‘The industry has been crushed:’ Tourism advocates launch campaign to reopen Canada-U.S. border
The doors are shut at Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, but the exhibits, water quality and marine life still need tending.
“It costs us a lot of money to maintain the building with zero revenue coming in,” said Peter Doyle, Ripley’s general manager.
The aquarium still employs one-fifth of its staff — about 50 people — despite being closed to the public. But along with many other tourist attractions, Ripley’s has been shutdown for 288 days since the pandemic began.
“The catastrophic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit every tourism business in every corner of our province,” said Chris Bloore, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry of Ontario.
“We’ve lost over 140,000 jobs. Revenues are down close to 7 per cent. Some businesses have lost up to 90 per cent,” he said.
Advocates say many of the losses to Ontario’s $36 billion tourism industry are due to the closure of the Canada-U.S. border, which has now been shutdown for 15 months.
“The industry has been crushed and we cannot afford to lose another summer tourist season,” said Beth Potter, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.
Tourism advocates speak about how hard the industry has been hit amidst the pandemic in Toronto on June 8, 2021.
On Monday, the prime minister hinted that the borders might soon be reopening to vaccinated travellers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would work with the premiers “to make sure that opening doesn’t put anyone at risk, but also gives Canadians and Canadian tourism operators the best possible summer after a long, hard year.”
But the prime minister did not say when this could happen, which led the tourism industry to launch a campaign — calling on the federal, provincial and territorial governments to work together on a plan to reopen the border — and commit to a date.
“He keeps using the word soon. We’d like to know what the definition of soon is,” said Potter.
Doyle says he’s hopeful that the Aquarium will be able to resume operations in the not-too-distant future.
“We can reopen anyway the government dictates — we just want that ability to reopen when it is safe to do so,” he said.
But Doyle — along with other attraction operators — say they need some notice, to prepare for what’s to come.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
A child killer legally changed his name in B.C. The province is trying to stop that from happening again
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Next 48 hours will be 'extremely challenging' for B.C. wildfire crews near Fort Nelson: officials
A wildfire burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson, B.C., has grown to more than 50 square kilometres, and officials are warning that the blaze's behaviour is expected to become more volatile over the next 48 hours.