An honest update on the social impact funding, the continued silence from Ottawa and the voices standing with us.
To our members, partners and the Indigenous tourism community:
It has been a few weeks since my last update, and I want to be straight with you about why. There has been little movement to report on the two fronts that matter most right now, and I would rather send you a clear picture than fill the gap with noise. Here is where things stand.
On the social impact funding
Our partner and ITAC continue to meet multiple times each week, and that work is steady and ongoing. The remaining delays sit with the due diligence required by the international banking system, and we are working through that process carefully, step by step.
I want to be measured with you. These are complex international processes and I am not going to put a firm date on something outside our full control. What I can tell you is that the relationship is active, the conversations are happening constantly and we remain committed to seeing this through.
Still no meeting with the federal government
On the other front, the picture has not changed. The federal government has still not agreed to meet with us, despite the requests we and our Chair have made over the past several weeks.
The silence is being noticed well beyond ITAC. This week the Board of Directors of Indigenous Tourism Alberta wrote directly to the Honourable Rechie Valdez with a formal demand for clarity and corrective action, including a response within 14 days and a meeting at her earliest availability. When a provincial Indigenous tourism body has to issue that kind of demand to be heard, it tells you how far the door has been closed.
The voices speaking up
I also want to give the floor to the people who keep writing on our behalf. The letters reaching ITAC and the Minister’s office continue to arrive, and they come from every corner of this industry. Here are a few of this week’s voices:
- Indigenous Tourism Alberta Board of Directors, Alberta: “ITAC plays a national coordinating role that cannot be simply replaced by non-Indigenous led organizations like Destination Canada.”
- Angela Cassie, Travel Manitoba, Manitoba: “In 2019, there were 81 Indigenous-owned tourism businesses in Manitoba. By 2023, that number had grown to approximately 170.”
- Rod Taylor, Legacy Tourism Group, British Columbia: “For Canada’s Indigenous tourism industry to realize its potential and contribute significantly to Canada’s GDP, ITAC is mission critical.”
- Randy Vannatter, Explore Canada, British Columbia: “ITAC built most of the provincial Indigenous associations from inception to their current operational status.”
- Sarah Paster, Excursionist, USA: “Indigenous history is Canadian history, Indigenous culture is Canadian culture, and the Canadian story cannot be told without its Indigenous communities.”
- Shanna Bastiaanssen, Unique Adventures, Manitoba: “I need tourism family. I need these funded events. I need the contacts.”
These are national bodies, provincial partners, international operators and brand-new entrepreneurs saying the same thing in their own words. That range is exactly the point. What ITAC holds together cannot be replaced piece by piece.
Please keep writing
This is where you make the difference, so I am asking you to keep going. Every letter that reaches the Honourable Rechie Valdez is on the record, and the record is what makes this impossible to quietly set aside.
If you have not written yet, please tell the Minister what Indigenous tourism means to your community and what would be lost without ITAC. If you have already written, forward this to a colleague, a supplier or a partner and ask them to add their voice too. The more of us on the record, the harder we are to ignore.
I will be back in touch as things develop, and you have my word that I will share news on the funding the moment I responsibly can.
With gratitude,
Keith Henry
President and CEO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada
Read all of this week’s letters
Send your letter of support to:
The Honourable Rechie Valdez Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
rechie.valdez@parl.gc.ca