TICO plans to reach out to all stakeholders for their feedback on the current legislation. As reported in our interview with Richard Vanderlubbe (see page 4), it is essential that TICO hears from a wide representation of every sector of Ontario’s travel industry in order to make comprehensive, relevant recommendations to the government on how the legislation should be updated.

The Ministry has already set up an email address

to receive feedback from industry stakeholders: TravelIndustryAct@ontario.ca. In the meantime, TICO will be scheduling a series of townhalls and other forums, the details of which will be forthcoming very shortly. We encourage all registrants to participate in the process! The industry depends on your commitment to shaping legislation that will both protect consumers and provide a regulatory environment that finds an optimal balance between consumer protection and business needs. ▲

The Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services announced in June that it would oversee a cover-to-cover review of the Travel Industry Act and Regulation. The goal is to update and modernize the consumer protection legislation, to strengthen protection for consumers buying travel services in Ontario, and to reduce the burden on business.

The review is badly needed, since the marketplace has evolved massively, including the way consumers buy, since the Act was first written in 1975 – despite modifications in both 1997 and 2002. Considering how much change has taken place, the legislation as it now stands can be a challenge for businesses offering travel services in Ontario today.

Using a multi-pronged approach, the government will be seeking feedback from both consumers and Ontario’s travel industry, in its search for ways to enhance the legislation. Having urged this type of review for some time, TICO will be actively involved and is committed to the process. The TICO Board has established a Legislative & Regulatory Modernization Committee, chaired by TICO Board Director Richard Vanderlubbe, which will be meeting regularly throughout the process.

July – September 2016

INDUSTRY ALERT: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF

Ontario’s Travel Industry Act and Regulation

I N T H I S I S S U E . . .Message from the Registrar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Update on recent Regulatory Reform . . . . . . 3 The case for reviewing Ontario’s travel legislation . . . 4

Highlights from the 19th Annual General Meeting . . . 6Court Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7TICO’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives . . . 7

I think we can all agree on what a wonderful summer it’s been. I hope all of you have enjoyed some rest and relaxation with family and friends.

It’s been a busy summer for TICO, starting with a major announcement at our June 21st Annual General Meeting. Frank Denton, Assistant Deputy Minister from the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services announced the long-awaited review of the Travel Industry Act – the first of its kind since TICO’s inception in 1997. This review will consider all issues and concerns with the current legislation, and carefully examine all recommendations aimed at modernizing Ontario’s travel industry legislation. The overarching lens will remain fixed on a strong consumer protection framework for Ontario. Also key in this review is finding ways to reduce regulatory burden for all businesses and to seek efficiencies across the regulatory model. This Ministry-led review will seek broad-based consumer and industry consultation with effective support by TICO. More information on recent regulatory changes and the comprehensive review are included in this edition of TICO Talk.

While TICO’s focus is clearly tilted to supporting all aspects of the comprehensive regulatory review, there is much more underway. Key to the success of TICO’s consumer protection model is reaching as many consumers as possible and raising overall awareness regarding protection available to consumers under the legislation. As previously reported, TICO introduced a new campaign last year using an innovative approach; its goal was to convey an important message to a broader audience in a fun and creative manner. This year, TICO will build further on the campaign, echoing last year’s message but complementing it with an additional key consumer message. You will see both these messages online, as well as during commercial breaks while watching your favourite shows.

Consistent with our business plan, TICO’s emphasis on technology as an enabler of strategy has taken on a bigger focus. Recently, a new Director, Information Technology was hired. After an initial assessment of TICO’s technology and processes, several exciting initiatives are being planned or are already underway. Both internal and external systems have been targeted for significant enhancement, including those that impact TICO’s registrants. Like many technology initiatives, some can be achieved quickly while others require more time and careful implementation. Further information on these enhancements will be shared with you in the months ahead.

Equally important with the above initiatives is ensuring our employees remain fully engaged with TICO’s business goals, that their efforts are appreciated and that TICO remains an employer of choice. TICO has a number of employee-related initiatives underway that demonstrates our commitment to maintaining and building a strong team, engaged and well equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.

In closing, there is a truly exciting year ahead of us with the comprehensive regulatory review underway and many other impactful initiatives. I look forward to sharing the successes of this journey in future reports to you.

Richard Smart, President and CEO

2TICO TALK

MESSAGE FROM THE REGISTRAR

INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES

Ray De Nure CEO

DeNure Tours Lindsay

Richard Edwards Controller

Travel Corporation Canada Toronto

Mike Foster President

Nexion Canada London

Louise Gardiner Senior Director, Operations

& Product Solutions North American Leisure Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Toronto

Denise Heffron Vice President, National Sales & Commercial

Transat Tours Canada Inc. Toronto

Paul Samuel Manager, Overseas Travel Division

Vision 2000 Travel Group Toronto

Patricia Saunders President

Marlin Travel Orangeville

Scott Stewart – Vice Chair President

G. Stewart Travel Services Ltd. Peterborough

Richard Vanderlubbe President

Travel Superstore Inc. Hamilton

Brett Walker General Manager, Canada

Collette Vacations Mississauga

MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS

Jean Hébert - Chair Consultant

Ottawa

Patricia Jensen Member

Consumers Council of Canada Toronto

Ian McMillan Executive Director

Tourism Sault Ste. Marie

TICO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2016/2017

3 TICO TALK

•

Update on the Recent Regulatory ReformA two-phase consultation on proposed changes to the regulations under the Travel Industry Act, 2002 was conducted by the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services during November/December 2015 and March/April 2016. As a result, the following amendments to the Regulation came into force on July 1, 2016:

• One-daytours – this amendment will exempt businesses that exclusively offer one-day tours from the requirements of the Act. A more detailed explanation of the One-Day Tour exemption is offered in the adjoining sidebar.

• Workingcapitalrequirements – Section 24 of the Regulation has been amended to provide some flexibility for lower-risk businesses that promote tourism and are closely tied to government.

• Securitydeposit – Section 25 of the Regulation sets out the security requirements for new applicants. Currently a person applying for registration who has not been registered during the previous 12 months must provide $10,000 in security to TICO. This has been amended to add an exemption for lower-risk businesses that promote tourism and are closely tied to government.

• Filing deadline – Section 60 of the Regulation outlines the filing deadlines for claims on the Compensation Fund. This amendment changes the filing deadline for trip completion claims from three months to six months. Besides providing more time for those filing trip completion claims, the change should also make the process simpler, by having the same filing deadline for both regular claims and trip completion claims.

The following amendment to the Regulation comes into force on January 1, 2017:

• All-inpricing – Section 33 of the Regulation outlines requirements for any representation that refers to a price. The amendment removes the flexibility that registrants previously had when displaying prices. As of January 1, 2017, any representation that refers to a price shall set out the total amount that the customer will be required to pay for travel services, including all fees, levies, service charges, surcharges, taxes and other charges. Besides ensuring that consumers know exactly what they will be required to pay, this change will make it easier for consumers to compare prices. In addition, the change will help ensure that there is fair competition and a level playing field when registrants advertise the price of travel services in the province.

For full information on what the new rules mean to you, refer to the Explana-tory Paper prepared by TICO, which can be accessed at http://www.tico.ca/files/ExplanatoryPaper-Reg170-July2016.pdf. ▲

One-Day Tour ExemptionThe Ontario Government’s approved amendments to Ontario Regulation 26/05 included an exemption for individuals/companies that only sell one-day tours. Any company that is currently registered with TICO and that is selling one-day tours exclusively no longer requires TICO registration. This exemption came into force on July 1, 2016.

As explained in TICO’s Explanatory Paper, Section 2 of the Regulation identifies a number of groups that are exempt from the requirements of the Act and Regulation. These groups do not require registration and are not covered by the Compensation Fund. That section has been amended to exempt “a person who sells one-day tours”. The exemption only applies if the person does not otherwise act as a travel agent or travel wholesaler by selling multi-day tours as well as one-day tours that include accommodation (in which case TICO registration would still be required).

A one-day tour is defined in the Regulation to mean a tour that commences at a departure point and concludes at the same point within a 24-hour period, and includes travel services, except for accommodation.

The exemption is intended to capture shuttle-type services, where consumers are taken to an attraction or event and back within a day. Examples include return trips to a concert, sporting event, play, casino, shopping mall, museum or ski hill.

4

RICHARD VANDERLUBBE’S PERSPECTIVE:

TICO TALK

Continued on page 5...

News from the Board

Following TICO’s AGM on June 21, 2016, the new Board of Directors named Scott Stewart as Vice Chair of the Board. Scott Stewart is President of G. Stewart Travel Services Ltd., associate member of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Retail and Stewart Tours, Wholesale in Peterborough. The Vice Chair appointment is for one year until TICO’s next Annual General Meeting to be held in 2017. In addition, Scott was also the successful candidate elected by the industry at large to the TICO Board of Directors for a 3-year position that was open to a wholesale registrant.

Updated Trust Accounting GuidelinesNo changes have been introduced to the existing trust accounting requirements.

However,the revised Guidelines provide further clarifications related to the requirements under the Legislation and replace the former retail and wholesale trust accounting guidelines which were last updated in June 2013. For further information, click here.

The Importance of Reviewing and Changing Ontario’s Travel Legislation

As a long-time member of TICO’s board of directors, Richard Vanderlubbe, tripcentral.ca President, first joined the Board in 2001. Having served as chair and vice chair twice, and having participated on many committees including the Legislative and Regulatory Review Committee, the Governance and Human Resources Committee, the Business Strategy Committee and the Expanded Coverage Committee, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his current role as chair of the Legislative & Regulatory Modernization Committee. TICO Talk recently spoke with Richard about the importance of having a cover-to-cover review of Ontario’s travel legislation.

What is the history of the Travel Industry Act and Regulation?

You have to look at the past to understand why revamping today’s legislation is so imperative. Ontario’s travel legislation dates back to 1975, although it was reviewed and modified when TICO was formed in 1997 and again in 2002. The 2002 modifications were largely administrative, although they also remedied the Section 13 liability for travel agents.

The original legislation was written long before non-refundable payments for tickets on scheduled airlines were introduced, at a time when consumers didn’t have to pay their travel agent until a week ahead of their trip. However, in the early 1990s, Eastern Airlines was one of the first airlines to introduce instant purchase fares, which started a trend that became prevalent throughout the travel industry – despite the fact that it didn’t help Eastern Airlines who went out of business shortly thereafter.

Because our current legislation is largely modelled on the 1970s creation, there are many issues relating to today’s world of travel that are not clearly or specifically defined in the legislation. Even since the most recent modification in 2002, the travel industry has practically evolved into a different industry.

The legislation dates back to a time when travel agents held a reservation with no payment, and when most of the travel companies

5 TICO TALK

they dealt with were in Ontario or at least within Canada. Today it’s a global industry, with websites that may appear to be in Ontario or Canada but in fact are based in the United States or elsewhere.

What are the main changes in travel since the legislation was written?

Today’s travel industry encompasses very different players from the 1970s, such as KAYAK.com, which is a fare aggregator and travel metasearch engine, not a traditional travel retailer. Sometimes the lines are blurred between what is an airline, an airline reseller, a wholesaler, a retailer or an advertiser. As it’s not always clear, definitions are important.

Mobility of labour is another significant change. Many people in today’s travel industry don’t have to work in an office, which is why some registrants question the need to register a retail business address. This is today’s reality – when you work with some travel networks, it appears that you are based at a specific address, when in fact you are not. Yet home-based travel agents and outside sales representatives are not specifically addressed in the current Act or Regulation.

There has also been a huge jump in fraud cases. Despite the Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance, privacy legislation means that once a credit card number has been accepted, a travel retailer is not allowed to store it. If there is a problem later, they don’t have access to that number.

Methods of advertising have also changed, specifically when it comes to the use of social media. And the current legislation does not touch on the use of the internet by travel businesses, how credit cards are now the main method of payment, or how e-ticketing and gift cards for travel are now the norm.

All of these factors make ensuring consumer protection much more challenging. From TICO’s perspective, the difficulty is trying to interpret and clarify the many grey areas of the legislation to both consumers and registrants.

How challenging do you anticipate the review might be from an industry perspective?

The Legislative & Regulatory Modernization Committee has been thinking hard about how to best conduct the review within the travel industry. Besides thoroughly reviewing the current legislation to see where the problems lie, we also have to identify issues that are not covered. It’s easy to think about what we don’t like, but it is much harder to think about what we need in our legislative and regulatory framework for the future, as the travel industry in Ontario evolves.

Richard Vanderlubbe’s Perspective: continued from page 4

Save the DatesSeptember 17 – 18, 2016

London Bridal ShowLondon Convention Centre

300 York Street,London

September 24 – 25, 2016

Transat Distribution Canada Event

(Industry only)Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel

801 Dixon Road,Toronto

October 29 – 30, 2016

Zoomer ShowEnercare

100 Princes’ Boulevard,Toronto

October 30 – November 2, 2016

OMCA MarketplaceScotiabank Convention Centre

Niagara Falls, Ontario

November 4 – 6, 2016

Toronto National Women’s Show

Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building

222 Bremner Boulevard,TorontoContinued on page 8...

6TICO TALK

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 19th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

TICO’s 19Th AnnuAl GenerAl MeeTInG TOOk plACe On June 21, 2016 AT The MIssIssAuGA lIvInG ArTs CenTre, AT whICh The 2016 AnnuAl repOrT & BusIness plAn (AvAIlABle fOr revIew And dOwnlOAd AT www.tico.ca) were presenTed. The MeeTInG wAs ChAIred By JeAn héBerT, ChAIr Of TICO’s BOArd Of dIreCTOrs.

From the Chair

Jean Hébert reported on the phased-in increase to the Compensation Fund Contribution Rate. Initiated by TICO’s Board of Directors, the increases were approved in April and will take place over the next two years. In Phase 1, effective July 1, 2016, the contribution rate will increase from $0.15 to $0.20 per thousand dollars of Ontario sales. In Phase 2, effective April 1, 2017, the contribution rate will increase from $0.20 to $0.25 per thousand dollars of Ontario sales. He explained that the fee increase was necessary in order to maintain adequate funding to protect consumers. The Board of Directors fully understands the challenges facing TICO registrants, and the decision to approve the increases was only made after much analysis and deliberation.

From the President and CEO

Richard Smart first acknowledged the valuable guidance offered by TICO’s Board of Directors, and the ongoing support of TICO’s staff. He then presented the 2016 Annual Report, which can be viewed and/or downloaded from please click here. He was particularly pleased to report that in the fiscal year 2015-2016, TICO’s revenues exceeded its operating expenses by $157,374 – the second time in eight years that TICO generated a surplus, due largely to prudent expense management, particularly considering there was a lower registrant base than in previous years.

Special Announcement

FrankDenton, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, attended the AGM to announce that TICO’s request for a Comprehensive Review of the Travel Industry Act, 2002 and Ontario Regulation 26/05 had been approved by the Ontario government. Details on how the review will be conducted will be forthcoming. ▲

TICO’s Business Accomplishments Much has been achieved during the last fiscal year, including:

•Enhancedfinancialcompliance procedures by introducing a comprehensive risk-based assessment model.

•ExpandedTICO’scommunications and reach by growing relationships and alliances.

•Enhancedcollaborationand relations with the Ministry and other Delegated Administrative Authorities.

•Enhancedconsumerawareness and registrant engagement.

•Encouragedandpromotedregistrant education.

•DroveEmployeeEngagement and introduced a new Performance Management process.

•IntroducedaCorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) Strategy.

The lowdown on Registrants

There was a total of 2,435 registrants as of March 31, 2016, comprising: 2,093 (86%) retail registrants and 342 (14%) wholesale registrants. In the previous year, registrants had totalled 2,485.

Richard Smart, Jean Hébert, Chair, and Frank Denton, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, at the reception following TICO’s Annual General Meeting

Photo courtesy of PAXnews.com

7 TICO TALK

Court Matters CHARGES Pawel Jedruch was charged with four counts of operating as a travel agent without registration contrary to Section 4(1)(a) of the Travel Industry Act, 2002. Mr. Jedruch operated in the City of Niagara Falls and elsewhere in Ontario.

SkyprideTravelandToursLtd. (“Skypride”), a registered travel agent that operated in Markham and elsewhere in Ontario and SakthivelSuppiah, Director of Skypride, were each charged under the Travel Industry Act, 2002 and Ontario Regulation 26/05 with the following offences:

Skypride: a) 16 counts of failing to deposit customer funds in the trust account, contrary to Section 27(3) of the Regulation; and b) 22 counts of failing to hold customer funds in the trust account contrary to Section 27(6) of the Regulation; SakthivelSuppiah: a) 16 counts of failing to take reasonable care to prevent Skypride from committing an offence of failing to deposit customer funds into the trust account, contrary to Section 27(3) of the Regulation; and b) 22 counts of failing to take reasonable care to prevent Skypride from committing an offence of failing to hold customer funds in the trust account contrary to Section 27(6) of the Regulation.

NOTE: The above charges have been issued in order to correct a technical error and will replace the charges previously laid against 1807201 Ontario Limited and Sakthivel Suppiah.

FrankCardona was charged with one count of operating as a travel agent without registration contrary to Section 4(1)(a) of the Travel Industry Act, 2002. Mr. Cardona operated in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario. During the relevant period of time, he was not registered as a travel agent and was not employed under a contract for services with another registrant.

CONVICTIONSJohnDouglasMills, Sole Proprietor operating as AlgonquinTravel, plead guilty and was convicted of one count of failing to deposit customer funds into the trust account, contrary to Section 27(3) of Ontario Regulation 26/05 made under the Travel Industry Act, 2002. Mr. Mills was a registrant under the Act and terminated his registration on June 4, 2015. Mr. Mills operated in Oshawa and elsewhere in Ontario. The plea and conviction under the Act was joined with the plea and conviction of one count of Possession Over $5,000 under the Criminal Code of Canada. Mr. Mills was sentenced on both charges as follows: four months’ custody to be served conditionally in the community; two years’ probation with the condition (in addition to statutory conditions) not to be employed in the travel industry with or without remuneration; and Stand-alone Restitution Orders for $10,200 (relating to the Criminal charge) and $8,084.58 (relating to the charge under the Act).

REVOCATIONSBetween April 21, 2016 and August 11, 2016, one company had its registration revoked: Tourista Travel Inc ./Voyage Tourista Inc .o/a Grad Escapes, Ottawa.

For further information on Charges and Convictions, click here: www.tico.ca/enforcement-compliance/charges-convictions.html. ▲

Roundup of TICO’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) achievementsSince its launch in May 2015, TICO’s CSR Committee has developed a CSR Charter and a Strategy that incorporates environmental, charitable and financial initiatives, as follows:

Environmental Initiatives:

•Participationinanoffice waste and recycling program

•EarthWeekactivities

•TICOstaffcleanedupnearbyMaxWard Park

Local Charitable Initiatives:

•InitiatedapartnershipwiththeMississauga Food Bank (MFB)

•VolunteeredattheMFB

•ConductedThanksgivingandChristmas Food Drives

•FormoreinformationonTICOstaff’sefforts, please click here.

Global Charitable Initiatives:

•LaunchedapartnershipwithPlanInternational Canada

•Begansponsoringthecommunity of Nga, Laos – the program offers educational, health, nutrition and skills training resources to empower community members.

•Setagoaltoraise$5,000bythe end of June 2017 to help the people of Nga, Laos and support the success of their community. TICO staff plan to volunteer time and contribute to various fundraising events. Please click here for updates.

•Visitwww.plancanada.ca/TICO to learn about Plan International Canada, the community of Nga, and TICO staff’s progress towards its fundraising goal.

Financial Initiatives:

•Plantoincorporateenvironmental,social and governance (ESG) investing into TICO’s investment policy.

Upcoming Issues

In future issues of TICO TALK we plan to include:

Update on Legislative & • Regulatory Review

The 2016-2017 Consumer • Awareness Campaign

Trade Shows and upcoming • events

2700 Matheson Boulevard East,Ste 402, West Tower, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4V9.

Tel: (905) 624-6241Fax: (905) 624-8631Toll-free: 1-888-451-TICOe-mail: tico@tico.caweb site: www.tico.ca

Copyright © 2016 Travel Industry Counci l of Ontar io. A l l r ight s reserved. Contents of this newsletter may be reproduced in whole or in part provided the intended use is for non-commercial purposes and the Travel Industry Council of Ontario is acknowledged as the source on all copies . Some materia l s in thi s newsletter may be subject to copyright from an outside source and therefore there may be different restrictions on the reproduction of this material. This newsletter is published by the Travel Industry Council of Ontario and is provided to all Travel Industry Act, 2002 registrants. The information provided in this newsletter is provided for general knowledge purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice.

8TICO TALK

Currently, consumers are bombarded with travel solicitations. Are they coming from within Ontario? Are the soliciting companies TICO registrants? Are they skirting around TICO’s rules? Coming up with a comprehensive picture of all of the new concepts that should be added to the legislation will be hard. It will require looking at everything very carefully, and thinking the implications through thoroughly. For example, are there some situations where it would be reasonable to recommend that the legislation be extended to non-registrants?

Every stakeholder could undoubtedly come up with a long wish list of changes, but the challenge will be in deciding what is reasonable to recommend to the government. It will require a tremendous amount of work, and a lot of it will be very abstract, or theoretical. The key, when preparing our recommendations, is to bear in mind all of the many business models used in today’s travel industry.

What else would you like to say to stakeholders, to encourage their participation in the review process?

I would like to see all stakeholders get involved from the beginning, by helping TICO define both the challenges and opportunities. This will be extremely valuable in helping TICO craft the recommendations it has been asked to submit to the government on behalf of the industry. We want to know what enhancements you would like to see – bearing in mind that the goal of the review is threefold: to enhance consumer protection, to reduce the burden on business, but also to increase regulatory efficiencies at the same time.

I would also encourage everyone to think about the travel industry as a whole, rather than looking at it from the vantage point of their own sector of the industry, as there are a few stakeholders in Ontario’s travel industry who fundamentally reject the need for specific travel legislation. Realistically, however, TICO and Ontario’s travel legislation are not going away. Our mandate is to look at ways to streamline and implement the regulations. I realize that most registrants have not had to study the legislation nearly as much as TICO’s various boards of directors over the years, so it is a big “ask”.

Once all of the issues have been identified, the government will prepare a Consultation Paper based on all stakeholder input, which will then be distributed for review. Time will be of the essence, and I hope that all registrants and other stakeholders will participate early and fully, for the wellbeing of both Ontario consumers and our own industry. ▲

Richard Vanderlubbe’s Perspective: continued from page 5