May 1?' They don't have the money, they don't have the cash in hand, so it's really about putting money back into their pockets immediately."
That was echoed by Kennea, who questioned the logic of deferring taxes and other payments in an uncertain climate in which businesses are already reluctant to take on more debt.
"You add a loan on top of your business commitments and the operating capital that they've lent to you is already spent on your staff and your overhead costs," he said, referring to a $40,000 interest-free loan program the federal government launched last week. "There's no money left to actually operate the business before you even start repaying it. It's almost laughable if it wasn't so painful."
A task force has also been formed locally as a way to keep Whistler's various industries updated on the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation, and to inform the resort's eventual recovery plan. Called the Economic Continuity Group, the roundtable includes representatives from the municipality, the chamber, and the hospitality, tourism, retail, restaurant and arts sectors.
"We're giving updates on where our industry is at and what we are hearing on the ground," Pace said.
Without any Whistler-specific data at this point, Pace is urging resort business owners to complete a survey detailing how COVID-19 has impacted them in order to bolster the chamber's advocacy efforts.
"It's so vital that they do because it's all based on postal code," she explained. "If only 20 people answer, it doesn't give me enough substantial information to go on. I know everyone is suffering; we get that. It's just that getting the information and data clear on a survey is how I can push and support this community."
The survey can be accessed at bcmindreader.com.
