TORONTO — ACTA has announced that it is expanding its letter writing campaign as part of its ongoing lobby efforts to modernize the Ontario Travel Industry Act (TIA).

Though ACTA is thanking agency owners who have already sent a letter to their MPPs, it is now calling on all Ontario travel agents to also participate and lobby their MPPs and the government for change.

TIA, which also includes the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund, has long been a contentious matter for travel agencies and tour operators, both of which are the sole financiers of the Fund. At ACTA’s recent Travel Agency Leadership Summit, ACTA President Wendy Paradis said lobbyists hope to resume negotiations with the provincial government in December that will hopefully result in a consumer-funded model and more affordable methods of reporting for agency owners.

Richard Vanderlubbe, President of tripcentral.ca and former TICO board member, recently hosted a media briefing in Toronto to highlight the many issues of TIA and the Fund, which include the lack of coverage, an outdated funding model, and the financial burden put on registrants.

ACTA is now encouraging agents to support its letter writing campaign by doing the following:

• Use the messaging from the letter template available here and put it onto letterhead. Agents can then edit the letter as they see fit. “We understand that receipt of customized letters are a lobbying best practice and taken more seriously by government officials,” said ACTA. The organization also notes that its website is currently undergoing enhancements, which is why the template is only available through the link provided until early next week when it will also be posted on ACTA’s home page. (The current template letter on the website is to be used by Travel Agency Owners.)

• Email the letter to the Honourable Lisa Thompson, Minister of Government and Consumer Services at lisa.thompson@pc.ola.org.

• Email a copy of the letter to your MPP in your home and business ridings. Use the following links to identify your electoral district and MPP: https://eregistration.elections.on.ca/en/election/search and https://www.ola.org/en/members/current

• Email a copy of the letter to ACTA President Wendy Paradis at actaadvocacy@acta.ca.

• Send the emailed letters by the deadline of Dec. 13, 2019.

ACTA will continue to keep members updated. For all questions or concerns contact Heather Craig-Peddie, Vice President of Advocacy and Member Relations, at hcraig-peddie@acta.ca or Wendy Paradis, President, at wparadis@acta.ca.